Blog Archives
Cheltenham’s Old Course, the New Course and the effects of the going
During the coming week you’ll hear much talk of the Old Course and the New Course at Cheltenham. In October and November the Old Course is used, in December and January, the New Course. That’s the regular schedule. Only the spur was not used in January due to waterlogging.
Frost covers are already down. There’s been enough rain for the course to be declared officially soft everywhere and overnight temperatures in the coming 48 hours are set to plunge well below freezing, The upside of frost covers is that we almost always get to race. The downside is that they can trap moisture in ground that’s already very wet; this can leave sticky, cloying going for horses, although Andy Clifton, Cheltenham’s PR boss tells me the covers are breathable so let’s hope they breathe enough to prevent pudding-type ground but not enough to let frost through.
Sandown on Saturday looked sploshy and very wet, but horses and riders invariably prefer this as horses run through it, finding it easier to splash through than sticky ‘waterless’ mud. They’ll still be tired but not Tough Mudder tired.
Cheltenham’s a stamina-sapper as it is, and while it’s almost always better to race than not to, we could see some very tired animals slogging up that hill. Let’s hope for minimal use of the stick: the public will not be aware how well-padded whips are, and hitting exhausted horses climbing a muddy hill could bring us the kind of publicity we’d don’t need with the Grand National looming (April 6th).
Anyway, I am blethering away here, let me get to the point. The Racing Post carries just one course graphic for Cheltenham – that of the Old Course. The blessed Timeform display two. I’ve used them below. You can get them, along with course maps for every other track as a free download.
Although it’s a taxing track, whichever course you’re on, I’m never afraid to back front-runners at Cheltenham; I have no stats but from my many years watching racing here, I’ve formed the impression front-runners can do better than they would on tracks which appear to be easier.
Cheltenham’s New Course
Something you’ll hear at least once before the Champion Hurdle is that Zarkandar won his Triumph Hurdle in 2011 on the New Course whereas the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday will be on the Old Course, considered by many less of a stamina test because it is a slightly shorter run-in (In Tuesday’s field, Zarkandar should be much better suited than most of his rivals to a stamina test).
A peculiarity of the New Course is that only 2 hurdles are jumped in the last seven furlongs – 42% of the race gets just 25% of the jumps.
The Old Course
The only other course at Cheltenham is the cross-country, a race you love or hate. I love it. I enjoy the spectacle of watching the jocks figuring out the twists and turns (many don’t manage it!). I like to see the horses scale the banks and face all different sorts of obstacles. Racing should have more of them – I’d be amazed if newcomers to the sport, especially youngsters, don’t enjoy them.
You’ll see by the map why the jocks need a GPS (some senior jockeys refuse to ride in these races for fear of ‘taking the wrong course’ bans).
The map and the fence illustration are courtesy of the talented folk at Chestnut Creative
Let’s hope the Cheltenham exec has updated the signage for jockeys on this maze of a course. We don’t want to see something like this happening this week . . .
Finally, an aerial pic of the track to give you a truer perspective on how the courses wind through those famous undulations in our modern-day Colosseum, where you can gaze in horror while live humans are devoured by bookmakers.
Cheltenham racecourse
If your brain needs a break from form study, try the Kindle version of Warned Off, a snip at £2.50. It’s a Dick Francis-type mystery which has garnered 95 reviews on Amazon (UK &.com), most 4 & 5 star.
Good Luck for Cheltenham
Joe
Festival race times, TV coverage, max field sizes, declarations info
THE FESTIVAL 2012 
NB Races in bold have 48 hours declaration stage – remainder, 24 hours.
