The Allure of the Cheltenham Festival

Each year in March, Prestbury Park home of the famous Cheltenham Racecourse plays host to a full scale invasion of horse racing followers from around the whole of Britain and Ireland. The reason is of course the four day long Cheltenham Festival that today is a four day affair with 26 top class National Hunt races. The atmosphere created is one of fun, song, laughter and excitement, as close to a quarter of a million people attend over the four day period; such has become the Festival’s popularity.

Since its inception in 1906, The Festival has grown to become the high point of the National Hunt season in both the UK and across the water in Ireland. The very best racehorses on both sides of the Irish Sea are brought to the Festival following an arduous winter campaign with one objective in mind which is to win a race at the most prestigious Festival in racing.

One of the most rewarding aspects of National Hunt Racing is that many of the horses have extended racing lives, some being around for as long as 8 or 9 years, this allows racing enthusiasts to become familiar with a horse and popularize it, often to legendary proportions.

As such Cheltenham has thrown up many horses over the years that can only be described thus; horse’s such as the great Arkle, who won the Gold Cup three times in succession in the sixties, Best Mate who achieved the same feat in the nineties. Flyingbolt, who won the Champion Chase and was second in the Champion Hurdle a day later in 1966, then there was the great Dawn Run who became the first mare to win the Gold Cup. There are many more who have all gone down in Cheltenham folklore and who’s name still echo around at the revered Prestbury Park course.

The 26 races cover all National Hunt disciplines over trips from 2 miles to 3½ and are categorised either by; chase, hurdle, novice, handicap or bumper status. The most coveted of these races are the:

Cheltenham Gold Cup, which remains the Blue Riband race of the four days. It is run over 3miles and 2½ furlongs with 24 severe fences to negotiate and the winner usually becomes the most prized horse in training.

Next in precedence is the Champion Hurdle, run over 2 miles and which determines the champion 2 mile hurdler. To win this race the horse must extremely quick, well schooled over hurdles and be bale to tackle a large field of runners.

The Queen Mother Champion Chase, which takes place on the second day decides who is the very best two mile chaser in training. The winner in this is usually the one who can maintain along gallop, is quick over fences and can find another gear in the final stages.

The other big betting races are the World Hurdle for stayers which is run over three miles and the Arkle Trophy Chase which is for the very best novice chasers around.

But they are just five of the races, there are a further twenty one top quality Cheltenham Races, that maintains the excitement and keeps the crowd and the millions watching on TV enthralled over the four days.