No punters allowed this year.

Stayers

Not good ffs

Its an absolute disgrace
Underspent on the NHS
now we have to pay anyway

missed 5 days since 1980 and only 1 since 1990

best mate won 3rd gold cup same day laying

harchibald was 5th in the county hurdle that day when it was the last race of the meeting as it still should be.

Remember the County Hurdle that year Jim...Ruby was down to ride Rigmarole who was top weight about 8/1 who had run in the Champion on Tuesday. I think they had Tom Scu (7 claimer) or someone like that down to ride Sporazine (whoever it was I’d never seen them ride for Nichols) off around  11stone 2nd top weight at 20/1.

We were in the Guinness stand all week and the word all day was Sporazine was laid out for the race. The biggest cheer apart from Best Mate winning was about 4pm ....non runner and  jockey change Ruby Walsh. 20/1 to 6/1 in the 15 mins before race and won pretty easily apart from tiring near the line.
Massive gamble landed and paid for my whole week twice over.

Harchibald was leading into the straight that year but no one knew his quirks then. If held up that day he’d have won hard held.

One of best days at Cheltenham ever.

remember it well hibore and i also think it gave walsh the leading rider after he also rode st pirran in the grand annual the race before.

the think that makes this so sad hibore is we have all had so many

one of the best days ever ,down the years

also in that county hurdle was adamant approach a horse i had backed in the supreme novice a few years earlier at a double figure price ,he looked sure to win when as walsh brought him with a winning run only to fall at the last,i knew then walsh would never make a good jockey

It’s a nightmare. I was there in December as part of the 2000 members but don’t think there will be a spectators in March.
I could also have a horse I’ve a share in running and I’m watching on TV. Feel sick.

in our world cheltenham and royal ascot are a huge part of it,foot and mouth year was bad nobody was interested in the races they ran at sandown,the small consolation is at least it will take place.

Yes it will but without its legion of fans it won't be the same, lets hope we all can go racing sooner or later...

Thanks Jimnast. I remember the stayers cuz I'd backed Iris' Gift, I remember cheering him home and every other person around me was on Barracuda, that was me hooked for life! I guess we'll all be watching on TV this year, fingers crossed the Irish Horses will be able to come over.

I used to regularly when younger, but havent been for 20 years. The travel over from Ireland along with the expense and hassle getting booked into somewhere close has relegated me and my friends to makig a week of it at home. We dine out each day ad have been going to the same pub for the last 20 years, they even have a booth reserved for us now. We still yearn to return one day, but the accommodation has to be close to the track, as getting the bus or train each day with a hangover that would kill an elephant is not much fun.

Started going in 1981 and off and on from then , annual member from 1995-2004 and stayed up every year , but stopped when it went to 4 days - purely for cost reasons . I will actually prefer it without spectators . Apologies to those who enjoy attending .

Myself and a mate been going for years. We've been putting aside a ton a week since last March, missed the Nov. meeting and will miss this festival, but we'll have a right turnip in our pockets whenever we get going again.

no problem layingistheway there were a few others cheering

paulo why will you prefer it without a crowd ?

Could do with out the aftertiming.

Going to miss it this year, best week of the year bar one .

might get some festival clues monday.

you have no interest really in horse racing do you irishone ?

No mate only owned four in my life time
Been to Cheltenham and Galway last twenty years plus
Fecking cant stand it !

quite sad really that someone who is interested in horse racing could do without a few people taking a trip down memory lane talking about winners they had in years gone by on a horse racing forum.

Its a horse racing forum on a betting website.
people on here are trying to make money from betting.
Betting is about what will happen in the future.
After timers are time wasters.

well clearly on this thread alone people are happy to talk about the past.

not everyone can be as professional and as clinical as you ,you sound like you have the game by the bo//ox.

Its an anonymous forum
you want to hear from people who seek attention, kudos or self gratification from allegedly previous wins on an anonymous ?

Ok
Best bet i ever had was 2000\1 geoff hurst to score a hatrick in the 1966 world cup final , put a deposit on a house the next day and flew to new york on concorde's first flight 11 years later


Weren't I good ?

not that good really i had the same bet and bought the house outright.

For me as a non attendee , the whole viewing experience is better without crowds , the presentation (though certain people are muted ) ) concentrates to a greater degree on things that are actually interesting . Compare that to the ' social stable ' and ' what do you fancy ' brigade.

thanks for the reply paulo fair enough if that suits you,

what about the ryder cup and the lions tour would you prefer them without crowds ?

