An interesting tidbit doing the rounds at present is that the Tote will attempt to up its game at next week’s meetingNext week’s Cheltenham Festival has long since overtaken Royal Ascot as the biggest betting event of our racing year, with 25 of the year’s top 40 races by turnover in the latest list from Ladbrokes/Coral.All bar a tiny fraction of that money is staked with bookmakers or on betting exchanges, but an interesting rumour doing the rounds at present is that the Tote, for so many years the all-but-forgotten poor relation in British betting, will attempt to up its game at next week’s meeting with a cut to its take-out rate in the Festival’s win pools. Related: Danny Brock...
The Carlow trainer has a slightly reduced Festival team this year but will field plenty of big names in the major racesI think Al Boum Photo shouldn’t have any problem with the trip. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet. Related: Trainers pull out of Lingfield over ‘horrendous’ prize money Warwick 1.10 My Way 1.40 Honorable 2.15 Sheneededtherun 2.50 Doitforthevillage (nb) 3.20 Pray For A Rainbow 3.55 Quarenta 4.30 Burren Walk Continue reading...
The rule introduced to prevent horses appearing twice at jump racing’s toughest meeting is a very welcome oneGenerally speaking, I’m not a fan of changes to historic races, but I’m wholly in agreement with the change to this year’s Cheltenham Festival that prevents any horse from running there more than once in the same year. Rule changes made it hard to do so at last year’s Festival but it was still just about possible. Now there are new race conditions which will prevent any horse from being declared for a Festival race if it has already been declared for another Festival race, or has run already at that Festival.There have been some great examples of resilient horses that ran twice...
A Champion Hurdle bid may be ever so doubtful but let’s remember that it remains a possibility for the time beingFrom a punter’s perspective, the key detail to bear in mind from yesterday’s news about Samcro is that he has not actually been ruled out of the Cheltenham Festival yet. I find this slightly surprising, given that a lung infection has just been discovered and treatment begun with the Champion Hurdle just two months away, but there you are; in amongst all the detail, connections have explicitly saved for themselves the option of running the horse, as they are fully entitled to do. Related: How viruses and January colds hit racing – Talking Horses Huntingdon: 1.00 Twenty Twenty 1.30 Precious...
Festival-winning jockey was told she might not ride again after suffering multiple dislocationsThe most amazing success at the last Cheltenham Festival has now led to an equally amazing comeback story. Harriet Tucker pushed out Pacha Du Polder to win the Foxhunters Chase despite dislocating her troublesome right shoulder on the run-in, an achievement for which she was celebrated at the time; unknown to all but those close to her, she was then told that her shoulder was in such a bad way that one more fall might lead to her losing the use of her right arm. Related: Master Dino stakes Cheltenham claim with impressive Plumpton success Since Harriet Tucker last rode competitively in April she has endured a shoulder...