4.00 Cheltenham Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy (Grade 1)

2,s ON THE HILL ,the Irish short hands deep pockets in backing up their opinion

Get in!!!! When Golden Ace came out of the mares, I backed her at 40/1 nrnb for today and she has delivered. Lucky yes but she would have beaten Brighterdaysahead any way as she did last year.

I like Jeremy Scott.

Bookies bonanza

So 2 no hopers finish first and second by having the guts to have a go. A great lesson to the other UK trainers. and then Winter Fog manages to finish third at 200/1. Golden Ace a dual Festival winner.

Contitution Hill didn't get away with the iffy one this time,we've seen it here a couple of times already,Stateman on the other hand?

this where racing gets a bit silly talking to jocks,connections asd though they've got a ch hurdler when he,ll be 50,s next time out against the  same horses

amazing scenes

sick of mullins smug interview sick of nico hendo buckley bs ryanair man
about time someone got chance on big stage

Over £250k unexpected jolly going the way of connections. So, so pleased for them.

& 95k to the runner up, sure thats more than county hurdle prize.

JANE MANG must be blind ,he didn't hit the black bit in the middle he hit the WHITE bit at the bottom of the hurdle

This is why the trophies aren't given out at preview evenings.

Jeremy Scott was well out of form until the last 6 weeks but now everything is winning or placed. Follow people not form. The Exacta was £346.6 in a 7 horse race.

CH always had it in him to do that unfortunately, one liberty too many

The Exacta was £346.6 in a 7 horse race.

missing a 0 imo

I did 1,4,6 & 7 in a ctc, looked good until the last hurdle

what we don't no is wether THE HILL would have beaten STATE MAN if they,d both stood up

Now the dust has settled what a shocking run for Brighterdaysahead. The only one of the big three to stay upright, the race was set up by her pacemaker and yet she was beaten by 25/1, 66/1 and 150/1 shots. Now we know last year wasn’t a fluke result and it’s not her track but all the same that outcome is diabolical for Elliot.

Pacemaker didn't go very fast

Very reminiscent of Apples Jade. Maybe Cheltenham isn't BDA's track? I'm also not sure Elliot is top class at training horses for speed events.

I do not think Cheltenham suits BDA. She was beaten here too last Festival. A great result for the small owner. This was fate. CH and SM fell independently; Ricci ducked the race.

This is good for horseracing; the big battalion will win again very soon with a doubt.

Golden Ace rescued my day. Otherwise frustration with William Munny second, The Changing Man second, Liam Swagger third and then Rock my Way second again. All win only unfortunately but all laid off in running. Majborough the only big loser as I had backed him ante post before Sir Gino came out and he also put me out of the placepot. Just one at Sedgefield that won easily.

Duffle Coat big for top 4 and defo woulda stayed on... on State Man too...fml.poor day..

What a horrific Champion hurdle to ruin the day

Shooda... wonderful name for Rich Ricci.

“Gordon Elliott has thrown down the gauntlet, declaring that Brighterdaysahead is a serious threat to Constitution Hill“

Jeez, she wasn’t a threat to Winter Fog. Nothing like horse racing to make idiots of us.

Has anyone checked on poor Fitzy?

There were 2 ways to assess Brighterdaysahead. What she did last time in Ireland and what she did last year at Cheltenham. As so often, it is the Cheltenham run that was reproduced. State Man much the same as last year until the fall. Golden Ace much better there than anywhere else. Lossiemouth another one unbeaten at the course. Irish heavy ground is a world away from Cheltenham on good.

Despite not going overly quick as we all expected the race to be run it still managed to fall apart, State Man produced his usual, for the most part reliable run under conditions that suited him unlike what he was subjected to at xmas and unlike what we thought he would be faced with and as a side note unlike what Ricci thought Lossiemouth would have had to face.

Despite the less than ideal slower pace it's probably safe to assume that Cheltenham just isn't BDA track with the undulations serving to stunt any sort of rhythm being achieved.

If connections of CH entertained any reservations pre race it would surely have centred around whether he would have been able to go the cut throat pace expected, those fears would have been allayed though and I bet Nico and Townend together were sat there surprised through the race at being allowed to travel off an easy going pace and despite SM's last flight fall it's hard to think that CH wouldn't have won with how this race ended up being run at.

All things considered it was an unsatisfactory race which is summed up by the apparent pace collapse that had no real reason for happening, it was run slower than the Supreme through-out and despite being run faster until the second last, KDB went quicker still went quickerto the line from that point too. IMO

Brighter days ahead hit the top of the hurdle and the hurdle rebounds and hits con Hill

From youtube.

Two Nasty Falls Both lucky to not be injured

new nurdles doing thar job