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What wins the Cheltenham Festival handicaps?

Jayhawk said:
They want to run the main race each day as race 5 at 4pm rather than as race 4 at 3:30 in a bid to build up excitement through the afternoon. Doesn't bother me as I'm watching it at home.
I checked whether my memory of around thirty years ago was playing tricks, and it wasn't. In the mid 1990s Tuesday's card had the Ritz NH Handicap Chase and the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Handicap Chase as consecutive races.
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I know about the fifth race nonsense - it wa smuch better when it was the third race , the fourth was bad enough and if you have a wet Cheltenham are they going to be running round after the mare's chase changing rail movements ?

The Grand Annual should be on the Thursday or Friday end of story . Could there have been an easier change than swapping it with the Plate so we did not have three 2m4f chases on the Thursday - which is equally bonkers .
 
I am a big fan of Woodhooh that seems very fair to me considering that not only Joyeuse won the Schweppes but the third and fourth have both won listed races since.
 
Ardross said:
Could there have been an easier change than swapping it with the Plate so we did not have three 2m4f chases on the Thursday - which is equally bonkers .
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I like when there are multiple races run over the same CD on the one day, especially if one is a big hcap as they are more often than not truly run and it helps get a handle on the other races in terms of comparative time performances.
 
As quoted in the RP:

Harris [the UK handicapper] said: “The one who stood out was Kopeck De Mee. All five runs have been in France, so we've not seen him in Britain or Ireland. He had a French mark meaning all we could do was use our normal procedure. We've given him 136 after following our standard way of conversion from the French model of two kilos, and he was 68 kilos [in France].

“The conversion used to be 2.2kgs, but we changed it to two kilos a few years ago. So while handicapping him was straightforward, ideally we would have seen the horse in Britain or Ireland and have had a better knowledge of his form. We're restricted on what we can do.”

This isn't a good advert for the UK handicappers. Not only should it be '2.2 pounds per kilo' but he doesn't give any justification for the historical change. It's not far short of calling the French handicappers incompetent.
 
Desert Orchid said:
I like when there are multiple races run over the same CD on the one day, especially if one is a big hcap as they are more often than not truly run and it helps get a handle on the other races in terms of comparative time performances.
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Not so much fun on course DO. Racegoers should be presented with a balanced programme .
 
After having had a look now, here would be my picks. Reckon the handicapper has given them all a chance.
Ultima - Ginnys Destiny 20s
Grand Annual - Editeur Du Gite 40s
Pertemps Fial - Zain Nights 40s
Mildmay of Flete- Seddon 25s
County - Kargese 10s.

I'll try + get a nrnb lucky 31 + see how they get on 🙂.
Kargese potentially a blot off 141.
 
So the fact that they changed 2.2 lb to a kg which is correct conversion rate to 2 to 1 means Kopeck is rated 136 rather than 150 !
 
Ardross said:
So the fact that they changed 2.2 lb to a kg which is correct conversion rate to 2 to 1 means Kopeck is rated 136 rather than 150 !
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Yes. They obviously weren't convinced the true conversion was working so they were effectively saying the French handicappers were rating their horses too highly by around 10%.

I tend to go with the true conversion until It's cost me enough to do otherwise :)
 
This has been common knowledge for ages - as I said the other day, it was a hot topic when Willie Mullins was told over a year ago before the "Schweppes" Ocastle Des Mottes was actually on a lower mark in the UK than in Ireland because of the differing conversion methods.
 
A little ew Yankee.
Whistlestoptour. Ultima 9/1
Joyeux machin coral cup 16/1
Tahmuras. Plate 33/1
Bo zenith. M,pipe 25/1

I did whistle stop tour a/p at 25s
Bo zenith 33/1
And I thought I had done tahmuras at 50/1 but I hadn't,good job I looked.

All NRNB.
I also did WST at 40s for the nh chase and Kim muir nrnb.

I get more confused the more I look.:unsure:
 
I'm hoping the rain arrives for Alnilam in the County, where he could be an each way bet against the big guns at the head of the market.

Ground wise, firstly he's a french bred, so that would usually make me think he wants some cut in the ground. Secondly, all his three wins have been on soft, two were just novice hurdles, but the third win was a class 2 handicap at Southwell.

He travelled really well for a long way on Saturday, and probably just got done for a bit of toe at the end there. While he'll need to improve again in the County, as I say, if the ground went soft or heavy he'd be high on my list for an each way bet. I think he'll be on the premises I really do.

I may well back a couple in the race anyway, but I want Alnilam on my side.
 
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