Cheltenham Festival : Binocular the star of Day

The 2010 Cheltenham Festival has started with a bang with a day of surprises leaving the bookmakers well ahead after an eventful day at Prestbury Park.
The star of the day was no doubt Binocular who claimed the Champion Hurdle in stunning style to compete a remarkable couple of weeks for the horse.
It was just a couple of weeks ago that Binocular was all but ruled out of the Festival with an injury but having recovered quickly claimed the win, with AP McCoy on board looked every inch the class horse of an open field.
Those injury doubts had caused Binocular to drift in the Champion Hurdle betting with the Nicky Henderson horse going off at a good looking 9/1 as they went to post.
All the talk before the Champion Hurdle was surrounding Go Native who went off as the favourite but he never got in the race, only Khyber Kim managed to challenge Binocular with Zaynar back in third.
The first race of the Festival was of course the Supreme Novices' Hurdle when Dunguib took his place as an odds-on favourite following a huge gamble from punters on both sides of the Irish Sea.
He never looked in great shape as he was outclassed by 12/1 shot Menorah who took a surprise win to leave the bookmakers delighted. A Dunguib win would have been a disaster for the bookies and they duly got their wish with Dunguib stuttering to third place.
The Arkle Challenge Trophy was collected by Sizing Europe for Henry De Bromhead who stayed on well despite being closed down by the good looking Somersby. It was an exciting race as usual with yet another favourite in Captain Cee Bee never in the frame as punters continued to have a bad day at the office on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival

Cheltenham may put a brake on moving Festival's final day to Saturday

It is a rare thing in racing when Saturday comes as something of a rest day for most of those in the industry. For the horses, jockeys and trainers, not to mention the record crowd at Uttoxeter's Midlands Grand National fixture, there was little time for reflection upon the highs and lows of the Cheltenham Festival that finished less than 24 hours earlier.
But it was not just bookmakers who spent the day counting cash – Cheltenham's managing director, Edward Gillespie, had considerable grounds for satisfaction on that score. Indeed, politicians trying to convince the public that Britain is out of recession need look no further than the track's cash tills.
An astonishing and unexpected growth in on-course Tote betting turnover, up 22 per cent year-on-year on Gold Cup day, took the four-day total past £10m for the first time, a cause for celebration for racing itself, as both the Tote and Cheltenham's owners, Jockey Club Racecourses, are committed to re-investing their profits into the sport rather than filling the pockets of shareholders.
Cheltenham have already submitted a planning document which proposes the construction of new buildings to replace the portable structures in the Guinness Village area, currently used by 8,000 Tattersalls racegoers and as many more hospitality guests.
While corporate sales have been hit hard, the changing face of the Cheltenham racegoer has produced unexpected rewards in other areas.
"The catering spend was up 14 per cent, which is remarkable against a five per cent crowd increase, and increased profits means that we can invest in better facilities and in the prize money, to make sure that we maintain the quality of the racing," said Gillespie.

Cheltenham Festival Betting: The Irish challenge in 2010

Following the January trials, Wayne Bailey takes a look at how well or otherwise horses from the Emerald Isle are likely to perform in March...

“It's not very original, but it will take a good horse to beat Dunguib in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and already, he’s become the Irish banker of the festival.”

In just over a month, waves of bodies both equine and human will cross the Irish Sea for the annual assault on the Cheltenham Hill and of course, the Guinness Tent. I'd guess that the numbers making the trip will be slightly down this year - and some festival regulars I've spoken to are now out of work because of the economic downturn, especially those who were employed in the building trade.

But whether the action is watched live from Prestbury Park or down the local pub, certain Irish horses are going to be backed heavily and hopefully cheered home. Following the January trials in both Ireland and the UK, here's a revised look at the Irish challenge for 2010.
Pre Book your Cheltenham Tickets online from GigSport.

Greatwood Hurdle Potential high-class field

CAPE TRIBULATION, fifth in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle last season at the Cheltenham Festival, could make his hurdling reappearance in the Grade 3 Greatwood Hurdle next month. The five year old Malcom Jefferson trained was among 56 entrants for the extended 2m race, won last season by Numide, and Jefferson could be doulby represented, with Issaquah also entered. Jefferson said: "Is being aimed Issaquah at the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle because two miles is her trip, she ran a wonder race around there in the David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle at The Festival but did not get home (finished ninth), so I know she acts around there. "She's in good nick, so if everything went right and the ground was on the soft side, she would go there with a opportunity."I put Cape Tribulation in but he ran a bit of stinker on Saturday. We scoped him and he is on antibiotics but if it came up soft I wouldn't mind running him, as long as he is right. In a race like the Greatwood, I would not mind running them both because the prize money is so good and we are limited as to when we can run these horses."Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle runner up Celestial Halo, and Starluck, an impressive winner on his first start of the season at Cheltenham earlier in the month, are also entered, along with the highly rated Ashkazar and Blue Bajan from the Andrew Turnell stable. There is no shortage of potential Irish entrants, with Clopf, Donna's Palm, and Raise Your Heart, who scored on the Flat at Leopardstown earlier this week, among 16 possibles.

