10/10 had run at least four times that season - NO - TWICE 9/10 had an official rating between 128-144 - YES - 139 9/10 last outing was within thirty-six days - NO - 68 9/10 carried 11st 1lb or less - YES - 10st 12lb 9/10 ran between four and sixteen times over hurdles - YES - 4 9/10 returned an SP no bigger than 20/1 7/10 aged five or six - YES - 5 7/10 were making their first appearance at the Festival - YES
Albert Bartlett - Bobs Worth
6/6 won over 2m 4f or further - YES 6/6 had at least three runs over hurdles - YES - 3 5/6 had a top two finish in a Graded Hurdle last time out - YES 5/6 were in the first five in the betting - YES 5/6 were aged six or seven - YES - 6 4/6 had previously run over three miles - NO
Gold Cup - Long Run
10/10 had run between two and five times that season - YES - 2 10/10 were aged between seven and nine - NO - 6 10/10 started in the first three in the betting - YES 9/10 had won a Graded chase that season - YES 9/10 had run between six and fourteen times over fences - YES - 9 9/10 had won or been placed at a previous Festival - YES - 3rd RSA Chase 8/10 had an official rating of at least 166 - YES - 179
Foxhunters - Zemsky
10/10 won over at least three miles - YES 9/10 last ran between twelve and thirty-three days before this race - YES - 30 9/10 had previously won under Rules - YES 8/10 were aged ten or younger - YES - 8 8/10 had a top three finish last time out - YES - 1 7/10 started their careers in point to points - YES
No trends for The Martin Pipe
Grand Annual - Oiseau De Nuit
10/10 carried 10st 11lbs or less - NO - 11st 6lb 10/10 had no more than twelve races over fences - NO - 20 9/10 were rated 129-134 - NO - 145 9/10 were aged six to nine - YES - 9 9/10 were aged nine or under - YES 9/10 had won no more than one race that season - NO - NONE 8/10 had won over at least 2m 2f and other two were course winners - NO - Course winner YES 8/10 had run at the Cheltenham Festival before - YES
Verdict :Once again races had one or more trends busted. Suprisingly Zemsky met all the OLBG trends, unsurprisingly Oiseau didn't !
Overall : Trends including major 10/10 trends were busted in many races. However trends stayed strong overall. Therefore Making an allowance for one busted trend instead of dismissing horses en masse would have allowed a more accurate boundary for shortlisting purposes.
2011 was a fast ground meeting. Horses tended to do well who had decent flat form and in particular previous experience at Cheltenham and the Festival itself.