It’s upon us, dear reader, the Cheltenham Festival 2011 is finally upon us. And if you’re anything like me, this is THE most exciting week in the sport with no exceptions. I love the Cheltenham Festival like no other sporting event, and I love a lot of sporting events!
The quality, the depth, the human and equine stories, the crowds, the colour, the pageantry, the Guinness, the craic, the Irish, the English (and the Scottish and the Welsh), the amateurs, the big stables, the little men (and women – they’re generally all quite small!)… all of it is fantastic.
And then there’s the small matter of the punting. Twenty-seven races make up the Cheltenham Festival, seven each on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; six on Thursday. There’s a charity race too but I hope you’ll forgive me overlooking that one…
OK, so let’s get to it. We’ve a LOT to get through. Here’s my take on Tuesday’s races:
1.30 Supreme Novices Hurdle
The roar as the tapes go up for the first race is as raucous as any you’ll hear in horse racing, and the cheers at Cheltenham are echoed in pubs, clubs and living rooms up and down the country. It is truly a momentous moment, as the hounds (or, more correctly, the horses) are unleashed to dally with our punting hopes and fortunes.
Casting the ham-fisted poetics to one side and focusing on the numbers, the opener is a race where generally there’s one horse around which the verdict revolves. In 2009, it was Cousin Vinny, last year it was Dunguib, and this year it’s Cue Card.
But whereas the two Irish raiders were considered outstanding amongst their novice fraternity, Cue Card has tested his mettle against the best hurdlers full stop. His four and a bit length second to Menorah in a Grade 2 non-novice event stands head and shoulders above any other formline in the race, and a repeat of that would probably be good enough to win.
As such, if you fancy anything other than Cue Card then I’d advise betting with
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