Cheltenham Race Festival » Cheltenham News

Cheltenham Gold Cup Stolen

Cheltenham Races — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:03:42 +0000

The Cheltenham Gold Cup trophy has been stolen by thieves. The cup is presented each year to the winning owner of the Gold Cup race at Chelthenham, one England’s most prestigious steeplechase prize.

The stolen cup belonged to Raymond Mould, whose horse Charter Party, ridden by Richard Dunwoody, won the race in 1988. Police said they called to a home in Wormington, near Broadway, on Wednesday. A Gloucestershire Police spokesman said racing trophies valued at more than £150,000 had been taken.

Other trophies stolen included a Challenge Cup and the Britannia Handicap Cup. Nigel Twiston-Davies, who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup this year with Imperial Commander, said: “I’m afraid it is Charter Party’s Gold Cup that has been stolen. The cup, which is made of solid gold and worth around £10,000, was taken from an address in Wormington, Gloucestershire.

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!

Punters Back Mobaasher

Cheltenham Races — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:29:23 +0000

With so many races, horses, pundits and tips floating around for the Cheltenham Festival, it’s tricky to know where to put your hard earned cash especially as on day one only favourite actually won his race and that was Quevega. Others, including Go Native, Garde Champetre and Dunguib, who were all odds-on favourites just couldn’t do the business sending the the bookies whopping and cheering all the way to the bank.

To try and claw back some cash the punters have been out early in a bid to get some value and claw back the losses from yesterday. Mobassher runs in the opening race, the 1.30 National Hunt Steeple Chase Challenge Cup 4m and has had some consistent and steady backing all day which has put him as second favourite after Becauseicouldntsee.

Charlie McCann, spokesman for the firm, said: “Mobaasher would be our best backed horse of the morning. Venetia Williams has mentioned a few times that this could be her best chance of a winner and with question marks over Massasoit (blinkers) and Any Currency (ground) he looks a solid each-way bet.”

David Williams of Ladbrokes also reports good money for Mobaasher and highlighted plenty of interest in Shot From The Hip and Elegant Concorde in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at 5.15.

Go Native £1m Bid

Cheltenham Races — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:24:50 +0000

All eyes are going to be firmly glued to today’s Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival not least because Go Native, the bookies favourite to win the race, is also up for a £1 million bonus.

Go Native has qualified for a pop at the £1 million bonus offered by WBX by winning the Fighting Fifth Hurdle and the Christmas Hurdle and is now just eight hurdles away from scooping the incredible jackpot that’s up for grabs, ensuring a windfall for owners, trainer and stable staff. In fact, the stable lad who looks after Go Native will get £100,000 if he wins which is nearly six times his annual salary!

Make no mistake though, this will not be an easy race to win and will be extremely close with nine of the twelve runners priced up by bookmakers at 12-1 or less. Competition is fierce with Binocular, Kyber Kim, Punjabi, Celestial Halo and Solwhit all in contention so the Champion Hurdle is expected to be one of the most competitive races at this year’s festival.

Speaking about Go Native, trainer Noel Meade said on Monday: “The horse travelled over great and is in great shape. In fact I couldn’t be happier with him. He looked great this morning and cantered on the track. He was nice and fresh. Paul [Carberry] said he couldn’t have asked for him to be any better than he was. He is a very good jumper and he has plenty of toe.”

Can Go Native do it? He’ll be hard to beat but with so much money riding on a winning performance let’s hope that Paul Carberry’s nerves hold up…

Bet on Go Native with Paddy Power Bookmakers.

23 Declared for Will Hill

Cheltenham Races — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:29:40 +0000

The Grade 3 William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase at Cheltenham takes place on Tuesday 16th and is 3m. At final declaration stage today, 23 horses had been declared making it a bumper field this year and a race that will be eagerly watched by millions.

Paddy Power has Bensalem, ridden by Robert Thornton, as the race favourite with odds of 11/2. The weights leader, The Tother One on 11st 12lb, is sixth favourite on 14/1 which is a very good each way bet as Ruby Walsh is riding him and that’s always a great sign.

Racing Post Chase winner Razor Royale is also amongst the entries and will be ridden by PJ Brennan with odds of 14/1, as well as the progressive Jonjo O’Neill-trained novice Theatrical Moment who will be paired with Tony McCoy with odds of 11/1 making him third favourite.

This is a very important race for other reasons. Many of the anticipated runners for the 2010 Grand National are also taking part including Casey Jones, Niche Market, Character Building and Comply or Die so how they race could seriously impact their odds for Aintree on April 10th.

Maximum 12 For Arkle

Cheltenham Races — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:42:31 +0000

Run over two miles, the Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy Steeple Chase takes place at Cheltenham on Tuesday 16th March 2010 at 2.05pm and is considered one of the major races of the Cheltenham Festival. A maximum field of 12 horses is allowed and all spots have been filled with the final runners declared for the novice chase.

