Cheltenham Gold Cup day – live! All Sports Room

Mar 20 2011

Cheltenham Gold Cup day – live!

Posted by Dakota Macqueen in Betting Advisor

2.21pm:

2.40 Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle: The Preview

Chris Cook:

Backed by a company that calls itself “Britain’s leading grower and packer of potatoes”, the Albert Bartlett is a three-mile race for novice hurdlers that is now in its seventh year. You would think that novices who can see out three miles at Cheltenham would be few and far between, which should help us, though last year’s race was won by a 33-1 shot.

Bobs Worth is the latest beast to be saddled with the diminishing hopes and expectations of Nicky Henderson’s yard. Unbeaten over hurdles, including two wins here, he has a strong chance if he sees out the extra three furlongs. He was bought by Barry Geraghty, who sold him on to Henderson and now rides him today.

Join Together runs for Paul Nicholls, who has been the man to follow in novice hurdles this week. He won the Supreme (Al Ferof) and the Triumph (Zarkandar) and was beaten a short-head in the Neptune (Rock On Ruby). Join Together was impressive last time at Chepstow but had previously been beaten by both Mossley and Court In Motion, who are available at bigger odds today.

Mossley flopped on heavy ground at Warwick when last seen but will be more at home on this faster surface.

Betting Bobs Worth 11-4 Jojn Together 15-2 Kilcrea Kim 8-1 Court In Motion 9-1 Gagewell Flyer 9-1

2.17pm:

Katie Price has arrived at Cheltenham

Racing For Change eat your heart out. Katie Price has come racing . . . with some Argentinian bloke.

Has he backed a winner?

2.05 Vincent O’Brien County Hurdle: The Result

1 Final Approach (R Walsh) 10-1 2 Get Me Out Of Here (A P McCoy) 7-1 3 Nearby (C J Davies) 66-1 4 Cockney Trucker (R Johnson) 33-1

2.05pm:

2.05 Vincent O’Brien County Hurdle: The Race

We’re off: Ellerslie Tom, Hunterview and Ski Sunday at the front . . . Alarazi was towards the rear . . . Salden Licht made a mistake at 2nd . . . Zanir and Grey Soldier untidy at the next . . . At flight five Cockney Truck mistake and ridden along . . . Alaiavan is going well . . . Inventor being pushed along . . . Dirar moving well . . . Alaivan moves up strongly . . . Get Me Out Of Here in it . . . and he and Final Approach go past together . . . Photo finish and the winner is . . . Final Approach, who nabs the victory on the line under Ruby Walsh from Tony McCoy on Get Me Out Of Here.

2.02pm: Daryl Jacob breaks his duck at Cheltenham Festival

Greg Wood reports here on Twitter after the opening race: “Jacob was riding his first Festival winner, on Ruby Walsh’s castoff. It’s a big relief to get one on the board, every jockey’s dream.

Jacob added: “he was travelling great all the way, it was a quick-run race and we just picked them off when we wanted to pick them off.

Jacob again: “He’s well-related [1/2-brother to Zarkava], he’s got class and stamina.” Is 16-1 for 2012 Champion Hurdle with Hills

1.56pm:

Lily Allen has arrived at Cheltenham

Lily Allen does cricket. Now she does racing.

She is not the only celeb at the races this afternoon. Watch this space.

1.49pm:

2.05 Vincent O’Brien County Hurdle: The Preview

Chris Cook:

The County Hurdle is probably my favourite handicap of the year, even though it’s a few years since it did me any financial good. It’s a thrilling two-mile race which doesn’t often throw up ridiculous, unpredictable results, though the last two winners have been a healthy 20-1.

Dirar, the favourite, won the Ebor, a major handicap on the Flat, at York in August and it would be pretty remarkable if he could add this. But he’s trained by that noted shrewdie Gordon Elliott, who’s already had two winners this week, and I’d bet this one is ahead of his handicap mark. He is also, alas, owned by Marcus Reeder, who has twice been warned off by the British Horseracing Authority for gambling-related corruption. When Reeder asked to be re-registered as an owner after the end of his latest ban, he was refused, but the Irish authorities still welcome him, so he is allowed to own the Irish-trained Dirar.

