Cheltenham Race Festival » 19th March Friday

3:20 Cheltenham Gold Cup Results – 3m 2 1/2f

Cheltenham Races — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:43:37 +0000

It was all about Kauto Star and Denman before this race and now it’s all about the Nigel Twiston-Davies superstar Imperial Commander who absolutely wiped the floor with Denman on the run-in and saw off KS when he fell, the Nicholls party was well and truly upset today… 1. Imperial Commander 7/1 2. Denman 4/1 3. Mon Mome 50/1 Related posts:McCoy Rides Denman In Gold Cup Kauto Star Gold Cup Favourite Cheltenham Gold Cup Stolen Related posts:

2:40 Albert Bartlett Nov Hurdle Results – 3m

Cheltenham Races — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:18:15 +0000

Quel Esprit went into this race as favourite with the bookies but with other contenders such as Tell Massini and Enterprise Park there to spoil the party it was all go but there can only be one winner and it was neither as they were comprehensively whipped by Berties Dream… 1. Berties Dream 33/1 2. Najaf 25/1 3. Kennel Hill 66/1 Related posts:4:40 Fred Winter H’cap Hurdle Results – 2m 110yds 2:05 County Hurdle Results – 2m 1f 4:00 Coral Cup H’cap Hurdle Results – 2m 5f Related posts:

2:05 County Hurdle Results – 2m 1f

Cheltenham Races — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:16:38 +0000

Though this race was a little more open than some of the others Ruby Walsh was still favourite pre-race on Tito Bustillo, in a bid to add to his Champion Jockey tally but it was his sister Katie Walsh who crossed the winning post first on Thousand Stars – must be in the genes… 1. Thousand Stars 20/1 2. Arcalis 33/1 3. Dee Ee Williams 20/1 4. Zanir 50/1 5. Noble Prince 11/1 Related posts:2:40 Albert Bartlett Nov Hurdle Results – 3m 1:30 Triumph Hurdle Results – 2m 1f 2:05 Pertemps Final H’Cap Hurdle Results – 3m Related posts:

1:30 Triumph Hurdle Results – 2m 1f

Cheltenham Races — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:13:50 +0000

The first race of the last day of the 2010 Cheltenham Festival and it’s close at the top with at least four horses battling it out at the bookies for top spot as favourite including Alaivan, Carlito Brigante, Advisor and Soldatino but ultimately there can only be one winner and it’s Soldatino, bringing Barry Geraghty’s number of wins to 3! 1. Soldatino 6/1 2. Barizan 14/1 3. Alaivan 9/2 4. Carlito Brigante 7/2 Related posts:3:20 Ladbrokes World Hurdle Results – 3m 2:05 County Hurdle Results – 2m 1f 4:00 Coral Cup H’cap Hurdle Results – 2m 5f Related posts:

Commander Can Take Gold Cup

Cheltenham Races — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:32:59 +0000

If you were to believe the pundits then you’d wonder why any other horses plan to turn up for the Gold Cup today, because for most it’s only all about Kauto Star and Denman but not so says Imperial Commanders jockey Paddy Brennan who has said he “wouldn’t ride anything else” in the Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup today and rather confidently believes that he can topple the big two of Kauto Star and Denman!

The Nigel Twiston-Davies trained horse was successful in last year’s Ryanair Chase but feels the Gold Cup will better suit him this year. Clearly the bookies agree because Imperial Commander is third favourite behind the two superstars.

Speaking on Channel 4′s The Morning Line, Brennan said: “It’ll be very competitive and the track is riding brilliantly – it’s a case of the best horse will win. I think he’ll be a much easier ride in the Gold Cup because he’ll travel. In the Ryanair you’re always in top gear and need everything to go right. Today he’ll give me a great ride because he travels and personally I think he stays.”

And he could be right, despite the power of Kauto Star, Imperial Commander came within a nose of defeating him in the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November and Brennan believes he can come out on top in their clash on Friday.

“It was best feeling I’ve had off a horse in racing because he gave me something and kept quickening and quickening and going away,” Brennan added. “He went to the third last as quick as he’s ever been and going to the fence he had a blow and it lost me four lengths and gave Kauto a chance and I think I lost the race there. Make no mistake, he can match the best and I wouldn’t want to ride anything else today.”

It could be that the Gold Cup isn’t as clear cut as everybody thinks it will be and maybe, just maybe, Imperial Commander will turn up and really upset the Nicholls party this afternoon!

To have a bet on the Gold Cup go to Paddy Power Bookmakers!

Walsh Still On For Top Jockey

Cheltenham Races — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:49:10 +0000

We’re heading into the fourth and final day of this year’s Cheltenham Festival and what was supposed to be a walk in the park for Ruby Walsh and the Paul Nicholls stables hasn’t quite gone to plan with Ruby missing out on wins from a number of races he was odds on favourite to win.