Among the high-class field of contenders are the Eddie Harty-trained Captain Cee Bee, the Henry de Bromhead trained Sizing Europe and Somersby, who is trained by Henrietta Knight. Nicky Henderson is doubly represented with Riverside Theatre and Mad Max.

Actor Jimmy Nesbitt is part of the syndicate which owns Riverside Theatre, who is currently 8-1 with Paddy Power Bookmakers. He told At The Races: “I saw him a little bit of week [ago] and he looked very ready. We’re very happy and I’m very excited. He’s only run over fences twice so we don’t know how he will react to such a strong field. It’s a very competitive race and I just hope he gets round okay. There’s a lot of excitement and I’ve never been as nervous in my life.”

Riverside Theatre will have his work cut out for him if he’s to seriously contend for the Arkle title especially if it turns out that Captain Cee Bee, Somersby and Sizing Europe are in good form because on the day they will be very difficult to beat.

Solwhit for Champion Hurdle

Cheltenham Races — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:29:18 +0000

With the Cheltenham Festival starting tomorrow all final declarations for the races were due today. The Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy, which takes place at 3.20pm is one of the big races on the day and Solwhit has now been described as a “definite runner” by trainer Charles Byrnes and is one of 12 horses declared for the race.

The multiple Grade 1 winner’s participation in the race had been in doubt after he scoped dirty last week, but, after giving him the all-clear to run on Saturday, Byrnes confirmed plans. “He arrived over at Cheltenham around 5am and travelled over well but, given what has happened, we naturally wouldn’t be as confident as we were,” Byrnes told racingpost.com on Sunday afternoon.

“That said, we wouldn’t be here unless Solwhit was in top form.He seems very well in himself and he never appeared to be as sick as such, but he’ll be monitored and at the moment he’s a definite runner.”

Solwhit will have his work cut out for him if he is to go toe to toe with Irish raider Go Native, who is in line for a £1million bonus from betting exchange WBX, having won the Fighting Fifth Hurdle and Williamhill.com Christmas Hurdle. As it stands, Go Native is now only eight hurdles away from winning the biggest bonus in National Hunt racing so there will be a huge amount of interest in the race.

Solwhit will also have to contend with Binocular, Punjabi and Kyber Kim, all of whom could romp home on the day. Interestingly enough, Binocular has had some fitness concerns so may not be worth the 7/1 odds he has been given by Paddy Power Bookmakers and in saying that, Solwhit is still second favourite, to Go Native, on 11/2 which, again, may be reaching given that he hasn’t been 100% in the last week!

Sam Thomas Misses Cheltenham

Cheltenham Races — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:16:29 +0000

Getting injured when you’re a jockey is never a good thing but you have to feel for Sam Thomas who is going to miss the Cheltenham Festival this year due to a cracked vertebra. Thomas is stable jockey for Tom George and it was he who confirmed it today that Thomas is definitely out.

The incident that caused his injury took place on Paul Nicholls gallops when Thomas had a bad fall which resulted in him being air lifted to Royal United Hospital in Bath, from which he was later released on Thursday evening.

Thomas, who was riding Nicholls’ Arkle hope Woolcombe Folly in a schooling session with Chapoturgeon, partnered by Tony McCoy, fell heavily at the last of six fences. It took almost half an hour to stabilise the jockey, who never lost consciousness, before he could be rushed to hospital.

George told racingpost.com: “I have spoken to Sam’s father, who is with him, and he is basically fine, but he has a small crack in a vertebra in his neck. Hopefully it will heal quickly, I don’t know how long that will take, but he will definitely miss Cheltenham next week.”

Thomas is in a stable condition and does not appear to have any problems walking and talking and breathing. He is moving his hands and his feet, and the prognosis is looking good.

HIs replacement jockey for Cheltenham is expected to be Paddy Brennan, who is tipped to be jockey of the Festival, after Ruby Walsh, and will partner the majority of George’s runners, including Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle favourite Tell Massini.

George added: “Paddy Brennan comes in here once a week, riding out and schooling, he knows the horses well, and he’ll have first shout on the horses I am running at the Festival, and he’ll ride anything he’s available for. Paddy won on Olofi last time, and he won on Tell Massini last time, unfortunately for Sam. You have to feel for Sam, who has had no bloody luck at all.”

The biggest upset for Thomas has got to be missing out on his Gold Cup ride on Tricky Trickster who has a real shot at winning, despite the pundits believing that it’s a two horse race between Kauto Star and Denman, but it’s now Barry Geraghty, who was on standby for Nicholls, who is expected to step in for the ride.