Entries for this year’s handicaps are down by about 20%, seemingly for a variety of reasons linked to the pandemic
For dedicated punters, the Cheltenham Festival started on Wednesday, when the weights were published for the meeting’s nine handicaps, while the chancellor was simultaneously setting out his plans to pay off the biggest national debt mountain since the second world war. There is probably a joke in there somewhere, for the cynics and stoics at least.
Entries for this year’s handicaps are down by about 20%, seemingly for a variety of reasons linked mainly to the coronavirus pandemic, leading to a drop in entries from Ireland, in particular. The fact that owners cannot attend also probably means that there is less incentive to enter what will likely be a big outsider, on the off-chance that you might sneak in at the bottom of the weights and live the dream of a day at the Festival watching a horse in your colours.
Related: Talking Horses: Festival contenders stay with Gordon Elliott for now
Ludlow
12.30 Quinta Do Mar, 1.00 Gaelik Coast, 1.30 Didonato, 2.05 Calipso Collonges, 2.40 Glory And Honour, 3.15 Thinque Tank, 3.50 Dieu Vivant