The morning after the four days before!!
Just wanted to open the thread. I hopefully will get a bit of time this weekend to note up a few things, but here is an opening gambit. Please add your own thoughts and anything you want me to comment on.
I was fortunate to attend the four days, and after last season I was worried about people having a complete blow out and the carnage that could be caused. I love a day at the racing, but as you all know I am grumpy, like my own space and most importantly, dislike people. So many would say Cheltenham sounds like a nightmare for me!
However, with a members badge and knowledge of the racecourse, I thought it was a delight to be at the festival. Without giving away my favourite locations on the course, I was able to see all horses in the parade ring, cooling down areas after races and the walk of the winners back into the parade ring. This was crowded in places, but not uncomfortably so. Similar with the members steps on the new grandstand.
The members bar moved from the top near the pre-parade, down into the tented village, and this facility is worth the membership alone, Guinness lined up on the bar and very small queues if any before racing. A perfect area to chat to others from Fergals yard!!
I feared the festival would be uncompetitive and the two big Irish yards would dominate at the cost of smaller owners and trainers, and whilst Willie Mullins dominated, he did so with horses from many different owners. We also had the Flooring Porter syndicate winning, Middleham Park Racing and also the Noel Fehily Syndicate giving some memorable celebrations for small owners.
The weather played a key part, three days of glorious weather and then a horrid Wednesday, which to be honest was a great day for seeing Tiger Roll for a final time and all the stories around him. Just a shame his owner is the biggest c**k in racing. That says a lot when Gordon Elliott doesn't top that list!
I must also state how devastating the loss of four horses was at the festival, many with think this is part and parcel of the sport, and it unfortunately is, but when you see absolutely stunning horses like Ginto losing their life on course it does make a lasting memory of sadness. Losing one in the first race of the meeting did set up the fear of what was possibly to come. The sport needs to look at this again, under calm conditions and see if the festival is doing everything it can to prevent loss of horses and injuries.
I do want to finish the opening post of this thread with a massive positive, and that was how glorious it was to be racing, with a big crowd and with people who wanted to watch the best horses in the National Hunt sport racing in championship races. These are glorious animals and I think we may be on the beginning stages of a glorious period of top championship races, with Sir Gerhard, Constitution Hill, Galloping Des Champs and horses like Vauban and Gaelic Warrior also likely to come up and battle with true champions like the wonderful Honeysuckle, Energumene, Shishkin, Flooring Porter, As Plus Tard and the absolutely mindboggling Allaho.
If we can't get excited about this crop of horses, what can we be excited for?
Just wanted to open the thread. I hopefully will get a bit of time this weekend to note up a few things, but here is an opening gambit. Please add your own thoughts and anything you want me to comment on.
I was fortunate to attend the four days, and after last season I was worried about people having a complete blow out and the carnage that could be caused. I love a day at the racing, but as you all know I am grumpy, like my own space and most importantly, dislike people. So many would say Cheltenham sounds like a nightmare for me!
However, with a members badge and knowledge of the racecourse, I thought it was a delight to be at the festival. Without giving away my favourite locations on the course, I was able to see all horses in the parade ring, cooling down areas after races and the walk of the winners back into the parade ring. This was crowded in places, but not uncomfortably so. Similar with the members steps on the new grandstand.
The members bar moved from the top near the pre-parade, down into the tented village, and this facility is worth the membership alone, Guinness lined up on the bar and very small queues if any before racing. A perfect area to chat to others from Fergals yard!!
I feared the festival would be uncompetitive and the two big Irish yards would dominate at the cost of smaller owners and trainers, and whilst Willie Mullins dominated, he did so with horses from many different owners. We also had the Flooring Porter syndicate winning, Middleham Park Racing and also the Noel Fehily Syndicate giving some memorable celebrations for small owners.
The weather played a key part, three days of glorious weather and then a horrid Wednesday, which to be honest was a great day for seeing Tiger Roll for a final time and all the stories around him. Just a shame his owner is the biggest c**k in racing. That says a lot when Gordon Elliott doesn't top that list!
I must also state how devastating the loss of four horses was at the festival, many with think this is part and parcel of the sport, and it unfortunately is, but when you see absolutely stunning horses like Ginto losing their life on course it does make a lasting memory of sadness. Losing one in the first race of the meeting did set up the fear of what was possibly to come. The sport needs to look at this again, under calm conditions and see if the festival is doing everything it can to prevent loss of horses and injuries.
I do want to finish the opening post of this thread with a massive positive, and that was how glorious it was to be racing, with a big crowd and with people who wanted to watch the best horses in the National Hunt sport racing in championship races. These are glorious animals and I think we may be on the beginning stages of a glorious period of top championship races, with Sir Gerhard, Constitution Hill, Galloping Des Champs and horses like Vauban and Gaelic Warrior also likely to come up and battle with true champions like the wonderful Honeysuckle, Energumene, Shishkin, Flooring Porter, As Plus Tard and the absolutely mindboggling Allaho.
If we can't get excited about this crop of horses, what can we be excited for?
. I can usually take a bit of ribbing, no problem, but this time I got a bit p***ed-off. C'est la vie! 
