Friday 16 June 2017

Cheltenham Festival - RSA Chase


The RSA Chase takes centre stage in the early moments of the second day of the annual Cheltenham Festival. It is a grade one race that brings together horses of age five years and above to compete for a purse of around £150,000 by clearing a distance of three miles and 110 yards (4929 m). The long path is riddled by 19 fences that must be jumped, making it a pretty stamina-demanding exercise.

This race was introduced in 1946. 11-year-old Birthlaw took first finish in that inaugural race and still remains the oldest horse to finish in that position ahead of the 2018 edition.

Horses that take place in this are often likely to go on to the more challenging Gold Cup. Most remarkable is Lord Windermere who took first honours here in 2013 and went on to claim the Gold Cup on the New Course a year later.

Leading Jockey Ruby Walsh is still looking to join the record ranks in this one. He has just one win here. Willie Mullins won for the fourth time in 2015 to equal the 4-win trainer record set by Fulke Walwyn in 1957. Mullins has a variety of horses to pick from as he seeks to set a new record at the 2018 event.