Champion Day – Tuesday, March 13, 2012 (Old Course)
| Distance | Prize Money | TV | Max | Decs | ||
| 1.30 | William Hill Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Grade One) | 2m 110y | £100,000 | C4/RUK |
24 |
24 hr |
| 2.05 | Racing Post Arkle Chase (Grade One) | 2m | £130,000 | C4/RUK |
20 |
24 hr |
| 2.40 | JLT Specialty Chase (Handicap) Grade Three) | 3m 110y | £75,000 | C4/RUK |
24 |
24 hr |
| 3.20 | Stan James Champion Hurdle (Grade One) | 2m 110y | £370,000 | C4/RUK |
28 |
48 hr |
| 4.00 | Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Steeple Chase (Handicap) 3m 7f | £40,000 | C4/RUK |
16 |
24 hr | |
| 4.40 | OLBG Mares’ Hurdle (for the David Nicholson Trophy) (Grade Two) 2m 4f | £70,000 | RUK |
24 |
24 hr | |
| 5.15 | Pulteney Land Investments Novices’ Handicap Chase (Listed) 2m 4f 110y | |||||
Total
£50,000
£835,000
RUK
20
24 hr
Ladies Day – Wednesday, March 14, 2012 (Old Course)
| Distance | Prize Money | TV | Max | Decs | |||
| 1.30 | Diamond Jubilee National Hunt Chase (Amateurs) | 4m | £75,000 | C4/RUK |
20 |
24 hr | |
| 2.05 | Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle (Grade | One) 2m 5f | £100,000 | C4/RUK |
24 |
24 hr | |
| 2.40 | RSA Chase (Grade One) | 3m 110y | £130,000 | C4/RUK |
20 |
24 hr | |
| 3.20 | sportingbet.com Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade One) | 2m | £320,000 | C4/RUK |
24 |
48 hr | |
| 4.00 | Coral Cup (Handicap Hurdle) (Grade Three) | 2m 5f | £70,000 | C4/RUK |
28 |
24 hr | |
| 4.40 | Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Grade Three) | 2m 110y | £60,000 | RUK |
24 |
24 hr | |
| 5.15 | Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade One) | 2m 110yTotal | £55,000£810,000 | RUK |
24 |
24 hr | |
St Patrick’s Thursday – Thursday, March 15, 2012 (New Course)
| Distance | Prize Money | TV | Max | Decs | ||
| 1.30 | Jewson Novices’ Chase (Grade Two) | 2m 4f | £90,000 | C4/RUK |
20 |
24 hr |
| 2.05 | Pertemps Final (Handicap Hurdle) (Listed) | 3m | £70,000 | C4/RUK |
24 |
24 hr |
| 2.40 | Ryanair Chase (Grade One) | 2m 5f | £260,000 | C4/RUK |
24 |
48 hr |
| 3.20 | Ladbrokes World Hurdle (Grade One) | 3m | £260,000 | C4/RUK |
24 |
48 hr |
| 4.00 | Byrne Group Plate (Handicap Chase) (Grade Three) | 2m 5f | £75,000 | C4/RUK |
24 |
24 hr |
| 4.40 | Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase | (Amateurs) 3m 1f 110y | £50,000 | RUK |
24 |
24 hr |
| 5.15 | St Patrick’s Derby (Charity Race) | 1m 5fTotal | -£805,000 | RUK | ||
Gold Cup Day – Friday, March 16, 2012 (New Course)
| Distance | Prize Money | TV | Max | Decs | ||
| 1.30 | JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade One) | 2m 1f | £100,000 | C4/RUK |
24 |
24 hr |
| 2.05 | Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle (Grade Three) | 2m 1f | £70,000 | C4/RUK |
28 |
24 hr |
| 2.40 | Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade One) | 3m | £100,000 | C4/RUK |
20 |
24 hr |
| 3.20 | Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup (Chase) (Grade One) | 3m 2f 110y | £500,000 | C4/RUK |
24 |
48 hr |
| 4.00 | Christie’s Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup (Amateurs) | 3m 2f 110y | £35,000 | C4/RUK |
24 |
24 hr |
| 4.40 | Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle | 2m 4f 110y | £45,000 | RUK |
24 |
24 hr |
| 5.15 | Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase (Handicap) (Grade | Three) 2m 110yTotal | £75,000£925,000 | RUK |
24 |
24 hr |
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY 2012 – £3,375,000 (average of £125,000 per race)
Twitter racecourses directory
Courtesy of lovetheraces.com, here are the twitter names for many UK racecourses.
With new people joining twitter all the time, it’s unlikely to be up to date. If you want to add to it or comment on it, please use the ‘leave a comment’ section at the foot of the page rather than sending me a tweet (that way, you do the work!)