This must be record even for Irishone. He’s arguing with someone on every thread !

Jimnsst I enjoyed reminiscing. I look forward to doing it again.

me to hibore, even now i am enjoying watching montalado and french ballerina on rtv it wont win me any money , and i did not back any of them,i was at royal ascot the day french ballerina died how ironic she survived the dangers of national hunt racing.

didnt montalado win the last race at one festival (the bumper) and the first race at the next festival ( the supreme )

Jesus, i really must apologise to the irishone. Who would have thought such a thread could annoy anyone so much.

GAZO 29 Jan 21 18:29 
didnt montalado win the last race at one festival (the bumper) and the first race at the next festival ( the supreme )

Some books probably still got him in their Champion hurdle markets, they won't catch me with that one, though I might be tempted if I can find an enhanced price for Montelado and Monsignor in a reverse forecast!

You got to be a smart cookie in this game

yes duffy both mentioned appeared for many years in the anti post lists,monsignor was still to be seen on uk racecourses up to a couple of years ago help raising the awareness of retired racehorses.

It's a shame we never got to see what those two horses were able to achieve, I reckon they would have provided a good few performances to reminisce about

Well, all of us accept irish

what i didnt realise duffy till tonight was montalado won the irish czarawitch.

if I remember rightly Montelado was weak in the
market for the supreme,won quite easily.

won the bumper and supreme easily,if i remember correctly he beat the irish banker tianamen square in the bumper

Must of been decades ago !

gazo it was the first running of the festival bumper ,back then it was the last race off the meeting.


penzance you remember right on both accounts .

both races have been on rtv tonight it was a great show.

Returning to the original thread
Lot of Irish wont come anyway
Vast majority justifiably scarred of getting Covid in Uk

if they come they come,if they dont they dont,we cant do anything different to get them here so it is what it is and jimnast i would have lost money on montelado being the first bumper winner but knew it was the last race of the meeting

"We cant do anything different to get them here"

Its that bad over there now is it ?
You have resigned yourselves to Covid19 ?

Yes Irish , it is bad.
Our government has made fck up after fck up, and nothing sadly will change in time for the festival.

The Director of Cheltenham Racecourse says he has not given up hope of a small number of spectators being present at this year's festival.

The event is due to run for four days from the 16-19 March - but it will look very different to normal.

Ian Renton has told ITV West Country he's waiting to see what the advice will be as to whether anyone will be allowed in to watch.

He said: "If we were racing today we'd be racing behind closed doors, but [in] December we were allowed owners present and a few loyal race-goers, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens through February and March."

It's expected The Festival will be held behind closed doors but the Government has now indicated lockdown restrictions may be lifted just in time for a handful of racegoers to attend.

What has everyone done in terms of accomodation,  was this rolled onto next year or just cancelled?

The hotel we booked last year has been shut down since march last year.

What happens there Irishone? Just an FYI for whoever booked flights with Easyjet, they have flights up for 2022 and let us change them free of charge

Normally flights don't come out until Jun/July

We had hotels booked for Galway , they offered and we took a full refund.
Most of the airlines are offering free changes now.
Would assume that any hotels booked around Cheltenham would give full refunds on cancellations , I know some have already got them.

I’ll be going if I get the chance. Had a great 2 days there in December, Panoramic Restaurant Friday and Members Lounge Saturday.
Cheltenham know they can host and keep safe 2000 members as they have proved it. Just need transmissions to come down over next few weeks.

Hibore ? How have they proved it ? Track and trace operated by the Jockey Club ?

From the Irish Times. I’d agree with everything they say. If you are an idiot and break the rules you may be at risk. If you follow the protocol then you’ll be as safe as going to Tesco.

Spectators returned to Cheltenham on Friday for the first time since the Festival in March.
Meetings in October and November were run behind closed doors, with only essential personnel and a limited number of owners in attendance, but the change in UK government restrictions regarding crowds at sporting events meant up to 2,000 annual members could be on track. Social distancing was adhered to, with masks worn throughout.
“The signage is very clear and some of the bars are even open,” said Ben Bramley, who made the journey from North Yorkshire.
“All members had to go in a ballot for the two days, but I think I’m right in saying everyone got what they wanted.
“It’s very well organised, signs for where you can and can’t go, but it was a real whimper that greeted the first race – I was expecting a bit more of a cheer to be honest!”
Neil and Janet Iveson are annual members and were delighted to be back on a racecourse for the first time since attending all four days of the Festival in March.
“We don’t like to miss a meeting at Cheltenham if we can help it, so after the disappointment of being unable to attend in October or November, it’s brilliant to be back,” said Janet Iveson.
“We actually haven’t been racing since Cheltenham Gold Cup day. It’s obviously a very different experience, but it’s better than not being able to go racing at all and we’re just thankful to be here.
“It was exciting watching the first race as we actually ended up standing close to the winning owners, who were very excited.
“We definitely feel very safe. Everyone is wearing a mask and you’re not stood that close to anybody else as there is so much room.”

