Cheltenham© Photo Healy Racing
There are those who make a very good living out of being contrarian, and as a rule swimming against the mob is usually a sound tactic. But there’s no ‘stir-it-up’ intention behind pointing out how the Cheltenham festival, and the build up to it, really has become a bit of a monster. Can it be healthy when just four days overwhelms the entire calendar to such an extent?
And it does. Donald McCain has pointed out how he had over 140 winners last season but was told it was a bad year because he’d had a blank at Cheltenham. McCain believes the build-up has gone over-the-top to the point where no other racing matters. And that’s hardly sour-grapes since he’s enjoyed plenty of festival success during the years.
The trend towards clustering races into single festival spectaculars has been unyielding in recent years, the new E3.73 million ‘Champions Weekend’ this September being a case in point. But nothing, not even the Breeders Cup in America, gobbles up the calendar like Cheltenham does. As a showcase for an entire industry there are obvious benefits, but is there also a danger it will eat itself, that the industry becomes overly-defined by just four days?
Willie Mullins for instance has enjoyed an unparalleled level of success all season but there’s a danger that could be overlooked should his massive team of horses this week endure a fraction lowering of their performance, a fraction that will be exposed in an environment where everything will be trying for its life and primed to the minute.
So what, you might say, and you might be right. There’s also the reality that Cheltenham is where the championship races are all congregated. But the dangers of investing everything you have in one week are obvious, and when it doesn’t come off, as it by definition doesn’t for the majority, then the sense of frustration and anti-climax must be tough to take. And on that happy note, have a great week everyone!
The sense though that everything can get amplified beyond reason at this time of year was illustrated last week on the back of Willie Mullins’s comments in an interview about his fear of horses getting ‘nobbled.’
Without wishing to go all ‘nothing-to-see-move-on-please’ about it, what was that all about? Mullins was only pointing out the obvious about how he ups security for the festival. He does it every year. So does anyone with a half-fancied runner. It’s taken as read.
But the mention of dope appeared to get an awful lot of people in a tizzy, forcing the BHA to point out that the stable yard at Cheltenham is wrapped up tighter than an airport sandwich and Mullins into acknowledging that he’s perfectly happy with the arrangements there.
You don’t have to go racing to find scumbags looking for an edge. They’re everywhere. But racing’s problems with drugs are a lot more serious than individual scumbags on the make, as has been obvious from the past month.
Now on the eve of the most important racing week of the year, it might seem petty to hark back to an ordinary midweek handicap chase at Clonmel but as everyone will find out in a few days time, racing doesn’t stop once Cheltenham is over and neither it seems will stewards making the decision to give winners an overwhelming benefit of doubt.
It’s easy to titter at how apt last week’s winner More Madness was named, considering he was allowed take Mister First across the track in the closing stages and yet held on to the race in a stewards enquiry. It’s also entirely credible to suggest the pair of them could have gone around again and Mister First wouldn’t have passed his rival. But no one knows for certain.
What we do know for certain is that More Madness drifted alarmingly, carried the other horse with him, and the jockey kept his whip in the incorrect hand. That was a manoeuvre that automatically damaged the runner-up’s chances and with such a small margin in it at the line, Mister First’s connections are entitled to feel sore.
But punters are entitled to feel sore too, at how such decisions continue to come down to the individual interpretations of individual panels left to interpret a rulebook that leaves them with far too much room to manoeuvre.
A couple of final Cheltenham thoughts: so much hangs on the Willie Mullins runners this week, especially in terms of the novices, and it will be fascinating to see how they react to a very different style of racing from the heavy-ground, small-field stuff they have got used to all winter.
There is also a suspicion that Cheltenham’s charms have encouraged other yards to keep some powder dry through the season with a view to being primed for now. That’s the festival for you.
As for one to keep an eye out for, let’s get the near-inevitable disappointment out of the way quickly and plump for Vaniteux in the Supreme. He mightn’t have beaten much at Doncaster last time but the style was hugely impressive. He’ll stay, he’ll travel and better ground will help. Best of luck with him, and them all.