Twitter betting-folk directory
Courtesy of lovetheraces.com, here are the twitter names for some bookmakers, betting analysts, tipsters etc. One who doesn’t appear in the directory is Robert Gibbs @bechersbrook. I’ve been following Robert for some time and am very impressed with his tipping (he doesn’t pay me anything – nor does any sponsor or company or person mentioned anywhere on my blog).
With new people joining twitter all the time, the list is unlikely to be up to date. If you want to add to it or comment on it, please use the ‘leave a comment’ section at the foot of the page rather than sending me a tweet (that way, you do the work!)
|
Betting/Analysis |
|
| Name | Twitter ID |
| Betfair | Betfair |
| Bettrends.co.uk | bettrends |
| Coral | coral |
| Coral Politics | coral_politics |
| Dale Tempest | Skybet_Dale |
| Dave Nevison | bodugi_dave |
| David Johnson | davidjohnson82 |
| Gavin Dobson | gav_dobson |
| GeoffBanksRacecourse | geoffbanksbet |
| George Primarolo | GeorgePrimarolo |
| Iain Turner | IainWBXdotcom |
| James Knight | jamesaknight |
| Jamie Hart | jamieh7 |
| Jayne Clarke | JayneVClarke |
| Ladbrokes Politics | ladpolitics |
| Matt Doyle | Matt_Doyle_Sky |
| Michael Wilson | bodugi_Mike |
| Nick Goff | nickgoff79 |
| Oddschecker | oddschecker |
| Paul Jones | sportspunter01 |
| Simon Clare | siclare |
| Simon Rowlands | Rowleyfile |
| Spreadex | spreadexsports |
| Stan James | stanjames |
| The Racing Forum | theracingforum |
| Victor Chandler | VictorChandler |
| William Hill | willhillracing |
| Paddy Power | AskPaddyPower |
| Bet365 | Bet365 |
| Andy Richmond | Bickley14 |
Twitter racing ‘general’ directory
Courtesy of lovetheraces.com, here are the twitter names for some of the folk in racing who don’t fit into the other directory categories.
With new people joining twitter all the time, it’s unlikely to be up to date. If you want to add to it or comment on it, please use the ‘leave a comment’ section at the foot of the page rather than sending me a tweet (that way, you do the work!)
|
Racing General |
|
| Name | Twitter ID |
| Adrian Beaumont | AdrianBeaumont |
| Amy Fair | redcarracing |
| BBM | BBM_UK |
| Bloodstock Al | bloodstock_al |
| British Horseracing | BritishRacing |
| British Racing School | BRSNewmarket |
| Burghley Horse | burghley_horse |
| Careers in Racing | careersinracing |
| Caroline Davies | TwinkleDavies |
| Clive Webb-Carter | CWC_Bloodstock |
| David MacDonald | UttoxeterGM |
| Dominique Hamblin | LadyNanBullen |
| Ed Gretton | EdGretton |
| Eliza Cook | VoiceoftheRaces |
| Emma Owen | AintreeEmma |
| Gemma Waterhouse | GemmaBRS |
| Go Racing in Ireland | GoRacing |
| Harriet Rochester | HatRochesterPR |
| Horseracing UK | HorseracingUK |
| James Armstrong | JRFArmstrong |
| Johnno Spence | JSCSport |
| Jonjo Sanderson | jonjosanderson |
| Josh Apiafi | joshapiafi |
| Kate Pittam | katepittam |
| Kevin Dean | deany75 |
| Lambourn Stables | LambournStables |
| Lorraine Ellison | LorrEllison |
| Lucinda Gould | CindaGould |
| Mark Spincer | DoncasterRaceMD |
| National Horseracing Museum | nhrm_newmarket |
| Paul Struthers | paulmstruthers |
| Peter Scudamore | petescu |
| Phil Taylor | ptaylor217 |
| Pointtopoint.co.uk | pointtopoint |
| Pony Racing | gbponyracing |
| Racehorse Rescue centre | Horse_Rescue |
| Racing Diary | racingdiary |
| Racing Home | HorseRacingHome |
| Racing Welfare | Racingwelfare |
| Richard Dunwoody | richarddunwoody |
| RP Bloodstock | rpbloodstock |
| Sally Iggulden | SallyIggulden |
| Sam Stronge | SamStronge82 |
| Sammy Martin | sammymartin36 |
| Scottish Racing | scottishracing |
| Stephen Higgins | SHiggins1717 |
| Student Racing | studentracing |
| Sulekha Varna | Lekha85 |
| The Aintree Insider | AintreeInsider |
| The Horse Bit Trader | thebitgirl |
| The Jockey Club | The_Jockey_Club |
| The Racing Forum | theracingforum |
Twitter racehorse trainers directory
Courtesy of lovetheraces.com, here are the twitter names for some UK racehorse trainers.
