Wednesday 27 September 2017

Cheltenham Festival - County Handicap Hurdle



This weighted race is run on the closing day of the festival, when five years and older horses line up to compete over within a distance of two miles and one furlong on the New Course.

It is ranked grade three by the National Hunt and has eight hurdles along the path to the lion’s share of a £90,000 purse.

How the race has remained a grade 3 event is interesting given its popularity among viewers and the tight qualifications required for horses coming into it. Big names like Trespasser have featured in
the County Handicap. It is also so tough that no horse has won it twice since 1946.

Ruby Walsh holds a record jockey record of four wins, while Willie Mullins and Paul Nicholls hold a trainer record of a similar number of victories. Max Dynamite ranks ahead of Arctic Fire who won
last year’s event as 2018’s favourite. Both horses are trained by Mullins.

 

Sunday 3 September 2017

Cheltenham Festival - Champion Bumper


The Champion Bumper is considered one of the most prestigious National Hunt races because of the level of interest in people and the kind of participation showcased by jockeys and their horses. It takes place on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival and happens at the Old Course. Established
in the Year 1992, this event allows entry for horses of ages 4 to 6. For this specific race, horses will run over 2 miles and 0.5 furlong.

In 2017, this race was won by Fayonagh, with Jamie Codd at the reins. The horse is trained by one Gordon Elliot. In the same fete, Debuchet came in second.

When it comes to smashing records, some jockeys and trainers have fared far better than others. For example, Ruby Walsh has beaten other jockeys to the punch three different times while riding three different horses. Willie Mullins has come out top as a trainer a whopping 8 times.