Alarazi won the Imperial Cup at Sandown on Saturday and will earn his connections a £75,000 bonus from Paddy Power if he can add this. It’s tough to recover from that race in time to run well at the Festival but he’s the right type for a big-field handicap.

It was only a two-horse race that Alaivan won last time but the horse he beat, Carlito Brigante, won the Coral Cup at Cheltenham a couple of days ago.

Get Me Out Of Here, the mount of Tony McCoy, was narrowly and unluckily beaten in the Supreme Novice Hurdle at last year’s Festival, splitting Menorah and Dunguib, who both tried their luck in the Champion Hurdle this year. They were unplaced but you would think Get Me Out Of Here has enough quality for this race if recovering his form, which he has not shown all season.

Betting Dirar 13-2 Alarazi 15-2 Alaivan 10-1 Final Approach 12-1 Get Me Out Of Here 12-1 Ski Sunday 14-1

1.47pm: Zarkandar very impressive in the Triumph

Greg Wood is very impressed with the winner of the first and has tweeted here: “Quite a performance by #Zarkandar. Travelled like a monster behind the pace and smooth as you like when Daryl Jacob let him go. #cheltenham”

1.43pm: Shambolic start to the Triumph

One of the features of the jumps season has been some poor starts to races and the Triumph was another poor example. Barry Glendenning tweets here: “Shambolic start to first at #cheltfest. About 15 lengths between first and last as they set off.”

1.40pm: Gary Neville is grumpy shock

Colleague Owen Gibson has spotted Mr Gary Neville and he doesn’t look happy apparently. He tweets thus: “Gary Neville just bustled past. He already looks vaguely annoyed about something.”

1.36pm:

1.30 JCB Triumph Hurdle: The Result

1 Zarkandar (D Jacob) 13-2 2 Unaccompanied (P Townend) 11-2 3 Grandouet (B J Geraghty) 13-2

1.31pm:

1.30 JCB Triumph Hurdle: The Race

A Media Luz pulling hard . . . Architrave is prominent . . . Brampour and Zarkandar are handy . . . Houblon Des Obeaux is leading . . . Smad Place not travelling and Sam Winner going back fast . . . Sailors Warn now takes up the running . . . Brampour getting closer . . . Mister Carter fell and Grandouet goes very well . . . Zarkandar at the last in the lead and is kicked out to go clear with Unaccompanied second.

1.18pm:

Here’s today’s line-up at Cheltenham and our tipsters’ selections:

1.30 JCB Triumph Hurdle Will Hayler: Zarkandar; Top Form: Zarkandar (nap) 2.05 Vincent O’Brien County Hurdle Will Hayler: Alarazi; Top Form: Ski Sunday 2.40 Albert Barlett Novice Hurdle Will Hayler: Moonlight Drive: Top Form: Bobs Worth 3.20 Totesport Gold Cup Will Hayler: Imperial Comander (nap); Top Form: Imperial Commander 4.00 Christie’s Foxhunter Chase Will Hayler: Baby Run; Top Form: Baby Run 4.40 Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle Will Hayler: Rose Of The Moon (nb); Top Form: Sir Des Champs 5.15 Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase Will Hayler: Shoreacres Top Form: Shoreacres (nb)

We want your tips and thoughts and views on Gold Cup day

The first race is off in 15 minutes. Share your thoughts and tips in our competition on Gold Cup day below the line. Or if you wish you can email me at tony.paley@guardian.co.uk, or tweet me @tonypaley if that’s your preferred means of communication.

1.04pm: Celebs and costumes Stand by for some celeb pictures this afternoon, for Gold Cup day brings them flocking: from Katie Price (and new boyfriend) to Sir Alex Ferguson. Word is that there are quite a few Old Trafford alumni at the Festival.

There’s also plenty for fashion experts to decode/deride. How about these chaps?

1.01pm: Paul Nicholl on the Gold Cup, Kauto Star and Alex Ferguson Barry Glendenning reports:

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls, who saddles Denman, Kauto Star, What A Friend and Neptune Collonges in today’s Gold Cup, has been talking in the parade ring. He was happy to concede that 11-year-olds Denman and Kauto Star aren’t getting any younger or faster, but defended the latter’s poor run in the King George at Kempton in January, saying “it wasn’t as bad as some people made out”. He added that he thinks Kauto was feeling poorly at the time and may have been suffering from an infection.