With new people joining twitter all the time, it’s unlikely to be up to date. If you want to add to it or comment on it, please use the ‘leave a comment’ section at the foot of the page rather than sending me a tweet (that way, you do the work!)
|
Trainers |
|
| Name | Twitter ID |
| Alan Jarvis Racing | millracestables |
| Amy Weaver | amyweaverracing |
| Bill Ratcliffe | RatcliffeRacing |
| Charlie Hills | cbhills |
| Charlie Mann | WhitcoombeHouse |
| Chris Bealby | nhtrainer |
| Dan Skelton | dannskelton |
| David Pipe | DavidPipeRacing |
| Di Grissell | Grissell_Racing |
| Donald McCain Jnr | DonaldMcCainJnr |
| Ed Dunlop | EdDunlopRacing |
| Ed Walker | edwalkerracing |
| George Peckham | georgejpeckham |
| Ger Lyons Racing | gerlyonsracing |
| Gerard Butler | GAButler |
| Henry Cecil’s Stable | warrenplace |
| Hugo Palmer | hugopalmeracing |
| James Evans | HJamesEvans |
| Jamie Osborne | osbornejamie |
| Jeremy Gask | jeremygask |
| Jeremy Noseda | JeremyNoseda |
| Jeremy R M Scott | holworthyfarm |
| Jonathan Portman | jportmanracing |
| Kim Bailey | kimbaileyracing |
| Tom Dascombe | Manor Farm Stables |
| Lawney Hill | LawneyHill |
| Michael Bell | MikeBellRacing |
| Mick Channon | Mick_Channon_TV |
| Mike Prince | MilddlehamPark |
| Milton Harris | MFHarrisRacing |
| Paul Nicholls | PFNicholls |
| Peter Chapple-Hyam | ChappleHyam |
| R Pritchard Gordon | RPGRacing |
| Richard Fahey | RichardFahey |
| Robert Cowell | cowellracing |
| Roger Charlton | RogerCharlton |
| Stef Higgins | stefracing |
| Tim Pitt | Tim_Pitt |
| Tom George | TomGeorgeRacing |
| Willie Mullins | WillieMullinsNH |
Twitter jockeys directory
Courtesy of lovetheraces.com, here are the twitter names for some of the jockeys on twitter (Those seeking Ruby Walsh will find he is the JD Salinger of twitter – even AP can’t get him to join)
With new people joining twitter all the time, it’s unlikely to be up to date. If you want to add to it or comment on it, please use the ‘leave a comment’ section at the foot of the page rather than sending me a tweet (that way, you do the work!)
|
Jockeys |
|
| Name | Twitter ID |
| Aidan Colman | AidanColeman |
| Alice Haynes | finefillie752 |
| Andrew Tinkler | Andrew_Tinks |
| AP McMcoy | AP_McCoy |
| Barry Geraghty | BarryJGeraghty |
| Charlie Huxley | charliehux |
| Dan Collins | DAN89COLLINS |
| David Crosse | DavidCrosse |
| Gerard Tumelty | Gertumelty |
| Harry Derham | harryderham |
| Harry Skelton | Harry89skelton |
| Hayley Turner | hayleyturner123 |
| Jack Doyle | jackjd0yle |
| James Cowley | jamescowley |
| James Millman | jrmillman |
| James O Farrell | JPOFarrell |
| Joe Tizzard | JoeTizzard |
| Johnny Murtagh | JohnnyMurtagh |
| Kelly Harrison | Kelpumpkin |
| Kerrin McEvoy | KPMcEvoy |
| Kevin Tobin | KevTobin |
| Laura Pike | lollypike |
| Leonna Mayor | LeonnaMayor |
| Luke Morris | Luke_Morris88 |
| Mark Bradburne | mbradburne |
| Martin Lane | martinjlane |
| Natasha Anne Eaton | NatashEaton |
| Nick Scholfield | Nick_Schofield |
| Nicky Mackay | nickymackay |
| Oliver Greenall | olivergreenall |
| Olly Williams | ollywill |
| P J Racing | Pj1racingjockey |
| Paddy Brennan | PaddyBrennan22 |
| Paul Carberry | paulcarberry |
| Phil Kinsella | phil_kinsella1 |
| Rachel King | RachelK11 |
| Richie Killoran | richiekilloran |
| Robert Thornton | Choc_Thornton |
| Sam Thomas | S4MMY1984 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | samtwiston |
| Thomas Bellamy | tommy_bells |
| Thomas Messenger | thmessenger |
| Thomas Molloy | tommymolloy |
| Thomas O Brien | tjobrien12 |
| Tom Queally | tpqueally |
| Wayne Hutchinson | waynehutch |
| William Kennedy | WTKJockey |
| Willy Twiston-Davies | willy_twiston |
| Wilson Renwick | WilsonRenwick |
Twitter racing journalists directory
Courtesy of lovetheraces.com, here are the twitter names for some of the media folk in racing.