Yes that sounds like they are geared up for the virus, its a matter of time before we.find out why the variants are so contagious perhaps it can live on tesco shopping trolleys ?

I’ve also been vaccinated which also helps a bit. Just about sneaked into the vulnerable group.

Not one iota of a chance of Joe Public being there im afraid.

Were you told if your vaccine covers you for the variant Hibore ?

You can still pass it on which is the issue, if it wasn't, all vaccinated people could lose the masks couldn't they!

Which variant? there's loads swirling about, it's all guesswork and more worrying is that there is varying opinions of what works and what doesn't along with how long between doses is right and wrong.

I'm having mine on Friday as I too sneak into the vulnerable group.

If anyone has questions they want me to ask, put them here and I'll ask, whether or not the person jabbing me is anything more than a betfair monkey though is anyones guess!

Don’t remember saying we can ditch the masks ??  Said stick to the protocols which unless you were at Cheltenham in December your just guessing without facts.

I mentioned the vaccination as it was to give me some additional protection if we can attend in some capacity.

My dad got his a week or two back and has to get another one athe end of March

From the Irish Times ....

BioNTech confident vaccine will work against new strain
However, further studies are needed to be completely sure, says chief executive


The chief executive of BioNTech has said the German pharmaceutical company is confident that its coronavirus vaccine works against the UK variant, but further studies are needed to be completely sure.

Ugur Sahin said on Tuesday that “we don’t know at the moment if our vaccine is also able to provide protection against this new variant”, but because the proteins on the variant are 99 per cent the same as the prevailing strains, BioNTech has “scientific confidence” in the vaccine.

The punters can bet from home, It is the racing fans who want to see it for themselves.

Had the Oxford jab yesterday...says on the ingredients that it's made up from chimpanzee adenovirus

That explains why Macron doesn't want any then.

Apparently Cheltenham are making plans to have owners back for the festival. Not sure if that means the govt have given them heads up of announcement on 22nd ?

That should up the death rate in April

Silly comment imo.

True though

Not at all. You could easily accommodate owners in a safe way.

In fact, i might buy a leg in a Cheltenham runner to see if i can get a day out at races!

Its not those who accomodate
Its the owners that will bring the risk

A few thousand in cheltenham racecourse is peanuts. If they follow the guidelines, there won't be a risk.

From what i have witnessed at cheltenham
Pi55ed up owners wont be following the guidelines

Would bars be open?

Bars were open in December. You ordered from the Jockey Club App, selecting the bar you were in and the table number you were on. No cash for drinks and food, though welcome with the books. TBF, it was really slick and the service excellent, although only 2,000 people on track, as noted in the thread.

Very enjoyable and very safe. I’ll be there again if allowed in March.

i went to haydock,aintree,doncaster and catterick all very enjoyable and very safe.all racegoers respectful of the rules.

Well I find that truly amazing
Worst Covid record in Europe
But you can find 2000 horsey people
Who go to a race meeting
And will all be following the facemask etiquette, the social distancing, the continual hand washing ......

Bo11ox

i am not horsey

The other thing is
Who enforces it ?
Them muppets in the jockey club anoraks
The bar staff (mainly students) ....
The stewards ......lol ?

If last year was anything to go by hardly any stable staff were compliant

The hand washing soapwas hardly used .

there was no Willie was going to wear a face mask! Lol

* way

Irishone, if you want to stay at home that's fine, no need to preach to other people who are lucky enough to own a Cheltenham runner. Of course they should be there to watch.

Not preaching to the owners...

UK government a sham pal
100k deaths and hasnt shut your borders
Crazy !

Not preaching to the owners...

UK government a sham pal
100k deaths and hasnt shut your borders
Crazy !

Bored of it all PAL. Not interested in talking Covid deaths.

Nor am i to be honest, but Irish is correct, the UK government is a sham.