Weekend Jottings!

I see that there is no rain forecast for the Cheltenham Festival, in fact, weather forecasters are predicting a quite warm and dry meeting.  That is good news from a racegoers point of view, although probably a nightmare for the groundstaff who are watering to ensure a safe racing surface.  It sounds obvious, but don't forget to get your form books out and look for horses that like genuinely good ground, rather than the mudlarks.  I bet the Irish are doing rain dances over in the Emerald Isle as many of their protagonists like a bit of cut in the ground.

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Much was made of the £75,000 bonus that was offered by Paddy Power for any horse that could win Saturday's Imperial Cup and then follow-up in any race at this week's Cheltenham Festival.  This isn't the only worthwhile bonus on offer though...don't forget that Notus de la Tour could earn a £60,000 bonus were he to win at the Festival, having won earlier in the season at Plumpton (pictured right).  Notus is part-owned by Peter Deal who has had lots of good horses down the years including Champion Hurdle winner Make A Stand and dual Festival winner Blowing Wind (who landed the Imperial Cup bonus back in 1998).

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It wasn't so long ago that Cheltenham added an extra day, taking the Festival to four days from Tuesday to Friday.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if in the not-too-distant future another day is added and the Gold Cup is held on a Saturday...the viewing figures would surely go through the roof!

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Apparently retired former Irish flat champion jockey Johnny Murtagh is taking out a jump trainers licence.  It will certainly be interesting to see how he fares against the established trainers over in Ireland.