Tuesday 23 January 2018

Cheltenham Festival - Pertemps Final


The Pertemps Final was established in 1974. Since then, it has taken in tens of horses, becoming a mainstay at Cheltenham. It actually started out as Coral Golden but has undergone various name changes due to changes in sponsors. The name Pertemps came into play in 2002 and has been used
ever since. This Grade 3 race covers 3 miles and takes place at the New Course, Cheltenham. For horses to be able to participate, they have to be at least five years old. In order for horses to qualify for the race, they need to go through eight separate races over a period of 5 months, and only the best get to the final.

Jim Wilson is without a doubt the most famous jockey in this race, having cruised to victory on 3 separate occasions. In the 3 times he won, Wilson rode Willie Wumpkins, making Wumpkins the most successful horse in the race as well.

Wednesday 3 January 2018

Cheltenham Festival - Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase


This race enjoys the privilege of a slot on the biggest day of the Cheltenham Festival despite being just a Grade III competition. It brings together racehorses of five years and more to fight for a £100,000 purse over two miles and half a furlong (3319 meters).

There are 14 fences to be cleared along this path in the Johnny Henderson, which closes the events and doubles up as the oldest race in the festival. It has been happening since 1834. Severalvariations have occurred over time but the basic structure of competition has remained the same.

Slightly older horses- eight to ten years specifically- are always the best bets to win this race. They have won over 60% of the race events held in the 21st century. Inexperienced five-year-olds are the worst bets, failing to take top honours sine as far back as 1946. British horses also tend to perform better than Irish ones (nine wins in the last 15).

Eight year old Don’t Touch It is the favourite to win the 2018 race, with similar 10-1 odds as 2017 winner Rock the World.