The Cheltenham Festival has always been one of my favourite sporting events – and the atmosphere this year is no less special as we approach the Gold Cup today.
Tuesday almost became as famous – or infamous for bookmakers – as Frankie Dettori’s incredible seven winners at Ascot, which people still talk about today.
The four horses being taken to win the four Grade 1 races on opening day were all Irish and all trained by Willie Mullins.
Douvan kicked things off by easily winning the Skybet Supreme Novices, then Un De Sceaux followed up with a comfortable victory in the Arkle.
Next we watched ‘Faugheen The Machine’ as he has been nicknamed win the Champion Hurdle, leaving only Annie Power to seal a £50m-£60m payout for bookmakers should she win the Mares Hurdle.
She cruised through the race, was in total control and went clear on the home bend, with the whole country ready to explode in jubilation anticipating victory.
But under Ruby Walsh, she hit the final hurdle and went tumbling down. I’m sure most people in the betting industry would have been delighted there was no big payout, but as my job is not counting the money at the end of the day but talking about the sport and promoting it – this was a four-timer we would have been talking about for years to come.
It would have been the opening day when the bookmakers were cleaned out!
The most important thing, though, and why Cheltenham is so special, is that there was silence among the huge crowd when Annie Power remained on the floor with covers around her.
When the covers were removed and she got up to walk around, there were massive cheers across the course, with everyone delighted she was okay – a massive moment for racing and for the Festival.
On Wednesday, Don Poli was very impressive and could be a future Gold Cup winner, already installed as favourite for next year’s big race.
This year, I will be backing Djakadam – another for the Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh team that’s available at around 9/1 to take the Gold Cup this afternoon.