But today he was back at the head of affairs in the Cheltenham Festival top jockey standings after notching a third win of the meeting on Big Buck’s, who successfully defended his World Hurdle crown. Despite Tony McCoys’ relatively poor performances over the last couple of months he has really upped his game so much so that Ruby briefly had to hand the armband to champion jockey Tony McCoy, after he partnered Albertas Run to victory in the Ryanair Chase.

McCoy remains in second place on two wins, just ahead of Barry Geraghty and Richard Johnson by way of the countback system. But there’s one day left and it’s still all to play for especially in the big race of the festival – The Cheltenham Gold Cup when it’s Ruby versus Tony…place your bets with Paddy Power Bookmakers now!

Ruby & Kauto V Tony & Denman

Cheltenham Races — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:33:28 +0000

It is generally accepted by all and sundry, and most especially National Hunt jockeys that while a rider might be talented, he can only win certain races if he is on the right horse. A prime example of this is AP McCoy – an outstanding jockey, but one that is yet to win the Grand National and has but once won the Gold Cup, on Mr Mulligan in 1997. In fact just recently Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls was apparently surprised when someone pointed out to him how the human and equine stories correspond when it comes to the upcoming Gold Cup and his two main contenders – Kauto Star and Denman.

While McCoy is set to ride Denman in the Cheltenham Cup, it will be his archrival (but good friend) Ruby Walsh who will be riding Denman’s archrival (but stablemate and ‘pal’ according to Nicholls) Kauto Star. Some feel that McCoy’s iron constitution and ruthless temperament are not enough to suit the needs of such a characteristic chaser as Denman, who needs less coercion and more horsemanship.

Others who have more knowledge of McCoy are embarrassed by the slating that McCoy has received – he is after all officially the best jockey of all time, a status he achieved on 27th of August 2002 when victory on Mighty Montefalco in a three mile hurdle at Uttoxeter gave him his 1,700th winner, passing the three year old record total of Richard Dunwoody. Nicholls, when told how the equine and human stories of the Gold Cup correspond responded that Kauto Star and Denman are ‘the mirror image of the jockeys – but when they are out there, they’re out there to win’. Never has a truer word been spoken, while Walsh and McCoy are friends, that goes completely out the window once the tapes go up.

Whilst the two jockeys have completely differing styles, there has never been any doubt in their trainer’s mind that each of his horses has the perfectly suited accomplice when it comes to the Gold Cup. Walsh has a friendly but artistic laidback style which perfectly reflects Kauto Star’s attitude, while McCoy’s enforcing style totally suits Denman’s different and aggressive character – as Nicholls stated ‘I always thought someone like McCoy was going to suite Denman’.

As Nicholls has said of the riders of his top horses’ ‘Two champion jockeys, two great horses’ and having the champion jockeys of Great Britain and Ireland in the saddles of the two main contenders for one of the biggest events of the racing calendar is somewhat of a beautiful and intriguing juxtaposition – one which is looked forward to by bookies and punters alike.

Nicholls on the other hand, it is imagined, will be looking forward to the event with some trepidation – it is almost unheard of for one yard to house two such celebrities, and he admits that he has quite mixed emotions, stating ‘the saddest thing for me is that one of them is going to get beat’.

Which one are you going to put a bet on? The friendly or the aggressive? The horse who has won the race once or the horse who has already won it twice? The one being ridden by Ruby or Tony?? The one with the best odds? Exciting stuff!

Place your Cheltenham Gold Cup bet on with Paddy Power Bookmakers now!

Friday 19th March Race Guide

Cheltenham Races — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:27:55 +0000

Day four, and the last day for the 2010 Cheltenham Festival and things are really heating up…

It’s Cheltenham Gold Cup Day and one of the biggest battles in racing history is going to take place at 3.20 when Kauto Star and Denman go head to head in a bid to make horse racing history. Can Kauto Star win for the third time with Ruby Walsh or can Denman pip him to the post for the second time with Tony McCoy on board. One thing’s for sure, with both superstars coming from the Paul Nicholls stable today, there’s going to be one very happy man if they come in first and second place!

All of the horses running today are listed below and all of the odds have been supplied by Paddy Power Bookmakers but just remember that the odds on the Gold Cup are changing so fast and furiously that you’ve got to grab favourable odds very quickly – in fact Kauto Star is currently odds on…

The first race of the day is the JCB Triumph Hurdle which will attract a lot of attention but make no mistake, today is ALL about the CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP at 3.20pm!!!!

