Cheltenham Race Festival » cheltenham tuesday

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.

Day One At the Festival

Cheltenham Races — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:13:36 +0000

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.

General Miller for Cheltenham

Cheltenham Races — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:45:26 +0000

For those of you who haven’t heard of General Miller, he is the very exciting prospect coming out of the Nicky Henderson yard and one you should absolutely keep your eye on. He is a five year old novice with three race starts and a 100% win record under his belt and has been paired up with Barry Geraghty from the onset.

His three wins have come from Kempton, back in January 09, Perth in April and Cheltenham in December and now he’s being prepped for the Cheltenham Festival in March and has been registered for two races so it remains to be seen which of them he will ultimately end up racing in.

They are the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle which is scheduled for opening day on Tuesday 16th March where he has antepost odds of 16/1 with Paddy Power and the Neptune Investment Novices’ Hurdle to be held on Wednesday 17th March where he currently at 20/1 with Paddy Power. Stiff competition in both but he could still be a good each-way bet when you know what race he’s going to run in.

He is currently registered for the Grade 2 Sportingbet.com Novices’ Hurdle at Haydock on Saturday 23rd January so tune in if you fancy seeing what he’s made of before you decide to back him at Cheltenham.