Road To The Festival Handicaps - Cross Country

I don't see the harm in the race personally; I understand it's not for the purists, but I certainly find it less tedious than the Coral Cup, for example. Horses for courses I suppose...

It is one of the easiest races of the week to pick the winner of, which has to be a plus point in such a tricky punting week!
 
I will be very diligent in pinning this topic to the top of the board on the appropriate day :p
 
Hah! It should be the only race for National HUNT people. I've no idea why people are so attracted to two boring brush jumps and bugger-all else to engage the eye or the horse. Jumps racing is a screaming bore most of the time, bar the National course, with thinning streams of knackered horses being walloped to climb over predictable fences, through mud and muck. And the riders in this can remember which way to go, proving they haven't lapsed into a coma halfway round.
 
THE GLENFARCLAS HANDICAP CHASE (A CROSS COUNTRY STEEPLECHASE)
Class 2, £45,000 Total Prize Fund. Cheltenham, 4pm, Tuesday, March 16, 2010, three miles and about seven furlongs. For five-year-olds & upwards. Penalties: after February 28, 2010, a winner of a steeple chase 5lb. No penalty to increase a horse’s weight above 11st 12lb. Entries closed February 23 (30 entries), entries released February 25, weights revealed March 3. Six-day confirmation stage March 10, final declaration stage 10am, March 15. Form figures supplied by Weatherbys and are correct up and including the racing of Monday, February 22, 2010. May not include some overseas form.
Form Horse Age Owner Trainer
300045 A NEW STORY (IRE) 12 Storey's Over Syndicate Michael Hourigan IRE
F/05-2U1 ANOTHER JEWEL (IRE) 8 F Magee Denis Murphy IRE
03000U ARTISTE BAY (FR) 8 Martina Griffin Eoin Griffin IRE
200-PP0 CORNISH SETT (IRE) 11 Peter Hart Paul Nicholls
245342 DOUBLE DIZZY 9 Martyn Forrester Bob Buckler
0/143-5P DROMBEAG (IRE) 12 J P McManus Enda Bolger IRE
2-41646 FRENEYS WELL 10 J P McManus Enda Bolger IRE
P-16110 GARDE CHAMPETRE (FR) 11 J P McManus Enda Bolger IRE
46-026P HEADS ONTHE GROUND (IRE) 13 J P McManus Enda Bolger IRE
030-U63 IDLE TALK (IRE) 11 Trevor Hemmings Donald McCain Jnr
P6-53PP KILBEGGAN BLADE 11 K Doocey & Mrs A Doocey Tom George
P50P-UP KING HARALD (IRE) 12 Piers Pottinger and P B-J Partnership Mark Bradstock
2P-3160 L'AMI (FR) 11 J P McManus Enda Bolger IRE
063-400 LACDOUDAL (FR) 11 Carol Skan Philip Hobbs
1/0-6533 LORD NELLERIE (FR) 11 Miss Evanna McCutcheon David Nagle IRE
5250FP MAIDSTONE MIXTURE (FR) 5 Judith Wilson Paul Murphy
30F-050 MISTER QUASIMODO 10 J M Dare, T Hamlin, J W Snook Colin Tizzard
1/5025-1 MONKERHOSTIN (FR) 13 Martin St Quinton Philip Hobbs
0420P1 MR BIG (IRE) 9 Mark Hunter & Hugh Villiers Charlie Mann
21P6-00 OCEANOS DES OBEAUX (FR) 8 M J Tuckey Philip Hobbs
015405 OPENIDE 9 Brendan Duke Racing Brendan Duke
23-P435 OUT THE BLACK (IRE) 12 James Drummond Philip Hobbs
342/-0PP OVER THE CREEK 11 Martin Pipe David Pipe
BU5/000- PHILSON RUN (IRE) 14 Christian Leech Sophie Leech
00-000U PREISTS LEAP (IRE) 10 John D O'Donohue/Thomas O'Leary Thomas O'Leary IRE
0F-26r2 SILVER BIRCH (IRE) 13 Brian Walsh (Co. Kildare) Gordon Elliott IRE
56-2320 SIZING AUSTRALIA (IRE) 8 Ann & Alan Potts Partnership Henry de Bromhead IRE
5P2P-0r SOLEIL FIX (FR) 9 David Dunsdon Nick Gifford
1-53064 TAWNIES (IRE) 10 Lady Insan Syndicate Thomas O'Leary IRE
U0P055 ZACHAROVA (IRE) 7 The Leadenhall Partnership Venetia Williams
30 Entries, 13 Irish-trained

