Cheltenham 2024 Review

As someone in a position to go for the full four days, I thought I would share my reflections on all things Cheltenham from my perspective.

Raceday Experience

So disclaimer first, I normally get driven to the course, or catch a bus as live relatively locally, but this year I was given a parking badge by someone who couldn't attend. This year seems to be the year of the car parks... so my take -

Car Parks

It is ridiculous to charge £30 for a grass car park for a single day of the festival. It is absolutely ridiculous, and after the rain, it turned into a nightmare for those using that car park. In the members car park, we saw issues (A landmark for my week was a Volvo XC40 who got stuck halfway into the mud), but it seemed much worse in the public car parks.

What can the course do? Well that is a question, but surely charging £30 is nothing short of scandalous.

Food and Drink

This is a perennial for Cheltenham, it costs £7.50 for a pint of Guinness and it costs over £10 for a pulled pork cob (breadroll, balmcake, sandwich, whatever you bloody want to call it). This is steep, but its always been this way, and again my picture is framed by my experience. I get to the members bar and its easy to do, and served a decent pint, in a glass, and in a nice atmosphere. I expect the experience is very different with a different section of the course.

In terms of food, it is expensive, but you have plenty to choose from, and if you are daft enough to go for chicken and chips or a burger, you are likely to be disappointed. It was £15 for a Chicken Tikka Massala in the "Feed Room" and the quality of that was really good. Plenty of chicken, an onion bhaji, some rice and a slither of naan bread. Very decent fayre, if a bit steep on the pricing.

Tickets

I can't really give an opinion as my membership cost £500 for 16 days of racing, including the festival, and that works out at £31 a day. If you go for the four days of the festival then that is pretty good value.

Now, the key bit for me about ticket prices is that the course have a staggered sales price structure, and I think this is lessening the attendance at the meeting. If I was a fan who was undecided on which day to go, or wanted to see a special horse (Constitution Hill etc) I probably wouldn't be buying when the tickets first go on sale. So why should you have to pay significantly more for waiting a bit? That surely isn't how supply and demand works, especially on days that do not sell out!!

Cost at Cheltenham is a massive factor, however, is it the biggest factor?

The Racing

Day 1

I love the first day of the festival - so much so that when Fergal and co asked for me to do a piece for their newsletter (can find it on their website or twitter) penned the following

"The rare sporting events which last in the memory are rare, days where to be there was a privilege. Cheltenham is a tapestry of such moments, from Kauto Star's triumphant recapture of the Gold Cup to Sprinter Sacre's exhilarating return to reclaim the Champion Chase. The first day of the festival holds a special place, with a special buzz, hope hanging in the air, and the weight of expectation. On the 14 March 2023, these sentiments were magnified. It started with Marine Nationale in the Supreme Hurdle, followed by El Fabiolo in the Arkle, and then the stories really hit home. Corach Rambler winning for Lucinda Russell, a return to the scene of Brindisi Breeze and Campbell Gillies. Then it was Constitution Hill and Honeysuckle. We had emotion, we had superstars and the chance to say goodbye to a special horse."

However, after that experience, this year the buzz wasn't as buzzy and the racing didn't capture me in the same way. I have already popped my views on Highland Hunter on the forum, so won't go into it much more, but the day was soured by that.

it wasn't just that though, it was the story of Nicky Henderson's runner (or non runners) and the story of un-competitive racing. I really like Lossiemouth, but she should have been running in the Champion Hurdle, I now like Irish Point, but he was the only creditable rival for State Man. Its diluted, and this year it bordered on dire.

Day 2

This day was quiet, a much lower crowd, and that was really noticeable. It was a positive and a negative, and it allowed me more space for my wandering around the course. At the festival I like to take it all in, and with my dad joining me, we had a good day. Even without the Cross Country!

The key for this day was again the shocking level of competition. It was just really poor.

For all that though, we saw a really good novice hurdler, and a really good novice chaser. Then we saw an upset and a mighty fiddle or two from Skelton. This was so apparent that it left a bitter taste for many. I couldn't let it go without backing them, so perhaps I am not going to be as harsh as I could.

I will simply say, if you put the name Jim Best and a ****ty track, in the place of Dan Skelton and Cheltenham Festival, you'd get a much different result from the BHA. In a week where Skelton got a £6k fine for telling untruths to the BHA, this was another stab in the rotting corpse that is British Jumps Racing.

Day 3

"At least it was competitive" was what someone told me as we walked out of the course, but I am not too sure I agree. It was still a short price favourite cantering away with the big prize, and the rest (especially the UK horses) floundering in behind.

