Odds-on favourites have become more common since a fourth day was added. Do we want thrilling battles or processions?If you enjoy a thing, it’s only natural to want more of it, as those of us who have done extremely well at the trough in the past fortnight are keenly aware. How, then, do we explain the recent Twitter polls which have come out resoundingly against the idea of adding a fifth day to the Cheltenham Festival?Here is one. Here is another. In both cases, votes in favour of an extra day failed to make it as high as 20% after the idea was discussed on ITV by Cheltenham’s new chairman. Related: Bad practices list for horse racing trainers includes allegation...
The selection can win the Veteran Chasers series final at Sandown for Tom George, who has landed a couple of significant prizes in the past fortnightThe Veterans Chase series is made for horses like Wild West Wind (3.00), who was never the fastest and had a fallow period in mid-career but has now, aged 11, dropped to an attractive rating. He can win the series final at Sandown for Tom George, who has landed a couple of significant prizes in the past fortnight.A couple of years back Wild West Wind won three of his first four starts over fences and was fancied for the Welsh Grand National but he fell while leading that big field and it may have left...
The trainer has made a strongly worded call for more pre-race checks of horses and accused colleagues of sending racehorses to the track which are not fit to raceGay Kelleway has made a strongly worded call for more pre-race checks of racehorses and accused some of her colleagues of sending horses to the track which are not fit to race. The veteran Newmarket trainer, known for being outspoken, is at odds on this subject with many of her rivals, who insist that trainers can be trusted to send only sound horses to the races.“There’s a lot of horses running with injuries before they start,” Kelleway said. “We’ve got to start being a bit stricter. I’m sick of it. Related: Talking...
From Ascot to Cheltenham, here’s a personal countdown of the races since 2010 that will live longest in the memoryYou might take the view that the end of the decade is actually a year away, but at least it’s 10 years since I last did something like this. I’ve limited myself to Britain this time, because that brings the number of races to consider down to a manageable 100,000 or so. The main criterion is which races still live clearly in my memory, so it’s a very personal list with which you are almost certain to disagree, in which case please add your own list in the comments. Related: Talking Horses: Champ's fall fails to dent confidence in Festival hope...
Ex Patriot was attracting support soon after betting began on the Paddy Power Handicap Chase at Cheltenham and there is a lot to like about Ellmarie Holden’s runnerIt is a new year at Cheltenham racecourse but some things will never change at the home of jump racing, among them the respect that must be given to well-backed Irish raiders. Ex Patriot (2.00) was attracting support soon after betting began on today’s Paddy Power Handicap Chase and there is a lot to like about Ellmarie Holden’s runner.This is only his second chance in a handicap chase and he won the first, comfortably beating 10 rivals at Gowran in March. He was well treated at the weights that day but he still...