Nicholls went on to describe Sir Alex Ferguson’s Gold Cup contender What A Friend as “an enigma” (translation: an unpredictable, cantankerous and contrary old bugger, not unlike its owner) saying “the ground will definitely suit him and he could run a great race.” So if you fancy an each-way on a long-priced outsider, Fergie’s horse could be the one to go for, but be warned. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see him finish in the first three,” said Nicholls. “But by the same token, he could also finish last.”

12.54pm: Another weather update from the course: racing blogger Paul Ostermeyer tweets:

The spits and spots have stopped now, white cloud, with some patches of blue . . . still a chill wind, behind in home straight

12.50pm:

1.30 JCB Triumph Hurdle: Preview

Chris Cook writes:

The Triumph Hurdle kicks off our final card of the week. A race for fast, precocious four-year-old hurdlers, it has been won by a clutch of quality types in recent years in Detroit City, Katchit, Celestial Halo and Zaynar. That development may be connected to the invention of 2005 of the Fred Winter, which absorbs a number of horses who might otherwise have tried their luck in the Triumph. Fields for this race have tended to be smaller, making it a less intimidating test for a young horse and encouraging trainers to run their quality animals rather than save them for the future.

That’s the theory, anyway, but we’ve got 23 runners today and the favourite is as big as 6-1. We’ve got little form to go on but the last six winners have all been returned at single-figure odds, suggesting the market is adept at judging quality here.

Sam Winner would be a stronger favourite, but for getting bogged down in the Chepstow mud last time. You would think he could do better on faster ground today, back at a course where he has already won twice.

Grandouet trailed him by 15 lengths in November. Nicky Henderson’s runner has won twice since but at Newbury and Ascot in races which didn’t tell us much more about him. He’ll have to have improved a lot to turn round the Sam Winner form.

His stablemate A Media Luz was well beaten by Grandouet at Newbury in December and, again, it would be a bit surprising if she could turn that round. Henderson wanted to run her in the Fred Winter but she was going to have too much weight in that race.

Zarkandar is a fascinating contender, having made his hurdling debut last month when he won well at Kempton. That race has proved a good trial for the Triumph and Zarkandar is bred to be good, as a half-brother to the unbeaten Arc winner Zarkava.

Ruby Walsh has chosen to ride Sam Winner over Zarkava but that may mean little in the context of this race. His choice was reportedly made because he thinks Sam Winner will be a fine chaser for next year.

Betting Sam Winner 6-1 Unaccompanied 6-1 Zarkandar 7-1 Grandouet 8-1 A Media Luz 10-1 Smad Place 10-1

12.38pm: Barry Glendenning adds: Raining here at #cheltfest Think any juice in the ground will suit Denman in Gold Cup

12.34pm: So what is the atmosphere like on Gold Cup Day?

Barry Glendenning reports that there’s been music:

“Hey #cheltfest, are you ready to rock? We were in Chepstow last night and they said you were pussies!” http://t.co/FS2TRK

And dancing:

Look. At. That. Samba at the #cheltfest It’s bloody cold too twitpic.com/4amyzb

And more funny costumes:

More or less dignified than yesterdays ireland cozzy? A kick in the classifieds can’t be far away http://t.co/8myNUr

And:

Who wouldn’t want to win a trophy like this? #cheltfest http://t.co/BHIMPw

12.00pm: “There’s nothing wrong with a Brazilian Dave”

Here’s a quick trawl through twitterland from our correspondents at the track:

It may not be hot but our man Barry Glendenning has found them warming up with a samba at the track via his twitpic here. As Racing UK viewers will be aware “There’s nothing wrong with a Brazilian, Dave.” And here is another for good measure via Barry’s lens.

He has found the hottest band at the track here: “Hey #cheltfest, are you ready to rock? We were in Chepstow last night and they said you were pussies!” twitpic.com/4amt4g

He has also found the trophy you don’t want to win today here: “Who wouldn’t want to win a trophy like this? #cheltfest http://t.co/BHIMPwI

Barry also caught up with charity race winner here: “Lorna Fowler, winner of yesterday’s Charity Race, goes back to her day job http://t.co/LnDOL6T

Greg Wood has walked the course and tweets thus: “Walked the Gold Cup course this am,shame public can’t do the same these days. In excellent condition & good, good to soft in places exactly right.”

