Cheltenham Betting / Simon Rowlands / 13 March 2009 / 1 Comments

Simon Rowlands sums up the action on day four and his personal thoughts on Cheltenham 2009.

I have seen a fair few Gold Cups in my time. The first I can remember clearly was Midnight Court's in 1978, run in April due to the cancellation of the original. Since then, there have been many memorable ones Dawn Run's in 1986, Desert Orchid's in 1989 (the first one I attended in person), Master Oats' in 1995, Best Mate's treble in 2002 to 2004 and Denman's last year as well as a few less memorable ones. But I have never witnessed a performance in the race quite so consummate as that by Kauto Star as he regained his title this year.

Denman was there again, as was last years third Neptune Collonges and the 2007 runner-up Exotic Dancer, the last-two-named every bit as good as ever. But Kauto Star dominated not only the market beforehand but the race itself with a display of complete authority, leading after three out and storming clear to win by 13 lengths, the widest winning margin in the race since Master Oats' 15-length romp.

Denman ran a tremendous race to be second, showing few of the signs of his training troubles over the last year though probably a bit below the level he achieved when beating Kauto Star 12 months ago. Exotic Dancer kept on from behind to finish third, thus denying trainer Paul Nicholls a second successive 1-2-3.

The cream rose to the top, in other words, and this is a performance that must delight not only those who view racing primarily as a spectacle but those, like me, who are often (and disparagingly) referred to as the weights and measures boys.

The first real dose of realism in the result came with the proximity in fifth of My Will, an honest and very smart performer, but one 10 lb or so removed from top-class. Nonetheless, he was beaten fully 23 lengths by Kauto Star, who cant be said to have been stretched to his limit in winning as he did.

Kauto Star has had a few ups and downs of his own over the years, which has attracted him more than his share of critics looking to find fault in a near faultless individual. But there was no questioning his stamina on this occasion, nor his jumping, nor, for that matter, his ability to run to his very best going left-handed either. He was, in a word, brilliant.

Both he and Denman are nine-year-olds, so could conceivably be at the top of their games for another couple of seasons yet. A fully revitalised Denman, with an uninterrupted training regime, versus an on-song Kauto Star would be yet another race to tell the grandchildren about: let us hope!

Other events on the closing day understandably paled in comparison, but the opening Triumph Hurdle could also have a major bearing on the future as well as the present. Winners of this race for juveniles seldom put up performances up there with the established top hurdlers, in part because races are not run for horses to achieve the highest possible ratings. But Zaynar's success by three quarters of a length from Walkon was another result that made a lot of sense from a form point of view.

The last two winners of this contest have been Katchit and Celestial Halo, winner and narrow second in the following years Champion Hurdles respectively, and Zaynar could easily scale similar heights. Let's face it, there is room at the top among the 2m hurdlers at present.

That was a finish of greys, and American Trilogy made it another success for that colouring in the County Hurdle, partnered by Ruby Walsh, who is also grey and also very good. Eleven lengths is a remarkable winning margin for a race like this, and American Trilogy did it very easily before leading approaching the last. He looks worth a crack against the best hurdlers also.

The Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle resulted in a close finish, Weapons Amnesty idling before beating Pride of Dulcote by length. Connections of the reigning World Hurdle winner Big Bucks are unlikely to lose too much sleep over this result.

The amateurs had their moment of fame 6 min 54.3 sec of it to be precise with the running of the Foxhunters Chase. Cappa Bleu has to go down as a good winner of this race, though it was only on the run-in that he asserted, winning by 12 lengths, the runners finishing tired as reflected in the closing sectional below.

I think I would prefer it if the Cheltenham Festival ended with something a bit easier to crack than a couple of 20-runner handicaps. Andytown obliged at a big price in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle, but as these things go Oh Crick was almost obvious off a low weight in the Johnny Henderson Handicap Chase. Those who backed the Alan King-trained horse in from a double-figure price (Timeform Jury subscribers included!) had to sweat a bit before he finally put Moon Over Miami away.

I have to say that this was one of my favourite Cheltenham Festivals, despite my not having followed jumps form as much as I might have over the winter and despite my watching it entirely from home. Proper racing ground throughout, exciting finishes, some tremendous performances by man and beast: what more could a jumps enthusiast ask for?

I am still looking forward to the Flat season, however!

Winner/Form Rating/(Sectional from 3 out chases, 2 out hurdles)
Zaynar 149 (53.9 sec)
American Trilogy 148 (54.2 sec)
Weapons Amnesty 145 (56.3 sec)
Kauto Star 182 (58.4 sec)
Cappa Bleu 137 (63.0 sec)
Andytown 145 (55.2 sec)
Oh Crick 138 (59.7 sec)