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10 Mar 18
09:51
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Date Joined:
11 Jan 03
Hard to get enthused for this years Festival:
1. Soft , possibly Heavy ground
2. Transitional Period - Faugheen/Douvan surely on decline and their last year at Festival. A poor supreme field, very poor Gold Cup, one horse race for Champion Hurdle.
3. Raft of non runners yet again on lead u to the Festival.
The fact that the Members area hasn't sold out for 3 days of the festival and you can still book restaurants (absolutely ridiculous prices starting at £300+ per person!), says people are voting with their feet .
Greed turned Cheltenham into a 4 day festival and it is time it reverted to a 3 day event, instead of including races that have no right to be there
1. Soft , possibly Heavy ground
2. Transitional Period - Faugheen/Douvan surely on decline and their last year at Festival. A poor supreme field, very poor Gold Cup, one horse race for Champion Hurdle.
3. Raft of non runners yet again on lead u to the Festival.
The fact that the Members area hasn't sold out for 3 days of the festival and you can still book restaurants (absolutely ridiculous prices starting at £300+ per person!), says people are voting with their feet .
Greed turned Cheltenham into a 4 day festival and it is time it reverted to a 3 day event, instead of including races that have no right to be there
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Replies: 64
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Is this the worst reoccurring thread every year - Cheltenham or otherwise?
1) Always comes up no matter what. 2) No event today is as good as anything that happened in the past and never will be. 3) Lets all talk about how great things were in the past (when they weren't) and bang on about it on yet another thread and bore everyone under 50 to death shall we? Have a great festival young and old! |
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More likely to go to five days than back to three. Mares chase, 2.5 mile championship hurdle, another impossible handicap, fillies bumper, novices x-country, 3 mile chase as a bridge for those caught in Ryanair/Gold Cup limbo. Can't wait!
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No this is the start of the next era of top class jumpers. Spot them and benefit.
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It'd be easier to count the years someone hasn't done this thread
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What too difficult to find winners on heavy ground, then you mention Faugheen/Douvan surely on decline & in the next breath you say Champion hurdle is a one horse race, make your mind up you either want a competitive race or you don't
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Oh dear me ! Pumphol read the thread - No where do i mention "difficult to find winners on heavy ground" ??? I merely state it will be soft /heavy ground - which my definition leads to a poorer spectacle.
I hope it will be the start of a new era of top class jumpers - unfortunately we are currently in a lull , look at the last 2/3 gold cups. |
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It has changed for the worst imo and there are plenty of reasons. The move to 4 days and padding out these days has been at the expense of both quality and a sense that each and every race meant something i.e they were either championship races or handicaps with a degree of plotting up from a wide group of trainers and owners.
This is not just the fault of Cheltenham but sadly ownership has become so polarised that the handicaps will often have 12 runners from 3 owners. Odds on favourites from this owner group are now the norm rather than the exception. I will go just for a couple of days to meet friends but for the first time ever I bought the members badge without the festival and cant say I am waiting with any sense of anticipation for Tuesday. |
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Thought last years was poor quality wise the whole thing doesn't excite me he way it did when it was the 3 days who cares who wins the ryanair it's just for horses not fast enough for the champion chase and not enough stamina for the gold cup what's the point.
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if you don't care what wins the ryanair then you're in the wrong place...
personally I attended all three days of festival each year from 1990 to 2002 (except 1990 when living/working in US) but when it went to four days, I couldn't take it physically (early starts/late nights too much drink and heavy food) and mentally (used to come with the tuesday selections sorted from monday, then tuesday night focussed on wednesdays card and repeat wednesday night and long journey back home thursday evening)..that a three day members ticket went from around £150 to more than £250 when it went 4 days plus additional night accommodation made some difference too..now i spend less money travelling, with more choice of accommodation and go to aintree instead and the thursday of that meeting is at least (for me) the equivalent of CH day at Festival in terms of quality... if they indeed go 5 days then the golden goose will fall to earth big time... |
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1986 to 2002
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Haven't missed a festival for 37 years, will park the car on Monday and pick it up later on Saturday assuming blood/alcohol levels back to normal and will attend another 37 liver permitting.
