Cheltenham 2017/18

Rained throughout the night, and set to rain all day....dry tomorrow, wet again Wednesday....spokesman said "goodjob we have 2 courses"

It ain't soft, cause it's heaaavvvyyyy....and the road is long!
 
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Time to look at every race again. Anything is possible on this ground. Might be reducing stakes as a result.


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The form book might end up going out the window this year.

I'm reminded of two years. The first was 1977. I was working in France and was having to phone home my bets for my brother to put on for me. He had been keeping me up to date with newspaper clippings through the year. On Gold Cup day I was down for the week so phoned him on the morning and said I'd just picked three (in a three-cross) I knew would act in the ground: Meladon (Triumph), Davy Lad (Gold Cup) and another whose name escapes me. All three won. I remember saying I'd never forget those three horses and here I am completely forgetting one of them.

The other year was Dessie's year when I decided the only horse I was sure would act in the heavy was Yahoo, which I backed ew at 100/1. That still hurts a wee bit, to be honest, as I never thought Dessie would win there.

So this year it might just be a case of looking for something sure to get through very bad ground.
 
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The going at Cheltenham on the eve of the Festival is now heavy, soft in places following more rain.

Ten millimetres of overnight rain has led to the change - with further showers forecast throughout the day.

The four-day Cheltenham Festival begins on Tuesday and is set to open on the softest ground for at least 20 years.

A statement issued by Cheltenham read: "10mm overnight with further rain anticipated through the day (3 to 4mm). Tuesday mostly dry, temps 10/11C."
 
Just now (Picture Credit Lee Mottershead)

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Desert Orchid said:
The form book might end up going out the window this year.
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given most of national hunt racing is run in bad ground i don't think you can throw the form book out, just need to look in the right place.

does make previous festival form/spring ground form a lot less relevant than usual
 
I reckon there’ll also be an errant way of thinking in some quarters that it will place more emphasis on stamina.

While that’s obviously true to an extent, there’s a good chance they’ll go slower in races like the Supreme - as opposed to the usual mad dash. These are the best jocks riding so you’d think they’d be fully mindful of the ground and I reckon the two will balance each other out.

Ability to go through the ground the key factor.
 
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Ballymore 14
RSA 10
Coral Cup Full House 26
Queen Mum 9
Cross Country Full House 16
Fred Winter Full House 22
Bumper Full House 24
 
wilsonl said:
I reckon there’ll also be an errant way of thinking in some quarters that it will place more emphasis on stamina.

While that’s obviously true to an extent, there’s a good chance they’ll go slower in races like the Supreme - as opposed to the usual mad dash. These are the best jocks riding so you’d think they’d be fully mindful of the ground and I reckon the two will balance each other out.

Ability to go through the ground the key factor.
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Spot on Lee. I think there will be less shocks than people are anticipating, and the majority of markets will be just about right. We always get some bigger prices winning and in the frame, so it'd just be business as usual if there were.

If i were to predict now, I'd say there will be less big prices than usual though, and it's likely the top jockeys will ride the right kind of races while others around them get over-excited.
 
Watched the Cheltenham preview online last night and Ruby was saying he preferred riding on ground a bit slower as you have to do more thinking during a race.
 
Diamond Geezer said:
Watched the Cheltenham preview online last night and Ruby was saying he preferred riding on ground a bit slower as you have to do more thinking during a race.
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I'd say that's spot on Roger. On desperate ground it's so easy to either go too quick or leave yourself with too much to do. Experience will be massive this week, unless your name is James Bowen!

I wonder if there are any stats out there with the records of jockeys on heavy ground?!
 
Confirmed it was bullsh*t then ??
These f*ckin spoofers ... There's enough to be digesting with these declarations this morning already.
 
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