I’m not feeling it....

Feel good? Jonbon putting El Fabiolo to the sword. JPR One romping home in the Arkle. Ah! Dreams are made of this.
 
Ardross said:
I understand the feeling . The greed of Jockey Club racecourses is appalling and the golden goose is looking poorly. I have been an annual member since 2003 and not missed a day since Best Mate’s first Gold Cup but am seriously considering not renewing my membership . The latest greedfest is the development of Seat for the Season where annual members by paying double can reserve a seat outside the members area . Previous to 2022 this was only for Paddy power Gold cup day and the Festival . Those who have reserved largely only turn up for the Festival but now the racecourse has deployed its security staff to force second class members to sit in a small block of seats whilst 60% remain empty .
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I'm one of those Members Ardross. And it's very good value for all the things that everyone has said is wrong with the Festival with overcrowding and getting around the course, and getting a good spot to actually see the racing from. My membership is just over 400 a year and it's the same again for my seat, so around 850 a year. As you know as a fellow Member, the membership itself is pretty good value if you there for all or most of the season, and actually it is for someone that only goes to the Festival itself. However I have a seat right on the finishing line with perfect views across the racecourse.

Your point about Members seats, and the experience couldn't be more in reverse for me though. While I understand your frustration, it's far more frustrating when you go to your seat and someone is sat in it and refusing to move when you've paid that money for the privilege. I understand the frustration but if someone wants to sit there the answer is obvious. Just as the choices people make between, the Best Mate, Tatts, Club, Hospitality, and all the other variations you can do. If you're a season ticket holder at the Rugby or Football, you may not be able to make every game over the season, but you certainly don't expect to have to move someone from your seat when you're there.

I have to say overall my experience of the Festival is very good. I pay to make it that way, and I'm not even remotely tempted to jump a plane to Spain or the Canaries, to go to my local, or to watch from my living room. There is nowhere I would prefer to be for that week, and it's the week I look forward to most every week. Do i like paying the prices they charge for a pint or a sandwich? No of course not? But as Darren says, when you compare it to other sporting and music events it's actually on or below par for costs.

The truth is we're all getting old and a bit grumpy. When we were younger, if we could afford it, we wouldn't have thought twice about doing it the way things are these days. But ultimately each to their own. For me though there is no way that all the other things you guys do come close to the real thing. And despite some less competitive G1's, it's hardly new. We've had stand out horses season after season, and while it might not be a betting propositio, as a racing fan it's just great to see Champions, whether it''s in a battle or as a procession.
 
Been there and done it as you know, Paul. Maybe it is partially an age thing, but the Festival is an immeasurably more shitty experience now than it was 10 years ago, let along 20 years ago. Also, consider the flip-side. Perhaps your years in the Outback means you view it more fondly and more forgivingly than you should?

I agree that membership is good value for money - even if it's only for the Festival - but that is tempered somewhat by the racecourse Exec massively over-selling memberships vis-a-vis their new Members Stand's ability to hold them. It seems that unless you're prepared to double-up on costs for a seat (if it isn't wedged from under you by a random, that is - unbelievable!), a Member is essentially treated no different to a non-Member; save for the access to a stand that isn't entirely open to the elements, but is just as rammed and difficult to get a drink at.

So, fu*ck 'em all. You don't know what you're missing. :)
 
Going to Cheltenham again isn't on my bucket listIf it was it would be to sit down with Ted Walsh and explain to him why Flyingbolt would never have beaten Arkle in a Gold Cup, calling in to see Jonjo and begging Nicky Henderson to let me sit on Sprinter Sacre for 2 minutes. I think we could be heading for a disastrous week if the ground starts drying out and becomes tacky like glue because that's when most shocks occur. too make money laying all the hotpots to finish out of the first 3 will probably show a profit because every year we get these upsets.
 
Have you seen the Sprinter Sacre video that’s been made of him being ridden out the other day by Barry Geraghty....absolutely fabulous!
 