Take a week abroad, all you doom merchants. |
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If you see no point in the Ryanair then presumably you would scrap al races over 2.5 miles. You might as well say that the Champion Stakes is for horses not good enough to win Group1 over a mile or 1.5 miles. It is just a different discipline and I can't see a problem. The Champion chase rarely has more than 3 horses with any realistic chance (only one this year) so you would get a small field whether the Ryanair was there or not. The old Cathcart was a good race but there were too many weight allowances to make it a Grade 1. If any races could be dropped it would be the Fred Winter, Martin Pipe, novice handicap chase, Kim Muir etc. Still too many handicaps.
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For me its a race for maybe or past it horses nobody ever said when it was 3 days what the festival needs is a grade 1 2m5f race it was only put there to pad it for a 4 day festival nothing else lets face it the thurs is the worst day quality wise for me.
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3 days on the settee quaffing Champagne and eating rubbish, walk up pub after last race every day, Friday all day in pub, lovely
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thought this was about glastonbury
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I like the 4 days. An extra day at Cheltenham and more class horses to watch and bets to place.
I suspect people will review Chelters after they check p/l for the week. Have had so many amazing days/nights and been there to witness eye watering moments; Kauto Star regaining the GC, Spinter Sacre bringing the house down when regaining his crown, Altior powering home to win a super strong Supreme when I backed him to the hilt! Giddyup! |
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Agree to an extent with OP. Too much dilution starves us of deep clashes and instead we ended up with only 2/3 with realistic chances in some of the big events. Cheltenham should be about championship racing but all we are doing is creating 'false' champions.
If no Ryanair this year we could have Un De Sceaux serving it up to Altior. Cue Card could have gone to Gold Cup. |
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I think the two races in the Festival that are surplus to requirement are Ryanair and Mares - they are a waste of time and space only benefitting the bookies and racecourse.
This Festival could deliver some future champions eg Footpad (Champion Chase) and Samcro and Presenting Percy both who'd not be out of place in the Gold Cup next year and after; they are horses with immense potential that could easily reach the top in just a few years' time, I believe. |
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is that the mares race that produced such a cracker last year or do you mean the mares novice ?
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Both, any mare, if good enough, ought to be running in the other races at the Festival - there is no need to create races specifically for mares.
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wouldn't it be great to see apples jade running against the boys, just as it would have been for quevega. look what happened when Annie Power was allowed take her chance in the champion!
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with you saying 2 races i wondered which one of the mares you meant.
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another non runner just crept in
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OP = Is this the worst Festival for years.??
------------ We had an IDENTICAL thread LAST year, too. |
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The prophets of doom are never far away on here.
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TBF the quality of the GC has been on decline for years some very poor horses have managed to win over the last few years
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casemoney
to be fair don cossack could have been very good but for injury and coonygree won as a novice,what it does make you realise and many on here could not help but knock the horse was what best mate achieved. |
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I don't care about the quality of the horses when it comes to the festival, its all about the racing no matter how good or bad the field is, personally these are the best horses in training at the moment and I will enjoy every second of it
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foxy, as I recall on here they was always complaining as to how little Best Mate raced.
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correct sparrow they never stopped banging on about how dessie and arkle ran in handicaps therefor were proper horses.
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funny really the same people loved istabraq
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The recent Henrietta Knight feature/interview on ATR was fantastic.
She displayed a far greater knowledge of horses, and how to train them, ride them, and what was best for them (as individuals) than many people have given her credit for, previously. |
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Well you could say the same about Kauto Star and all the recent winners. To compare with Arkle is just daft.
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sparrow away from racing its 25 years she your great captain died where have those years gone.
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they probably did say the same about kauto.
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Actually it was 25 years last month foxy. I was there when Bobby first came into the side following Malcolm Allison's retirement due to illness. Such a wonderful player who made everything look so easy on the pitch.
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i had the wireless on this afternoon i thought they said it was today must have meant first home game since the 25 years anniversary.either way he made the game look so easy just like beckenbeur.
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Henrietta Knight feature still on the www.attheraces.com website..
Enter the site > Scroll down to 'More News' See - 'Latest attheraces Programmes' > click on the RIGHT-Hand Arrow - the Menu will move across. The LAST Item (with NO Photo) - click on ... Jumpers & Bumpers 27th Feb 2018 Watch now |
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Yes I think it was the first home game since. He died on February 24th 1993
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