Cheltenham Festival - Cross Country Chase

The Cross Country Chase- oft referred to with sponsor Glenfarclas name as a prefix- is another longer distance race run during the latter stages of the Cheltenham Festival. It opens its gates for
horses of age five years and more who fight to complete three miles and seven furlongs (6236 m) on the cross country course.

Along this distance, an astounding 32 obstacles are to be cleared, all in the bid to collect the most of a £50,000 purse. The already tough race is made even more demanding by the presence of condition weights used to cull weight advantages.

It is a unique race in that it is the only cross country competition held at the Cheltenham event and all over racing circles at this time of the year. This has caused its popularity to go up among stamina race lovers since it was first introduced in 2005.

Irish trained horses do love this chase as indicated by their 11 wins in the 13 editions running up to 2017. It gets even better for horses of between eight and 10 years who have won ten of the
thirteen races. The other three were 12-year-olds. Garde Champetre and Balthazar King share a record of two wins. The leading trainer is Miss Nina Carberry with three wins, during which she rode leading trainer Enda Bolger (5wins) trained horses.

Cheltenham Festival - Spa Novices' Hurdle

Any race run on the final day of Cheltenham Festival is a big race and so is the Spa Novices’ Hurdle. This is a grade 1 National Hunt ranked race that admits four years and above aged horses. They compete over a three mile (4828 m) distance on the New Course.

A generous offering of £68,000 goes to the race winner while the rest share what remains of the £120,000 purse.

The Spa Novices at Cheltenham, oft referred to as the Albert Barlett Novices’ Hurdle, has been existence for 12 years before the 2018 edition. It Achieved Grade 1 status in 2008. Its popularity among viewers make it one of the races with a good actual viewing from the stands.

Tony Mc’ Coy is the race’s leading jockey with three wins while the two wins by Jonjo O’ Neill make him the leading trainer.

Horses that compete in the Spa Novices are often angling for elite jump races like the Gold Cup.

Grand National - Equality of Opportunity

 

Well hasn't it come around fast? In a little under a week's time the highlight of the national hunt calendar, namely the Grand National, is upon us. Last year due to Covid we had to make do with a pixelated affair, which while better than nothing, was no substitute for the blood, sweat and tears that goes into 'the real thing'. The 2021 Grand National brings together the best of the best at a time where we could do with something positive to focus on.

With no Tiger Roll this year, heavy favourite Cloth Cap is looking to show them how its done, with a convincing win, but is it really going to be that easy? Speaking of which, Katie Walsh recently spoke to Betway about another facet of racing that has been anything other than easy over the years; namely representation of female jockeys in the Grand National. Unbelievably it wasn't until the 1970s that a female jockey even took part. Watch the video to learn more about how our girls turned the lemons of discrimination in the sport, into the lemonade of success. Cheers!

Tune into the Grand National on April 10th

Chomping at the Bit for Cheltenham!

Here at FestivalFocus.co.uk it should be no surprise that we're chomping at the bit with excitement for this years Cheltenham Festival. For starters it's a relief that it's even going ahead (last years Grand National had no such luck and we were instead lumbered with a 'Virtual' version – a poor substitute). And secondly there are a number of races that we just can't wait to see. Can Honeysuckle (currently 9/4) make it an amazing 11 from 11 in the Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy? Can Altior (13/2) overcome Chacun Pour Soi(10/11) in the Champion Chase. We'll soon find out, so prior to that let's have a lighthearted Cheltenham Festival themed  quiz from Betway with some not necessarily 'in the know' Premier League footballers!

Cheltenham Festival - National Hunt Challenge Cup

This penultimate race of the opening day events at the annual festival is a grade two competition that brings together horses of age five years and more. These compete to complete a distance of four miles (6400 m) with the winner earning an estimated $59000 of a £100,000 purse.

The race enjoys the record of being the longest distance at the festival as well as ranking among the oldest events since it was first run in 1860. It has been especially consistence, recording the single largest number of repeat competitions.

The gruelling distance is not made any easier by the twenty four fences that competitors have to go over. It calls for outstanding stamina and endurance on the part of the horse and excellent handling by the rider.

The fact that no single horse has been able to win thrice in a race that is over a century and a half old is an indicator of its competitiveness. Jonjo O’ Neill is the leading trainer with six wins to his name.