11.53am:

British Horseracing Authority turn up heat on Henderson

Tony Paley: If you’ve been following the travails of Nicky Henderson of late you will be interested in today’s article from Daily Mail diarist Charles Sale here who continues to keep up the pressure on the Lambourn trainer.

11.31am:

Whether the weather be hot . . .

Will Hayler:

Nobody’s perfect but, once again, John Kettley seem to have hit the post – and that’s putting it politely – with his weather forecasting for Cheltenham this week.

Having done enough to assure clerk of the course Simon Claisse that there were “strong signals” for 4-5mm of rain overnight or this morning, so far a grand total of 0.2mm has arrived. That’s about a drop, isn’t it?

Claisse and Mr Ketley still reckon a further 1-3mm might arrive before racing, but I wouldn’t be so certain. I have no meteorology experience whatsoever, but it just doesn’t feel like a rainy day.

In the meantime, the ground has predictably dried out to good on the chase course, with the hurdle track remaining good, good to soft in places.

Meanwhile, I’ve had about the third or fourth-biggest bet of my life on Imperial Commander at 9-2.

I might be wrong. The odds suggest that there’s about a 4 in 5 chance that I am. But everything just feels right for another top-drawer performance today.

If I’m right, I shall be hurtling up the M6 to watch the Levellers in Manchester with a celebratory ale or two. If I’m wrong, I’ll probably be curled up in a corner, rocking slowly with a bottle of cooking sherry.

11.25am: Big Mac hard at work on his stats ahead of Gold Cup afternoon

Our man Barry Glendenning has been busy in the press room at Cheltenham watching the other press slaving away. Here is Barry’s twitpic of Channel 4′s Big Mac hard at work and his tweet on the subject: John McCririck, genuinely the hardest working man in the press room #cheltfest http://t.co/12QCeu3

11.19am:

If the Guardian bought a racehorse . . .

Barry Glendenning:

While out for a bit of grub with a few proper racing reporters the other night, there was a discussion about a racehorse one tabloid had bought so they could raffle it off in a competition for their readers. While the newspaper in question paid the training fees and vet bills, whichever lucky reader won the horse for the year got VIP treatment at the races any time it ran, as well as any prize-money it won.

It didn’t win any.

Talk soon turned to what would happen if the Guardian decided to follow suit and it was quickly decided that any racehorse raffled off by this left-leaning publication would have to be fed on organically grown, ethically sourced hay and ridden by a female jockey wearing silks fashioned from hemp. She would not be allowed to hit the horse, or even carry a whip. Our steed would only have to go on the gallops if it wanted to and would be encouraged to take occasional sabbaticals, in order to find opportunities and sample other ways of life – working for the police or a rag-and-bone man, perhaps – before deciding it definitely wanted to be a racehorse. Any money it won would go to charity.

Have we missed anything obvious? What kind of racehorse would other newspapers give away? What would we call ours? Feel free to post your suggestions below the line.

11.12am:

Paddy Power’s tipping competition

You could win a £50 bet from Paddy Power by proving your tipping prowess on today’s races. All you have to do is give us your selections for all of today’s races at Cheltenham.

As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price. Non-runners count as losers.

Please post all your tips in a single posting, using the comment facility below, before the first race at 1.30pm. There are seven races at Cheltenham today and you must post a single selection for each race.

Our usual terms and conditions, which you can read here will apply, except that this will be a strictly one-day thing. If we get a tie after all the races have been run, the winner will be the one who posted their tips earliest out of those with the highest score.

If you don’t win today . . . despair! Because the Festival ends today and there is no tomorrow.

There will, of course, be a next week and the usual Talking Horses tipping competition will return on Monday, regular as sunrise.

Congratulations to chiefhk, winner of yesterday’s competition. He was the only one to pick Buena Vista (he slightly mis-spelled it but the intention was clear) and nobody had Holmwood Legend (25-1). We have sent you an email, sir, regarding your prize.

10.53am: What is the world’s greatest race?