Venalmar to go novice chasing on return

VENALMAR, runner up in the Ballymore Properties Novices Hurdle at the 2008 Cheltenham Festival, is back in training having missed all of final season and is to go novice chasing.The seven year old's trainer Mouse Morris said on Monday: "Venalmar had to have a chipremoved from a leg, but he's all rigth now and the plan is to start him off over hedge in October or November."Winner of the Grade 2 Woodlands Park 100 Slaney Novice Hurdle over 2m4f at Naas in January 2008, Venalmar lost out by a neck to Fiveforthree at Cheltenham two months later.He has not run since finishing down the field at the Punchestown festival in April 2008.

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CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL PROFITS PLUNGE AS PUNTERS BEAT THE BOOKIES

The betting shops or sobbing on the racetrack this news will not have punters weeping: the UK's largest bookmaker is William Hill. The bookmarker, said today it had tired "a run of abominable results" that had sent profits from its sports betting division tumbling.
A string of favourites romping home at Cheltenham, including the heavily backed Kauto Star in the Gold Cup, the dominance of the big four in the Premier League and a run of other predictable results had, it claimed, resulted in a reversal of the old adage about the bookmaker always winning.
Warning that profits for the full year were likely to be lower than expected – despite increased income from in-store betting terminals helping to make up for the decline in revenues from its traditional sports betting business it revealed that it had ended up out of pocket on football bets for the first time ever in May.
William Hill also admitted it was vulnerable to the effects of the economic slump and rising unemployment, contradicting rash statements from some in the industry earlier in the year that it might prove to be largely recession-proof.Ralph Topping, the chief executive, said the company had delivered "a solid trading performance in the first half, in spite of the tough economic environment and a mixed set of sporting results". He said that even a victory for a 100-1 outsider in the Grand National was not enough to raise a lasting smile.

Kauto Star's reclaimes Cheltenham Gold Cup crown

but the highlight of the week was undoubtedly Kauto Star's demolition of the opposition to make history and reclaim his totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup crown.Master Minded defended his title in the Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase, Big Buck's was a gritty winner of the Ladbrokes World Hurdle

Cheltenham Festival - Memorable Moments

Move Forward To Cheltenham 2009

The Festival is over for 2009, but what a magnificent four (three!) days we had in this year.Everyone will have their own individual highlights, but for us there was a period of just over an hour on Thursday afternoon when we were reminded of exactly why we make the pilgrimage to Cheltenham every year.First up was the tremendous performance of Master Minded in the Queen Mother. His was a quite outstanding display of speed and fluent jumping and, as there is no reason to think that Voy Por Ustedes was below his best, it was as good a Festival performance as there has been for many, many years. It was simply breathtaking.We hope you enjoyed the action as much as us and thank you for reading our Blog over the past few weeks. We will continue to post our thoughts on the Festival here over the next couple of weeks We’ll then be back again at the end of the year to start developing 2009 Festival. It can’t come around quick enough!

Cheltenham Courses

Prestbury Park is a beautifully crafted sporting arena, carved within the Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire and the courses are unlike those at any other racecouse. Undulating and stamina sapping, the sting in the tail regularly comes at the end of each contest in the form of the supremely challenging "Cheltenham Hill" - an ever-upward climbing passage runners must scale from the last obstacle to the winning line. Every weapon in a competitor's arsenal is needed for victory at Cheltenham.
New Course
The New Course has two fences in a longer home straight, but only one fence on the downhill run. This obviously can still be tricky, for similar reasons to the two downhill fences on the Old Course, but a key obstacle here has always been four out. Taken at the top of the hill as the horses start to turn left, it often caught out even the most seasoned chasers given that the course fell away to the left immediately after the fence. However, the fence has now been moved back 15 metres meaning it is jumped on a slightly flatter part of the track.

Old Course
The Old Course has just one fence in the home straight. The critical two fences are three and two out as they are both taken on the run downhill before the turn into the home straight.
Races on this course really start in earnest at the top of the hill (after the final ditch, four out) and the third last, in particular, can catch out horses who find themselves gathering momentum and traveling slightly quicker than they feel comfortable with.
The second last is a real “jockeys” fence and has put paid to the chances of many horses over the years. Punters whose dreams are still alive at this point can certainly breath a partial sigh of relief once their selection has cleared this tricky obstacle.

