Cheltenham Festival 2012
Welcome to Cheltenham-Fest.co.uk – your companion for the National Hunt racing scene in the build up to the Cheltenham Festival. We provide a unique outlook on the racing in the months leading up to the Cheltenham showpiece as the major players and the young pretenders look to display their credentials. The highlight of the season for thousands of racing fans, the 2012 Cheltenham Festival looks like pulling out all the stops. Get ready for the Cheltenham roar.
Cheltenham Festival Tips
With the ante post markets in full swing we look to keep you up to date with the latest odds, market movers and Cheltenham Festival tips. With a fantastic selection of meetings and races throughout the National Hunt calendar we get the chance to see all the contenders and form an early opinion on who we think will be in the winners enclosure.
Will you be banking on Big Bucks to continue his brutal winning streak? Will it be Kauto Star and Long Run battling it out for the third time this season in the Gold Cup? Do you think you’ve got a big priced winner in the novice events that have slipped under the radar? We look at each race at the Festival and look to profile the horses that are set to create the headlines at Cheltenham. We keep up to date with the National Hunt season as the future Cheltenham heros navigate their way to glory.
Cheltenham Festival Races
The Festival gets underway on the 13th of March with the Champion Day. The famous Cheltenham roar will be in full cry as the festival kicks off with the Supreme Novices Hurdle. Straight after seeing some of the smartest hurdling novices we have the Arkle. This time time the smartest novice chasers will be flying around Cheltenham, where we will see the top class Sprinter Sacre and Peddlers Cross take on each other again. The highlight of the day, however, will undoubtedly be the Champion Hurdle. Last year’s hero Hurricane Fly will hopefully turn up to defend his crown but a whole host of talented rivals will be sure to make it a fantastic renewal. Also on the opening day we get a chance to see the best mares in action where Quevega will be looking to continue her dominance.
Day two at the Cheltenham Festival is Ladies Day with plenty of entertainment for the women away from the racing. The racing kicks off with the National Hunt Challenge Cup where novices will be looking to outstay their opposition in a real test of stamina. The Neptune Hurdle follows where we get to see more smart novices this time over a further distance. Fingal Bay will be looking to maintain his unbeaten record. We also have the RSA Chase for the best novice chasers over a stamina testing trip. The highlight of the day is the Queen Mother Champion Chase where Sizing Europe heads the market to defend his crown. Ending a brilliant second day at the Cheltenham Festival is the Champion Bumper where we get to see some potential stars of the future.
The third day of action in Gloucestershire sees St Patrick’s day celebrated early. The feature race sees the sensational Big Bucks attempt to win an incredible fourth straight World Hurdle and it’s hard to see anybody stopping him. The Ryanair Chase is another great race on the day and a win for either of the current market leaders – who are Irish based – Noble Prince and Rubi Light would be a perfect way to celebrate St Patrick’s Day at Cheltenham. We also have the Jewson Novices Chase which kicks the action off.
The final day of the festival and it’s all about the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The highlight race of the Cheltenham Festival for many, racegoers will be hoping for another classic renewal of the event on Gold Cup Day. Last year’s winner Long Run heads the market from two-time winner Kauto Star who has already put in two mesmerising displays this season when beating Long Run. It will once again be a fascinating duel and interesting to see who else can challenge. Kicking off the day we have another set of top quality novices hurdlers taking each other on in the Triumph Hurdle. The other big race of the day is the Albert Bartlett, again for some of the top novices around but over a longer distance. The Cheltenham Festival draws to a close with the Grand Annual. A fiercely competitive handicap chase that will give punters and spectators one last chance to cheer on the competitors.