Day Three of the Cheltenham Festival started with a setback to followers of the Willie Mullins yard (which makes a change) as Felix Yonger failed to land the odds in the JLT Novices’ Chase leaving ore than a few Irishman a Guinness short of a picnic by home time in the Cotswolds. A P McCoy took the prize with his first winner of the meeting on board Taquin Du Seuil who held off Alan King’s Uxizandre in a driving finish at the rewarding odds of 7/1. A winner for Jonjo O’Neill is invariably popular with the crowd and he was no exception landing decent enough bets including one of £2000 to win at 8/1 – nice work if you can get it! Personally, I had a little each way on third placed Double Ross at 11/1 which made me a small profit – better than nothing and the way my week has gone so far but I can live with that.
Shock horror in the second race when I actually had the winner (no, really), as Fingal Bay got up by the narrowest of narrow margins to beat Southfield Theatre by a nose – good news for me, bad news for the Paul Nicholls yard. All the stats gurus were busy telling me hoe he could never win from top weight but stats are there to be disproved and so it panned out as the top weight beat them all though odds of 9/2 seemed a bit skinny. Missed by most of the media we had a neck back to Pineau De Re who ran a blinder for trainer Dr Richard Newland who does remarkably well with his small string and must have been delighted with that run, though rest assured, his life will be difficult once the handicapper reassesses these efforts.
The problems with placing your bets early in the day (say lunchtime, for example), is missing out on a bit of a gamble, and that happened to me ahead of the Ryanair Chase that came next on the card. Al Ferof was my early fancy and my bets were placed accordingly but on course, everyone seemed to know that the David Pipe trained Dynaste was the one to be on. Backed from an early 5.1 in places in the morning he returned the 3/1 favourite and made no mistake under jockey Tom Scudamore with a close to three length win with any amount in hand. A useful horse at his best, he had failed to show that in recent runs but the world and his wife seemed to know he was in good form here – I just wish someone had told me BEFORE the race!
The feature race of the day came next as we waved goodbye to the amazing Big Buck’s as he looked to make it World Hurdle number five despite the added pressure of carrying my money. Sadly, it was not to be as at the age of eleven the writing was on the wall quite early as he just wasn’t going with his usual efficiency so we waited to crown a new champion over three miles, but would it be red hot favourite Annie Power whose stamina was open to question pre race having never tried further than a fraction further than two and a half miles. Whether that was her undoing or not is very much open to question as she was held off by the unbeaten More Of That, only a six year old and again trained by Jonjo O’Neill. A price of 15/2 now looks like decent value but it is easy to be wise after the event, though as we see one champion in to retirement we may well have unearthed his long term successor unless they decide to try him over fences of course?
Two handicaps rounded off the card, and I thought I had no chance before the race – and I was spot on! Ballynagour won in a canter for David Pipe (again) who is having a meeting to remember though at least my selection (Champion Court) actually finished for a change all be it back in seventh leaving me one more race to lose on – and so it proved. Amazingly (though not amusingly from my viewpoint), I had actually backed a Pipe horse in the last, one of his few runners all week not to get involved at the business end of the race, better known as Our Father who trailed in a well beaten (and tired looking) ninth of twelve finishers. Forty lengths or so in front of him was Spring Heeled who is trained in Ireland by ex jockey Jim Culloty, who rode Best Mate to twelve of his fourteen victories including three Gold Cups here. With the Irish buzzing jockey Robbie McNamara saw off compatriot Nina Carberry on board Cause Of Causes for an Emerald Isle one-two though at 12/1, that may well have been the knock out blow for the few punters left standing.
With one day to go and seven more races I am just about up which takes some doing I assure you – but what will tomorrow bring I wonder, and can Bobs Worth win the Gold Cup again – only time will tell on that one?