CHELTENHAM NH FESTIVAL:ONE OF the most remarkable days in modern racing history ended in the gathering gloom of Cheltenham yesterday evening with Irish-trained horses having come within an ace of going through the seven-race card.
The chances of a clean sweep going into the concluding Weatherbys Champion Bumper seemed very real indeed after six successive victories for the raiders but Cheltenian led a last-gasp home defence in the finale.
Nevertheless it was a unique afternoon for Ireland, with six winners a record tally in a single day at the festival and it propels the raiders towards a possible record overall haul for the week.
The 2006 total of 10 winners remains the benchmark but how long it will last is debatable as the Irish tally so far is already nine winners and the festival is only half over. Home hopes were clinging last night to the recent pattern of Irish-trained winners tailing off slightly in the second half of the week but that was scant consolation after a momentous afternoon.
Cheltenham’s Festival tradition goes back a hundred years but even in that context yesterday’s action stands out.
Hopes had been high the Irish raiders might significantly add to the opening day tally of three winners. But even the most green-eyed optimists would have had to have taken a lot of refreshment on board to have predicted what happened.
Certainly for a racing industry that has seen job losses, dramatic cuts in horse numbers and in prizemoney due to the current economic disaster, yesterday’s action was a colossal morale booster and it was embraced with all the fervour of a lottery success.
None more so than by jockey Robbie Power, who experienced the highs and lows of Cheltenham within a mere 40 minutes.
The Grand National-winning rider believed Oscars Well was his banker bet for a first ever festival success in the Neptune Investments Novices’ Hurdle and the pair were in the lead at the last when a bad mistake ruined their chance. Oscars Well struggled home fourth behind the Mouse Morris-trained winner First Lieutenant, who edged out Rock On Ruby in a dramatic finish, leaving Power devastated at a missed opportunity.
But in the very next race he powered to RSA Chase glory on Oscars Well’s stable companion Bostons Angel, allowing Power and trainer Jessica Harrington to ponder fortune’s fluctuations. “It’s a relief more than anything after the last race. I thought Oscars Well was my best chance of the week and we were terribly unlucky. I was gutted after it. But I went and had a fag and Jessie told me to get over it,” Power grinned.
“This lad never impresses but he is so tough. I thought we were going nowhere at the top of the hill and he galloped all the way to the line. I’m over the moon. Winning the National was great but this was missing from my CV.”
Bostons Angel received some fancy ante-post quotes for next year’s Gold Cup but in terms of future blue-ribands it was First Lieutenant who was really interesting bookmakers with Paddy Power going 16 to 1 that he will win a Gold Cup at some stage of his career.
That has plenty to do with the horse representing the War Of Attrition team of Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary and trainer Mouse Morris, who rates the winner as his best prospect since the 2006 Gold Cup hero.
“It turned into a sprint which would not suit him as he has a high cruising speed rather than a turn of foot,” said Morris.
So Young was a heavily backed Irish favourite in the Neptune but could manage only third after making a mistake at the last flight.
This will knock you for six
The accumulative odds of yesterday’s six Irish winners works out at 1,525,920 to 1.
