Festival Day 3

   Fighter Allen runs at Cheltenham Today

We have our first runners at the Cheltenham Festival this week today with Jamaico and Fighter Allen on their way to Prestbury Park.  Both horses are making their stable debuts and are fairly big prices but hopefully they can put up a good show and come home safe and sound.  Jamaico runs in the opening race of the day, the Turners novices chase over 2m4f at 1.30pm and Jack Tudor rides.  Our five year old joined us last summer after winning at Auteuil over fences.  He is very lightly raced and had a setback in the autumn which is why he has not been seen this side of the English channel as yet.  He is fit and raring to go and while we did consider a prep run, time got a bit tight and so we decided to bring him straight here although he has had two racecourse gallops as well.

He was entered in the handicaps and in the three mile novices chase but David thought this was the best race for him to make his British debut.  He has a lot to find on ratings and according to the betting, before you even factor in the Irish strong hold but hopefully he has a nice run round and you never know!  He is a gorgeous big horse and we will find out a bit more about him this afternoon.

Fighter Allen runs in the 4.10pm Plate handicap chase and Jack Tudor rides.  Our nine year old is making his stable debut after we bought him from an online sale off of Willie Mullins. He is half-brother to the mighty Envoi Allen and while not quite in his league in terms from ability he is pretty good in his own right!  Rated 137 over fences he has won four times in his career and won on his last start in Ireland at Sligo over 2m5f.  He has big field and big race experience having run in races like the Galway Plate.  It is fair to say his jumping has not always been his strongest asset but we have put a lot of work into this and hopefully that will help him this afternoon.  He has had a wind op and is in good form at home.  At 33/1 in the betting I think he is worth a small each-way bet.  I don’t really know what to expect and this is a tough race but he has an engine and whatever happens today there will be plenty of fun to be had with him going forwards.

We also have one runner at the other jumps meeting today up at Hexham.  Phantomofthepoints travels up there to run in the 1.10pm maiden  hurdle over two miles and Conor O’Farrell rides.  There are only five runners and we are 4/6 favourite so I hope he can be our 37^th winner of the season.  He was a bit below par at Ascot last time but that was a good race and he was seemingly not as happy going right handed.  Back left handed today and a repeat of his debut hurdle run at Ayr where he was a good second to a useful rival at Ayr should be enough to see him win this. 

So today we have of course Cheltenham and Hexham and there are two all-weather meetings at Southwell at Cheltenham.

Aside from the two Cheltenham races I have already mentioned the Pertemps handicap hurdle looks wide open.  Fighter Allen’s brother, Envoi Allen heads to betting for the Ryanair chase but I quite fancy Banbridge in this one for Joseph O’Brien.  The World hurdle could go the way of Gordon Elliott with Teahupoo while I also fancy his mare Brighterdaysahead to win the mares novices hurdle.  The Kim Muir handicap chase for the amateur riders concludes the day’s action and it could go the way of the green and gold colours of Inothewayurthinkin and Derek O’Connor.  There is then a sale after racing – if you are interested please do get in touch!

Yesterday at Cheltenham, the few races went pretty much as expected!  Both Ballyburn and Fact To File looked a class above their rivals in their races while Langer Dan returned to form to win back to back Coral Cups.  There was then a dramatic Queen Mother Champion chase with the withdrawals of Jonbon and Boothill the fields of six was reduced to five when red-hot favourite El Fabiolo made a terrible blunder early in the race and all but fell.  Paul Townend did the sensible thing and pulled him up.  Edwardstone looked  booked for a place when falling at the second last while it was another win for Ireland with Captain Guiness for Rachel Blackmore and Henry De Bromhead.  Willie Mullins got his 100th Festival winner in the concluding bumper and it was nice his son Patrick was in the saddle.

Last night in the football  Bournemouth beat Luton 4-3 and in the Champions league Athletico Madrid beat Inter Milan on penalties and Borussia Dortmund beat PSV Eindhoven to progress to the quarter finals.

Liverpool, Brighton and West Ham are in Europa League action this evening. 

My mother always used to say “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”.

Lovely woman; terrible surgeon.