IT’S that tantalising time of year. Autumn is looming and for most racing fans thoughts start turning from the flat to the jumps. While it might be six months to the Cheltenham Festival, the National Hunt big guns are already being loaded. So what do we have to look forward to this season? One word. …[Read More]
2016/17 jumps season ready to roll
Mullins to dominate at Punchestown Festival
WILLIE Mullins may have fallen short in his bid to steal the UK trainers’ title from Paul Nicholls but he is poised to become the King of Punchestown again this week. At last year’s Festival, the trainer won an amazing 16 of the 37 races and he looks set to be well represented at this …[Read More]
Ante-post focus: 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup
AT THE start of the National Hunt season, purists and pundits were licking their lips at the prospect of a so-called “golden generation” of young chasers coming to the fore. The thought of these upwardly mobile, scopey creatures making it to the 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup line-up gave goosebumps to those of us drenched in …[Read More]
King George VI Chase preview
MY third favourite race of the year (behind the Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup) rarely disappoints when it comes to drama. I was reminded the other day of the man dressed as Santa who nearly ran into and brought down a knackered Kicking King on the run-in in 2004. Seconds earlier Kicking King had …[Read More]
Road to the Cheltenham Festival
THE dreams start now. The crisp autumnal mornings give birth to the hopes of hundreds of owners, trainers and jockeys. Jump racing is back in earnest this month and with it the glorious visions of Cleeve Hill in March and Aintree in April. But there’s no need to remind Richard Johnson. He has already amassed …[Read More]
Cheltenham… triumph and tragedy
THE majestic view of Cleeve Hill bathed in sunshine. Guinness. The sight of Vautour clearing the last like Ed Moses in his pomp. The constant smell of pulled pork baps. More Guinness. The optimistic chatter and bar-room philosophy of punters. Some clued–up, others clueless. Another Guinness. This was the Cheltenham Festival, the greatest show on …[Read More]
Thank God Sprinter Sacre is not running
I’M relieved Sprinter Sacre has been scratched from the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Yes, the Cheltenham Festival may have lost its finest creature and the sport its biggest PR figurehead, but I wasn’t looking forward to biting my fingernails and desperately hoping his heart problem would not return. The horse isn’t right and he is …[Read More]
2014 Cheltenham Festival: Latest movers and shakers
THE tapes go up for the 2014 Cheltenham Festival four weeks tomorrow. And after a magnificent weekend of racing in both the UK and Ireland, the ante-post market has seen a raft of changes. LAST INSTALMENT was the biggest mover of the weekend after his scintillating victory in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown. (His …[Read More]