I’ve actually tired myself out doing ante-post bets. I’ve probably invested over a £100 on all that, so will now wait until next week for my next bets. Increasingly I have found the handicaps the greater spectacle, so I’ll be concentrating on those, with smaller investments in the group races. So, overall, I am looking forward to it very much!
 
Len Madeiros said:
I’ve actually tired myself out doing ante-post bets. I’ve probably invested over a £100 on all that, so will now wait until next week for my next bets. Increasingly I have found the handicaps the greater spectacle, so I’ll be concentrating on those, with smaller investments in the group races. So, overall, I am looking forward to it very much!
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It's a real bummer Len

Some of my bets are not worth having after the revamp of nr etc

a 6/1 accie now pays 6/5

a double neither runs where expected

a 57/1 accie is now 5/1

and so on.

All it will take for a few others to pull out and I might owe them money if the remainder win :lol:
 
I just watched it Jinny absolutely brilliant.

After he won his 2nd QMCC then in one of the best performance of his life beat Un Des Sceaux by 15 lengths at Sandown
many greedy trainers would have kept him in training but it says alot about Nicky who said "no that's son it go and enjoy your retirement".

looking at him at 18 he'd probably still beat them all:).

I'm recording that video and keeping it..thanks again
 
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Are you able to stick a link up? It’s a brilliant piece and I’m sure many on here would really enjoy it.
 
Thanks so much. I’d encourage everyone to watch it....you won’t be disappointed. Great to see the horse looking so incredible at 18 years young.
 
it must have been like you had just put the boot down in a Ferrari when you asked him to quicken 4 out in his races.
 
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chroniclandlord said:
I know that 5am going against the trend here, but I'm really looking forward to the festival.
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My problem right now is a frustrating lull in the build up.

Normally I run off the 5 day cards and work my way through them in order of highest RPR (since ORs aren't available until the final decs - even the Irish Ratings site doesn't have ratings for a lot of the novices) but with the big Irish yards having multiple entries and few clues as to which race each is going to tackle I felt I was wasting my time, even with NRNB on offer almost everywhere.

So right now it's really just speculative stuff I'm getting involved with and I wonder if that's down to said frustration.

However, once those final decs for Tuesday are released tomorrow I'll be buried in stuff trying to find the winners of the handicaps. There's always more of a buzz finding them than poncy G1 walkovers :lol:
 
Yes, they are, but there are too many entries to work through at this stage.

For example, last year 129 made the cut in the Ultima. That would mean studying 40 of the 43 still in the race and the other three might get in anyway. It takes me two to three times as long to dig into the Irish form (cos I'm not as familiar with it in terms of having already studied the races they'd have run in) so I need to manage my time and keep the peace domestically :o

Boodles - I tend not to study, just try and second-guess the bandits.
Coral Cup- 47 still in
Grand Annual - 27 (I might look at that today while the racing is on)
Pertemps - 36
Plate - 36
Kim Muir - 40
County - 74 (will come down today)
Martin Pipe - 86 (ditto)

There would be a lot of time wasted in there.
 
Yep, that’s fair. I did the Ultima yesterday, and it took a good hour just to pull the data into my spreadsheet.

I’m travelling tomorrow, and I’m going to be time-limited out in Spain before Tuesday. Also, I’ll only have the phone with me, and it’s next to impossible to work with data on a spreadsheet on such a tiny screen, so I’ve no option but to work through the handicaps pre-decs.

The only ones I’ll really commit to are the Grand Annual, the Pertemps, and the Plate, as I think it’s easier to figure out who is going to go for those races. The Coral Cup and Pipe Hurdles are a bit of a crap-shoot this far out, so will study those on the morning of the race, as best I can. No point in studying the Kim Muir - INTWYT is an armchair job, and even if he isn’t, my record in the race is shite, and it’s not worth the effort! :lol:
 
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