I am a massive fan of Grey Dawning, and it showed that Skelton can train a horse honestly. Who knew!! He had a great week, and is probably the only big UK yard who can say that (more later). Protektorat also won for the yard, and again I backed both.

It was a shade better of a days racing, but it was still (going all ArkleSupreme) NOT AS GOOD AS IT USED TO BE!!

Day 4

I had a spare ticket, so invited another member of the forum for a day out, their first at a Cheltenham Festival, which was a nice change to my week. I will let them tell you if I bored them silly!!

This was a typical Gold Cup day, big price winners, Irish domination, and a double Gold Cup winner. Impressive he was too. I really enjoyed the day, didn't see any issues and the drive home was pretty painless too.

Overall Spectator View

I didn't see any crowd issues, or experience any of the usual drunk behaviour that I have seen in the past, but that is probably because I kept myself in a small section of the course where I knew this was more unlikely. It was pleasant, even spacious at times. I may be very fortunate though!!


HOWEVER..... What on earth is going on with the sport we love?

Uncompetitive racing, Nicky Henderson yard issues, lack of runners from other "big" UK yards, a really ****ty week for UK racing in my eyes. Is it a perfect storm? Or is it far more deep rooted?

I think you all know my views, but I think the rot has well and truly set in with UK jumps racing, we have hit a low, and I think we will see the low get deeper in the next few years.

Why is this? I don't think it is one particular root cause, I would suggest it revolves around the whole sport, from grass roots, breeding and all the way up to the "elite" in the UK.

Point to Point racing is utter ****e in the UK in comparison to Ireland, it is just dire. Yes you get an Energumene every now and then, but you are much more likely to see a 80 rated 10 race maiden from rules racing winning the maiden points! I think that says it all about the grass roots.

Then breeding, I think I read that we had three UK bred horses winning at Cheltenham, with double figures from Ireland and France. I mean, that is embarrassing for UK breeders isn't it? Why would you buy a UK store horse? Or a UK Point horse? WHY?

Then this leads on to the sales, and this is a big gripe of mine. You are seeing Nicholls et al (Ferg included) spending good money at Cheltenham and other Tattersalls sales, but they are in the norm, buying overpriced horses that the Irish big yards do not want. Or worse, if they do want them, the UK yards are not performing with what they buy.

You look at the sales, and whilst top lots normally go to Robcour or the like, and go to Mullins, HdB or Elliott, its not unusual to see many UK trainers in the list. Yet they have trailed in well behind the Irish throughout. All bar Skelton should be ashamed of themselves.

This leads to the NH sport itself. Our trainers aren't good enough, the big two have massive vices (cotton wool and wind ops) and the rest are just not good enough. It is that simple.

I mean yards with 120 horses should have more than a few runners at Cheltenham, that goes for Fergal, Olly Murphy, Mccain, Venetia etc etc etc. The one that did have a decent week outside of Skelton was Ben Pauling. His new yard and rich owners is working, to a degree.

Do you blame this on the weakness of UK racing, diluted fixtures, etc etc? Well to some degree, but it is simply that the trainers are not doing a good enough job. It is that simple.


A dire week really for UK racing, the cracks have not been covered up by the glory of Cheltenham, but I will leave you with a quote from the head of the BHA - I think it shows how much of a bollocks the sport has got into when the head says such diatribe.

“I have no doubt that the men and women who train horses here in Britain are more than a match for their Irish counterparts. However, they need the ammunition and at present the balance of power and the best horses are going to our colleagues in Ireland, and in particular one yard."

 

I can say in all honesty you definitely didn't bore me in the slightest. I had a great day out. Like you said my first, not only at the festival but at the course itself. It was quite surreal seeing the iconic stands in person after years of watching on the TV. The race day experience itself was very different to what I'm used to when going to the races. Usually I drink way too much, spend way too much and racing plays second fiddle to a day out on the piss.

When Nass was kind and generous enough to offer me the ticket, I couldn't turn down the opportunity. I knew I'd have to drive (6 hour round trip) so i couldn't have a drink and after the footage coming out after day one I had genuine concerns about getting stuck in the car park and worries of how bad the traffic would be both ways. Turns out I had no traffic issues either way. I was that early getting down there, we actually got to the course a good half hour or so before it even opened. It also meant I didn't have to park on grass and got a prime parking spot for an easy getaway at the end.

Inside, I got a full tour of the course from my host and also a very useful education on what to look out for in the horses walking around the paddock. A lot is made of the prices and it is expensive but not really any more so than going to a gig these days, drink prices are about the same all over the country at events these days. The food however is not normally something I'd bother with at these sort of places. Get pissed and grab a pizza/kebab/burger (delete as appropriate) on the way home the usual. Normally as a typical tight Yorkshireman £15 for a bowl of curry would normally make me wince a little bit but I was happy to pay it (I owed my host after giving the Fergal double earlier in the week) and was pleasantly surprised by the quality. Worth £15, definitely not but it was nice enough to not be bothered about the price.

