Despite a recently confirmed case of coronavirus in the Cheltenham area, with two more confirmed cases in nearby Tetbury town, punters at the racing festival seemed unconcerned on the whole.
By midday the Guinness Tent was teeming to the brim with revellers.
A total of 60,664 people attended the opening day of the festival on Tuesday, compared to a record of 67,934 in 2019. Ian Renton said on behalf of Jockey Club Racecourses – the event organisers – that they were “happy with crowd” especially considering “the uncertainty of the last fortnight”.
Concern over the virus didn’t detract from the action. It was good day for Irish jockey Rachael Blackmore, who’s tipped to win this week’s coveted Holland Cooper Ruby Walsh Trophy for the leading jockey at the festival. She beat race favourite Benie Des Dieux in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle with the Irish-trained six-year-old Honeysuckle.
Meanwhile, JP McManus celebrated his birthday with a win from Epatante in the Champion Hurdle. But from the Irish crowd there was one notable absence: Michael O’Leary. The Ryanair boss and racehorse owner was busy managing the damage Covid-19 is doing to the airline industry.
Hand-sanitiser stations were dotted around the grounds and extra staff were hired to monitor their use
Just a week previously, O’Leary had condemned the “lunacy on social media” and “hysteria” related to the outbreak, describing the decision to cancel the Ireland-Italy Six Nations fixture as “not sensible or proportionate”. Since then, Italy has introduced more severe measures in an attempt to contain the virus. And Ryanair has suspended all flights to Bergamo, Parma, Treviso and Milan’s Malpensa Airport.
Fifth victory
Three-time Grand National winner Tiger Roll, owned by O’Leary, is racing on Wednesday in the Cross Country Chase. The 10-year-old gelding, a crowd favourite, is chasing a fifth victory at the Cheltenham Festival.
Event organisers took measures to contain the possible spread of Covid-19 in the packed bars, stands and restaurants. Hand-sanitiser stations were dotted around the grounds and extra staff were hired to monitor their use. Stewards reckoned that around 60-70 per cent of attendees were using them regularly at the beginning of the day. But by the evening – after the bars had been open for several hours – they reckoned numbers had dropped off significantly. A large group of revellers chanted “Corona! Corona!” as they entered the Horse and Groom bar.
The event has only been cancelled once in recent history, however, during the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001
Amanda Mason from Jockey Club Catering, which is co-ordinating catering for the event, said despite fears the event might be cancelled, everyone was carrying on with “business as usual”. She added: “There’s always something, every year, that causes concern,”whether that be the horse flu last year that saw many smaller racing meets cancelled, or the ever-looming threat of bad weather.
The event has only been cancelled once in recent history, however, during the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001.
Quieter than usual
One group who had travelled from Sussex in the east of England, many of whom have been attending the event for more than 10 years, noted that it was the hotels and restaurants in the centre of town that seemed to be quieter than usual, rather than the Festival itself. This will undoubtedly be worrying to the Cheltenham hospitality community, as the races add an estimated £100 million (€114 million) to the local economy every year.
There are still questions over whether the Cheltenham event will be held on all of its four planned days
An estimated 10,000 Irish people will travel to the Cheltenham festival this year, most of whom will be travelling through Dublin Airport. The Dublin Airport Authority has not introduced screening of passengers passing through, saying they have been liaising closely with the HSE and following World Health Organisation guidelines.
There are still questions over whether the Cheltenham event will be held on all of its four planned days. On Tuesday morning, British culture secretary Oliver Dowden told the BBC that at this stage “there is no reason” to cancel sporting events. His comments came after it emerged the UK had 300 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
But a spokesperson for the prime minister commented on Tuesday that “it is now accepted” the virus will spread in a “significant way”. The government is in ongoing talks with various health bodies as it determines the best course of action to mitigate the spread of the virus.