Tony Paley: The answer to the question will have many different answers depending on your predilection for Flat racing or jumps, what part of the world you hail from and if you have regularly backed the winner no doubt.

The Arc de Triomphe, the Grand National, the Melbourne Cup, the Kentucky Derby, THE Derby, the Dubai World Cup and the Breeders’ Cup Classic must all be in the mix. Respected American racing writer Alan Shuback has attempted to answer the conundrum and he is firmly of the opinion that it is the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Here is his reasoning in a very readable article in America’s equivalent of the Racing Post, the Daily Racing Form.

10.45am:

The Festival Song – day four

Tony Paley: On Gold Cup day it only seems right to tip our hats to Himself, the greatest chaser ever who won three successive Gold Cups from 1964 and who is so central to the myths and iconography associated with the great race.

Dominic Behan, the youngest of the four famous Behan brothers, of whom the most notable, and the most notorious, was the oldest brother Brendan, as fabled for his drinking exploits as for his very popular plays.

Dominic was a notable writer of folk music as well as drama and here is his tribute to Arkle.

It certainly beats that mournful dirge that used to accompany Best Mate after his three successes.

10.25am:

Gold Cup rich with possibilities

Greg Wood reports from the track on a day that promises so much:

It’s standard practice before a big race like the Gold Cup to spend a little time working out which potential winners are proper “story” horses and which might be, well, a little less spectacular from a reporter’s point of view.

On that basis, it’s difficult to remember a Gold Cup that is quite as rich with possibilities as this afternoon’s renewal. A third victory for Kauto Star would, of course, be a moment to rank with some of the most famous in Festival history, while a second success for Denman, for many the epitome of what a steeplechaser should be and do, would also be wildly popular.

Imperial Commander, another grand Cheltenham type, will have an army of supporters too. Midnight Chase would be a bittersweet winner as Dougie Costello, his regular rider, broke his leg on the eve of the Festival, while Kempes could add a first Gold Cup to the JP McManus trophy list after his first Grand National 11 months ago.

And then there is Long Run, with amateur rider Sam Waley-Cohen on his back and, perhaps, the status of favourite by off-time. He too would achieve a Gold Cup first, in this case both for his rider and for trainer Nicky Henderson, and after that week that Henderson has had, it is starting to feel pre-ordained.

The sudden exit of Binocular from the Champion Hurdle due to a medication problem was one of the lowest moments of Henderson’s career, and the horses from his yard that have actually made it to the track this week have done little to lift his spirits. Tuesday brought a series of near-misses, while Wednesday and Thursday little but thumping defeats and another cruel setback with Lush Life, who had to be put down after pulling up.

Henderson’s lack of a series of credible contenders in the Gold Cup, never mind an actual winner, has long been one of National Hunt’s great puzzles. Every horse in his yard is bought with chasing in mind. When you see them trotting out to exercise in the morning, it would be difficult to say for sure which of them are already running over fences, and which are still biding their time over hurdles.

But Long Run, the King George winner, is very credible indeed, and his momentum in the market could well carry him to clear favouritism by 3.20pm today.

10.12am:

Gold Cup day preview

Welcome to day four of the Cheltenham Festival. Today is Gold Cup day and the highlight of the week.

Barry Glendenning will be reporting live on the action off the track in the bars and amongs the crowd. Here is his Diary from yesterday with a report on Henry Cecil’s triumph in the charity race.

Our tipster Will Hayler guides you through today’s races with his best bets from this afternoon’s TV coverage here.

Ever been to Cheltenham Festival? Here is a Comment is free piece from colleague Julian Glover which will ensure you get there as soon as possible.

Nicky Henderson will be hoping to land the Gold Cup for the first time today with Long Run. Paul Hayward looks here at the trainer’s troubles as his horse prepares to line up for the race.

Here is Paul’s profile of Long Run’s amateur rider Sam Waley-Cohen.

Don McRae went to see Imperial Commander’s trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies and here is his feature on the trainer of the Gold Cup favourite.

Greg Wood reports here from yesterday’s races on the Big Buck’s triumph and the near-disaster in the Ryanair Chase.

Here’s today’s line-up at Cheltenham and our tipsters’ selections:

All Sports Room