Cross Country Course
The cross country course takes racing at Cheltenham back to its roots with a selection of natural and man made obstacles incorporating banks, ditches, hedges, water and timber rails.
Designed by Mike Etherington-Smith, who was responsible for the 3-Day Event cross country course at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, the configuration of the course deliberately weaves around the centre of Prestbury Park, with turns to the left and right leading competitors on a variety of routes and directions.
One of the main differences between the Cross Country Course and the steeplechase courses at Cheltenham is the materials used to build the fences. Chase fences are constructed from 'dead' materials whereas the fences on the Cross Country Course are living, growing trees, shrubs and bushes, which are regularly

Betting Tips for Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Festival initial tape is about to be released and we have some appealing Cheltenham Festival tips from some of the big names in the game to pass on to you. We have all waited a full year, gone through all the pre Cheltenham Festival hype and we are about to get the 2009 Cheltenham Festival underway. So Tony McCoy will make it, Kicking King will not, the Champion Hurdle sees a whole new crop taking on last years winner Sublimity and the highlight of this year's festival the showdown between Kauto Star and Denman.

Check out the best Cheltenham Festival Free Bets here at Betting Directory

Many of you will have been studying the form and trying to get as many Cheltenham Festival tips over the weekend so you can start planning your strategy over the next few days. We have picked up the Racing Post supplement and for those of you who have missed this we have some interesting tips to pass on. Tom Segal of Pricewise fame goes for Aitmatov in the Ladbrokes World hurdle and this may prove a good tip if Inglis is a little undercooked. John Francome goes for Inglis Drever in the same race

Good Tips for Cheltenham Festival 2009

Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup is the biggest and definitely the most expected race in living memory. All along it was shaping up to be a titanic battle between the two heirs apparent to the great Arkle's crown. All season the talk was all about just who would win the Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup 2008.
The choice between the rising champion and Gold Cup 2007 hero, Kauto Star, and the rising challenger, Denman, divided the punting public in two and surely everyone every punter worth his salt put his money where his mouth is and sided with one of the two super-chasers.
What's more it was nearly unparalleled that one trainer, Paul Nicholls, was able to send out two horses of such high quality in a race of this magnitude. His string was all the more worthy since Kauto was bidding to win a second Betfair £1million bonus, achieved for winning the Betfair Lancashire Chase, the King George VI Chase and the Gold Cup in the same season. Realistically Denman looked the only contender capable of upsetting the odds so to risk £1million to make this super-race happen made the entire racing fraternity and Denman's connections very happy.
Both horses will surely be back for the Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup 2009 next year and Denman is widelt available at Evens Favourite, with Kauto at 3-1 to reverse this year's placings. Questions remain to be answered as Kauto Star didn't look at his best, but others will say that was just down to the sheer power of Denman and the result will be the same next year. Whatever, another great spectacle awaits us on Gold Cup Day in 2009.
Paul Nicholls managed an impressive 1-2-3 as Neptune Collonges followed his stable-mates home and was only narrowly beaten into third by Kauto Star. He's now available at 20-1 to improve on that and win the Gold Cup in 2009.
But what of the other contenders? On form none of them really had a chance, Exotic Dancer, was the highest rated third favourite at odds of 17-2, had already been beaten five times in career by Kauto Star and odds were heavily stacked against him turning it around this time. And so it proved with Exotic Dancer finishing in fifth place. After being beaten by Kauto Star last year will he back for a third shot at the title in the Cheltenham Gold Cup 2009?
Of the outsiders Afistfullofdollars was well fancied amongst the each-way backers on the course and went off at 20-1. However despite a plucky run he didn't quite have enough coming up hill and finished in 7th under Paul Carberry.
But let's not forget the other candidates for next year who have appeared over this glorious week of racing at Prestbury Park. Tidal Bay put in a supreme run to beat the field by 13 lengths in the Arkle Chase on Tuesday and is widely available at odds of 20-1 for the Gold Cup 2009. The only question there seems to be whether trainer Howard Johnson will prefer to aim the chaser at the Queen Mother Champion Chase 2009 instead. Whichever he race he opts for it seems clear that Tidal Bay will be a strong contender to win again at the Cheltenham Festival 2009.
Master Minded put in a thrilling performance to win Champion Chase yesterday and gives Paul Nicholls an embarrassment of riches with which to take on the chasing titles next year. An intriguing rematch between Kauto & Denman could be made a three-way head-to-head in the Gold Cup 2009. This has surely got to be the race that the punters want to see, Master Minded is available at odds of 14-1 to steal Denman's crown at next year's Cheltenham Festival 2009.

Cheltenham Festival