Facts And Figures
1. The Glenfarclas Handicap Chase was introduced to the expanded four-day Festival in 2005
2. It is one of three races scheduled over the cross-country course at Cheltenham during the season and follows on from the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase at The Open in November and the Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase at the Boylesports International in December.
3. In the 2004/05 season, all three races were won by Spot Thedifference.
4. Cheltenham’s cross-country course was established in 1995.
5. Trainer Enda Bolger and owner J P McManus have teamed up to win four of the five runnings to date with Irish raiders dominating the race. Le Duc, who finished third for Paul Nicholls in 2007, is the only non Irish-trained horse to be placed in the last four runnings.

GLENFARCLAS CROSS COUNTRY HANDICAP CHASE – Analysis
A total of 30 entries have been received for the Glenfarclas Cross-Country Steeplechase, run over three miles and seven furlongs on the first day of The Festival, Tuesday, March 10. Irish trainers have a phenomenal record in the race, having prevailed in all five renewals, and a potential challenge of 13 from across the Irish Sea is headed by the Enda Bolger-trained trio of Garde Champetre, L’Ami and Drombeag, who filled the places last year. Bolger, who has won the Glenfarclas Cross Country Steeplechase on no fewer than four occasions, may also be represented by the 2007 victor Heads Onthe Ground and Freneys Well.
A New Story, who has made the frame in both 2008 and 2009, could return for Michael Hourigan, while Gordon Elliott has entered Silver Birch, who was runner-up in 2007 before going on to victory in the Grand National at Aintree the following month.
Other notable Irish-trained entries include the Thomas O’Leary-trained Preists Leap, a dual winner of the Thyestes Handicap Chase at Gowran Park, and Sizing Australia, who was runner-up to Garde Champetre in the Glenfarclas Cross-Country Steeplechase at the Boylesports International at Cheltenham in December.
The home defence includes the Philip Hobbs-trained pair of Monkerhostin and Lacdoudal, who have both been victorious in the Grade Three Sandown Gold Cup, dual Listed handicap chase victor Cornish Sett, from the stable of Paul Nicholls, and the David Pipe-trained Over The Creek, who scored in a Listed handicap chase at Cheltenham in December, 2007.
King Harald took the Jewson Novices’ Handicap Chase for trainer Mark Bradstock at The Festival in 2005, while the Bob Buckler-trained Double Dizzy landed a valuable handicap chase at Wincanton in January, 2009, and was fifth on his first try over Cheltenham’s cross country course in December.
PAST RESULTS
2009-1ST-GARDE CHAMPETRE 10-11-12 O-J P McManus; T-Enda Bolger IRE; J-Miss Nina Carberry; SP-7/2
2ND-L’Ami 10-11-08 O-J P McManus; T-Enda Bolger IRE; J-Mr J T McNamara; SP-7/4 Fav
3RD-Drombeag 11-10-07 O-J P McManus; T-Enda Bolger IRE; J-Robert Power; SP-7/1