The Cheltenham Festival has six races scheduled for today which are as follows:

1.30 JCB Triumph Hurdle 2m 1f

2.05 Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle 2m 1f

2.40 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle 3m

3.20 totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase 3m 2 1/2f

4.00 Christie’s Foxhunter Steeple Chase 3m 2 1/2f

4.40 Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle 2m 4 1/2f

5.15 Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Steeple Chase 2m 1/2f

Cooldine Gold Cup Chances

Cheltenham Races — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:32:15 +0000

Very little appears to be able to stop Paul Nicholls from winning this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday March 19th and certainly with both Denman and Kauto Star taking centre stage, the other runners appear to have faded into the background in what has become this year’s most anticipated horse racing show down.

But the Irish, Willie Mullins trained eight year old Cooldine is looking like an excellent prospect should the two favourites not compete as expected, in fact, following his performance in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown at the beginning of February, where he came second to Joncol, he has shown a true return to form. Last year saw him win the Dr. P.J. Moriarty Novice Chase in Leopardstown in February which preceded his impressive RSA Chase victory at Cheltenham the following month. In winning the RSA he was no less impressive than Denman had been in the same race two years previously, so it looks like things are looking promising for Cooldine and his team in this year’s Cheltenham Festival.

There was big disappointment for Cooldine’s return race at the end of December 2009, the Lexus Chase, where Ruby Walsh chose to ride him over What A Friend, showing the faith that there is in his abilities. Unfortunately for all concerned, he was pulled up, but there was a big change in the bay gelding for the Hennessy Gold Cup which has reignited not just his trainer Willie Mullin’s hope in him, but also the punters and the bookmakers, who have given him odds as low as 10/1 for the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

It has been speculated that his form is likely to be even better than it was in February by the time of the Cheltenham Festival in mid-March. Whether he will be a realistic threat to the Nicholl’s stable clan is yet to be seen, but he is definitely considered a worthy opponent and is currently at 12/1 with Paddy Power Bookmakers in the Cheltenham Festival ante-post odds so is still excellent value as an each-way bet.

Day Four Of The Festival

Cheltenham Races — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:06:18 +0000

The fourth and final day of the Cheltenham Festival, which this year falls on the 19th of March, is the highlight of the Festival, as it is the day that holds the illustrious Cheltenham Gold Cup. The Gold Cup is the feature race of the day and the festival, starting at 15:20, but the lead-up to the big race includes the JCB Triumph Hurdle which starts at 13:30. The JCB Triumph is a grade one event for four year old novice hurdlers run over two miles one furlong. The race was first held in 1965 following the closure of Hurst Park, the original venue for the Festival. This race traditionally has a field of twenty-eight, but has been reduced in recent years with the introduction of an alternative handicap for juveniles, leading to a better quality of horses lining up.

The Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle kicks off at 14:05 and is a class one grade three handicap hurdle, run over two miles and one furlong. It is renowned as one of the most difficult races of the Festival on which to back a winner, due to the varied field of handicappers – you have been warned!

The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle is the third race out of the day’s seven, starting at 14:40. Run over three miles, this race was previously known as the Brit Insurance Novices Hurdle and was introduced to the festival in 2005. It was backed by Albert Bartlett for the first time in 2009, which coincided with its upgrade to Grade One race status. A Class A Grade One hurdle open to novices aged four years old and above, who are just below the Ladbroke World Hurdle standard, and has a total prize of £100,000. This is one race where it is not as difficult to establish the winner – in the past four years none of the winners have returned in double figures.

The fourth race, the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase is the main event, and the definite highlight of the Festival. Run over three miles two and a half furlongs, this is a Class A Grade One chase open to horses five years and above. This is the race that brings the best European horse to public attention, and this year there is much speculation about Paul Nicholls’-trained stablemates Denman and Kauto Star, both who have won the Gold Cup previously – if Kauto Star wins this year it will be his third win of the race. The prize fund for the Gold Cup is £475,000!!!!

Following the excitement of the Gold Cup is the Christie’s Foxhunter Steeple Chase at 16:00. A Class B chase run over three miles and two and a half furlongs, this race is open to horses five years old and upwards. One of the oldest races of the Festival, having first been run in 1904, it is now the most high-status hunter chase of the season. The prize fund for this race may seem meagre after the Gold Cup, but is still substantial at £40,000, and there is huge competition in this race between UK and Irish trainers.

The second last race of the day and the Festival is the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle at 16:40. A two mile four and a half furlong race, this is the newest race at the Festival, giving a chance to up-and-coming jockeys to ride at the Festival. The race is named in honour of Martin Pipe who is the most successful National Hunt trainer of all time, having trained thirty-four winners at the Festival, including the Champion Hurdle twice, with Granville Again (1993) and Make A Stand (1997), though victory in the Gold Cup eluded him.

The last race of the Festival, the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Steeple Chase begins at 17:15, a Class A Grade Three chase run over two miles half a furlong. Open to horses five years old and above, the total prize fund is £80,000, and offers those horses who can only manage the distance of over two miles the chance to partake at the Cheltenham Festival. Named after Nicky Henderson’s father, it makes it difficult for him to not try and win it every year!