Anyone else feel this is looking like worst Cheltenham festival ever?

Taliking  rubbish of course.
No such thing as a bad festival

Have some Champagne FEVER

to be fair the champion chase is now a betting race ! rather than last year it was just a watching race for me due to the restrictive price on sprinter ,gold cup is a pale shadow of what it looked before xmas,still  reckon one or two  superstars will emerge from this festival tho!

Agree with that.

Karencarpenter - It's all in the name.

dunno .... foot and mouth was a bit of a letdown

was always going to happen when stretched out over 4 days,you only have to look at the handicaps its the same horses engaged in 2, 3 , 4 races

It looks very exciting to me.

return of Big Buck's
Big Buck's vs Annie Power
Bobs Worth vs Silviniaco Conti - the re-match
Champion Hurdle!!
Novice chase Grade 1s, all interesting
Neptune and Supreme great betting races
Quevega!!
Benefficient vs Dynaste - the rematch
Handicap puzzles galore
Placepots
IRE vs GB

und so weiter

Finding it quite easy to get excited about to be honest.

I'm disappointed that we won't be seeing Sprinter and Cue Card but there's lots to look forward to.

I can't wait

why would anyone look forward to seeing quevega it aint going to do anything it aint done before apart from losing,2 furlong dash from the home turn after dawdling round with about a dozen going down to the last with a chance

no appreciation for making records and the difficulty of just getting there so often then?

the op has to be trolling - quevega boring ??, you need another hobby !!

getting there so often ,LOL, you mean like getting tierd,been over the top,falling or pulling up during a long hard season

Arkle - prior champion hurdler, last years supreme novice going for third festival race in a row, Irish Arkle winner, multiple grade 2 chase winner.
Mares - quevega going for unprecedented sixth in a row, with usual quirky preparation.
Best champ hurdle in memory, especially if UDS and / or Annie runs.
Supreme - is Irving really 'Concorde' or will something g come as a surprise as normal.
Novices - is manyriverstocross as good as it looked giving oscar whisky a tough race.
National hunt - usual confusion on which jockeys can actually ride well enough to steer the marathon.
Festival handicap - is shutthefrontdoor this year's McManus gamble? Is it even going for this race.

That's just day 1, can't remember a Festival shaping up this exciting. Of course it is a shame that sprinter and cue card are out, but it will still be awesome. The champ chase field has over a dozen grade 1 wins I think, one to savour in a normal year.

OP

That's like saying 'I've just had the worst bl0w j0b ever'

There's no such thing!

best champion hurdler in living memory how old are you 6 ,how olds the fly again you aint seriously saying he,s better now than in previous years,
thinking your confusing a good betting heat with a quality race

he said best champion HURDLE in living memory, not best champion HURDLER !!!!

twot

think the ground cd scupper a few this year drains well but will the rain ever stop

what do people think are the norths best chances,i,ll be having abit ew on
cockney sparrow   mares 8 to 1

ataglance rewards for racing chase,16,s but has multiple entries

more competitive and open races than recent years which, to me, makes it more exciting rather than less.

The Champion Hurdle and, to a slightly lesser extent, the World Hurdle look to be shaping up like standout renewals.

I have to say though I struggle to get too excited about Quevega - the mares hurdle was only inaugurated in 2008 - her achievement will be akin to winning the Johnstone's Paint Trophy 6 successive times having received a bye to the final on each occasion.

with annie power going for the stayers even if she wins she might not be the best mare at the festival

Looks a cracking festival coming up to me. Rogerthebutler has nailed it. Even sloppy ones are good!

It looks the most competitive festival for years with very few hotpots. As for quality, time will tell however there are some potential superstars along with an impressive old guard. For me I'm as excited about this festival as any I can remember. 8 more sleeps!

Its quite exciting to see whether anything has improved past three legends in Hurricane Fly, Big Buck's and Sizing Europe. For me I'll be against the first two and with Sizing Europe, which is mainly down to price.

Ffs stupid fickin thread

only got 2 horses to back but the mouth is watering. racing post each day then watch this years cream of the crop take centre stage. and if any horse is missing injured then they wont b top dog.

Getting to see Willie Mullins being crowned the king of Cheltenham and lift the Prestbury Cup

what more excitement do you need

I thought the same about last years Cheltenham but once the day got nearer and during the festival itself I enjoyed it just as much as always.

I think we've been really spoilt over the last 10 years, especially with the Denman v Kauto Star rivalry and that type of excitement isn't going to be there every year.

In the 'flat' years it's about finding something that interests you rather than the masses. For example, two of my favourite Champion Hurdles were those won by Royal Gait and Alderbrook, but that's because I like watching Flat pattern horses having a go at the NH game.

Make no mistake, there will be interesting stories to follow next week and maybe some of those will be what you make them to be.

How exactly could the World Hurdle be a farce ??? You think Annie will roll over ??? get laying so.

Also, Anti-Irish bias ITT ... just because we ship the favs in most races I understand how some are underwhelmed.

can't exactly say that Last Instalment winning the GC would be boring either