4TH-A New Story 11-9-11 O-Storey’s Over Syndicate; T-Michael Hourigan IRE; J-Jack Doyle; SP-14/1
16 ran, Time-8m 47.54s, Dist-1¾, 14, 24
2008-1ST-GARDE CHAMPETRE 9-10-13 O-J P McManus; T-Enda Bolger IRE; J-Miss Nina Carberry; SP-4/1
2ND-Native Jack 14-10-12 O-Burke/Bagnall/O’Farrell/Sexton; T-Philip Rothwell IRE; J-Davy Russell; SP-40/1
3RD-A New Story 10-10-08 O-Storey’s Over Syndicate; T-Michael Hourigan IRE; J-Andrew McNamara; SP-20/1
4TH-Freneys Well 8-10-05 O-J P McManus; T-Enda Bolger IRE; J-Mr G Mangan (7); SP-25/1
16 ran, Time-8m 39.52s; Dist- 10, 1½ , 4½ 5/2 Fav Wonderkid (6th)
2007-1ST-HEADS ONTHE GROUND 10-10-02 O-J P McManus; T-Enda Bolger IRE; J- Nina Carberry; SP-5/2 Fav
2ND-Silver Birch 10-11-00 O-Brian Walsh; T-Gordon Elliott IRE; J-Jason Maguire; SP-14/1
3RD-Le Duc 8-10-10 O-The Stewart Family; T-Paul Nicholls; J-Sam Thomas; SP-8/1
4TH-Spot Thedifference 14-11-12 O-J P McManus; T-Enda Bolger IRE; J-Mr J T McNamara; SP-6/1
16 ran, Time-8m 43.80s, Dist-3½, 12, 5
2006-1ST-NATIVE JACK 12-10-08 O-Burke/Bagnall/O’Farrell/Sexton; T-Philip Rothwell IRE; J-Davy Russell; SP-7/2 Jt Fav
2ND-Spot Thedifference 13-11-12 O-J P McManus; T-Enda Bolger IRE; J-Mr J T McNamara; SP-12/1
3RD-Buauiltes And Fadas 11-9-11 O-J P McManus; T-Enda Bolger IRE; J-Miss Nina Carberry; SP-6/1
4TH-Il De Boitron 8-10-06 O-Clonakilty Racing Club; T-Thomas O’Leary IRE; J-Andrew McNamara; SP-100/1
16 ran, Time-8m 30.10s, Dist-2, 5, 5 7/2 Jt Fav Good Step (6th)
2005-1ST-SPOT THEDIFFERENCE 12-11-12 O-J P McManus; T-Enda Bolger IRE; J-Mr J T McNamara; SP-4/1
2ND-Luzcadou 12-10-13 O-A G Chappell; T-Ferdy Murphy; J-Alan O’Keeffe; SP-22/1
3RD-Mrs Be 9-9-12 O-J H Burridge; T-Grant Cann; J-Miss Polly Gundry; SP-20/1
4TH-Lord Noelie 12-11-08 O-Executive Racing; T-Bridget Nicholls; J-Jason Maguire; SP-14/1
16 ran, Time-8m 44.00s, Dist-2½, 6, ¾ 100/30 Fav Comanche War Paint (Fell)
GLENFARCLAS HANDICAP STEEPLECHASE (CROSS COUNTRY) ROLL OF HONOUR
(Glenfarclas Handicap Chase from 2008, BGC Handicap Chase 2008, Sporting Index Handicap Chase 2005-2007, first running in 2005)

2009 Garde Champetre 10-11-12 Miss Nina Carberry Enda Bolger IRE J P McManus 7/2 16
2008 Garde Champetre 9-10-13 Miss Nina Carberry Enda Bolger IRE J P McManus 4/1 16
2007 Heads Onthe Ground 10-10-02 Miss Nina Carberry Enda Bolger IRE J P McManus 5/2F 16
2006 Native Jack 12-10-08 Davy Russell Philip Rothwell IRE G Burke/R Bagnall/N O’Farrell/K Sexton 7/2JF 16
2005 Spot Thedifference 12-11-12 Mr J T McNamara Enda Bolger IRE J P McManus 4/1 16
 
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"The Road To".........I have created a monster!!!

Seriously though thanks to Rory for all the stats..will pass a quiet Friday night for me!
 
Le Duc, who finished third for Paul Nicholls in 2007, is the only non Irish-trained horse to be placed in the last four runnings.

Forget Kauto, Denman, MM, BB et al, this is the man's greatest claim to fame.
 
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