Day One At the Festival

Day One, Tuesday March 16th, of the Cheltenham Festival brings with it six races, the first of which – The Spinal Research Supreme Novices’ Hurdle starts at 13:30 and is a two mile, one and a half furlong race. The race is sponsored by the Stewart family, headed by Andy Stewart, a well known businessman and owner, who is committed to spinal research after his son Paul suffered from a severe spinal injury when snowboarding in December 2008. Having initially been told that he would never walk again, he is now getting around with just the aid of a walking stick due to pioneering treatment in both the UK and Miami. Winner of the race last year was Go Native who just beat Medermit – both horses are this year leading contenders for the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle.

The second race of the day is the Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy Steeple Chase, which kicks off at 14:05. A two mile race named after one of the most famous racehorses to have competed at the Cheltenham Festival, which was won last year by Forpaddytheplasterer. The race requires speed and good jumping technique, due to its furious pace and emphasis on fast jumps. The race was inaugurated in 1969, not long after Arkle’s three wins in the Gold Cup, and is now worth £170,000 in prize money. Prior to Arkle and 1969 the race was known as the Cotwold Chase.

The third race of Day One is the William Hill Trophy Handicap Steeple Chase, a three mile half a furlong race which starts at 14:40 on the day, which tends not to favour the favourites! In fact the last favourite to win was back in 1994 – Antonin at odds of 4/1. As it is a long one, stamina is the key to this race.

15:20 sees the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy spring into action – a two mile half a furlong fast-paced race which is renowned for producing tight finishes between the top racehorses in the world. It is definitely the feature race of day one, open to horses five years and over, who are required to take on eight hurdles at full speed. The 2009 Champion Hurdle lived up to its reputation, it was a great race that was fully expected to be won by favourite Binocular, but he only managed third place behind his stablemate Punjabi. The Irish have won the race seven times since 1998, with Istabraq’s trainer Aiden O’Brien having won it three times between 1998 and 2000.

The Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Steeple Chase is a tough three mile seven furlong race which begins at 16:00 and is one of the new races to be added to the programme to create the new four day Festival. Open to horses aged five years old and upwards, the race has a total prize fund of £50,000. The first Cross Country Chase in 2005 was won by JP Mcmanus’s Spot the Difference, who was trained by the legendary Edna Bolger, who can hardly be beaten when it comes to this race. He has trained the winner of the event four times out of the five years the race has been running, with the last three victories being ridden by Nina Carberry, and the horse in question for the last two years being Garde Champetre. Bolger specialises in races of the cross country variety and he is definitely one to look out for.

The final race of a busy first day of the Festival is the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle Race, which starts at 16:40 and is a two mile four furlong event, introduced at the 2008 Cheltenham festival. The race is for 4 year olds and above and the first two winners of it were 5 years of age.