Gambling wise, I didn't pick a winner but had enough places at good Ew prices to be able to go home in profit and having having had a completely free day. I was in the position in the last race of needing a 100/1 shot to place in the first 6 (online bet) for a £10k payout. Unfortunately that wasn't to be but it most definitely didn't sour my day.

Overall I had a great time. We pretty much got straight out of the car park and away from the course and I hit no traffic on my way home and was in my house for 9pm. The experience was great. The food was good, the racing spot on and more importantly the company was excellent.

Thank you Nass for the generous offer, thank you for putting up with me and thank you for a great day out.

 

Smokey. First thing you need to do is forget EVERYTHING he told you on his paddock watching tutorial. He just about knows which end ****s

 

isn’t that the important bit?

 

To me this years Festival was akin to a Royal Walkabout without Queen Camilla or perhaps a Royal Walkabout during which Queen Camilla had a very bad leg which restricted the old girls movement.

The highlight to me was the performance of Ballyburn. I did a thread a few terms ago in which I listed the top 5 performances I've ever seen. In my view Ballyburn's effort may cause me to rewrite that. A-may-zing. Next March he could go in everything bar the Boat Race but I'd love to see him in the Champion Hurdle. If someone held a gun to my head I'd certainly nominate WP Mullins' star as the most likely winner of that race. The '23 Champion must go down as a strange race. After the Mares Hurdle I was of the view that Lossiemouth would have won it had she been entered and after the 'Gallaghers' was of the opinion that Ballyburn would have won it had he gone in the '23 Champion Hurdle! Right here right now though I can see Ballyburn going '24 Champion Hurdle and then dotting up in the CGC as a novice. Going back to this years Champion though Luccia was brilliant wasn't she. And further enhanced the recent record of mares in the race - that 7 lbs is just way too big, methinks.

The huge thing to note for me from the last 3 Festivals is that WP Mullins has had 14 horses start at 6/4 or shorter in Grade 1 races - 12 won. Can see this stat have some effect on the Festival markets in the short / medium term moving forward.

I thought my old fave, Pied Piper, was very admirably under a huge impost in the County. Now, please, please, please send him to Ascot for what looks a very open, and potentially winable, Gold Cup.

Another, in my view, to take from the meet as an eyecatcher was Favour and Fortune in the Supreme. I await to see the handicappers reaction tomorrow but would love to see him at Aintree in a handicap hurdle. But whatever happens with his revised rating next term this 'Wiltshire Wonder' looks some prospect for novice chasing next term.. Favour and Fortune remember the name...

 

Question for the forum...

What did Sine Nomine and Grey Dawning (edit!) not have, that every other UK winner has?

 

Thought it interesting that attendance was down

 

A wind op

 

Good studying

 

Knowledge is of little use unless it is retained

 

You can only do that if the product is good. I had a chat with someone who goes on the Thursday every year in Best Mate. They said they’ll not be going again if prices go up further. According to them even the early bird prices are getting silly.

Cheltenham are close to killing the golden goose…

 

LANGER DAN up 10lbs. There ain’t no way they are getting that off his back in time for next March……although I am equally certain that they will have a damn good try!

 

Coach on Tuesday, car on Wednesday. Two fantastic days in the Cotswolds. Parking wasn’t really a problem in the “Joe public” car parks where spaces aren’t on grass. That appeared worse in the areas nearer the course entrance allocated for owners. ( on grass)
Wednesday in particular felt comfortable walking around and getting a bet on, queuing for food and drink. Yes it’s expensive but we are aware of that prior to going and we are prepared to be ripped off as part of the experience!
There have been plots in racing for years, I missed the Langer Dan shenanigans but fair enough it actually created a pleasant distraction away from the Mullins bandwagon. My question is, if we are being priced out of the experience are small race yards also struggling with the costs of entering horses? Are there incentives in place to encourage more trainers/owners to enter horses?
Even with the negativity I would consider becoming a member now that I have retired it allows the opportunity to visit other courses and the lesser meetings at Cheltenham still excite me as it’s such a great day out.

 

They’ll run him out the back 8 times instead of 4. To be fair he won easy so Fiddling Dan will probably reckon 142 will be ok

 

Sine Nomine 133 (+9)

 

I am loving this Bash Dan waffle, gonna be a long year

 

6/1 for next years renewal. Surely even with your love of an AP voucher you’ve not been tempted by that Pilgrim