With new people joining twitter all the time, it’s unlikely to be up to date. If you want to add to it or comment on it, please use the ’leave a comment’ section at the foot of the page rather than sending me a tweet (that way, you do the work!)
|
The Media |
|
| Name | Twitter ID |
| Alan Byrne | alanjbyrne |
| Alex Hammond | skysportsAlexH |
| Alice Plunkett | aliceplunkett |
| Amy Mathieson | AimsMathieson |
| Brett Williams | BrettPresents |
| Bruce Millington | brucemillington |
| Channel 4 Racing | Channel4Racing |
| Chris Dixon | cdixon82 |
| Clare Balding | clarebalding1 |
| Cornelius Lysaght | CorneliusRacing |
| Dave Ord | DaveOrd |
| David Baxter | Dbaxterpost |
| Derek Thompson | tommoracing |
| Eamonn Wilmott | ewilmott |
| Eclipse Magazine | eclipse_tweets |
| Ed Chamberlin | skysports_ed |
| Eddie Freemantle | eddietheshoe |
| Emma Spencer | EMMA_SPENCER |
| Frank Keogh | HonestFrank |
| Gavin Beech | Gavineasyodds |
| Graham Cunningham | gcunning12 |
| Greg Wood | Greg_Wood_ |
| Harry Tregoning | htregoning |
| Horse & Hound | horseandhound |
| HorseRacingUK | HorseracingUK |
| Ian Prior | ianprior |
| James Emmett | JamesEmmett |
| James willoughby | Prof_Hindsight |
| Jessica Lamb | Thestonefox |
| John Hanley | Hanleyontheball |
| John Maxse | jmaxse |
| John McCririck | RealMcCririck |
| Lydia Hislop | LydiaHislop |
| Marcus Townsend | captheath |
| Mark Popham | mediaboy99 |
| Mark Pougatch | markpougatch |
| Martin Kelly | Kello_MK |
| Mick Fitzgerald | mickfitzg |
| Mike Vince | halo_straight |
| Nick Luck | nickluck |
| Oli Bell | olibellracing |
| Paul Hayward | PaulHayward_gnm |
| Paul Ostermeyer | orsracing |
| Paul Smith | Quito113 |
| Paul Struthers | paulmstruthers |
| Rachel Wyse | RACHEL_WYSE |
| Racing Post | racing_post |
| Racing UK | Racing_UK |
| Richard Hoiles | RichardHoiles |
| Richard Preen | RichardPreen |
| Rory Delargy | helynsar |
| Sally Anne Grassick | spoons00 |
| Scott Bowers | ScottBowers |
| Sean Boyce | boyciesbetting |
| Shane Anderson | Globalgallop |
| Sid Fernando + observer | sidfernando |
| Sporting Life | SportingLife |
| Steve Freeth | stevefreeth65 |
| Stuart Riley | StuartRileyRP |
| Thomas Kerr | ThomasKerrRP |
| Thoroughbred Times | TTimes |
| Timeform Radio | TimeformRadio |
| Tom O’Ryan | Ballyhurst |
| Tony Paley | tonypaley |
| Tony Smurthwaite | surfinsmurf |
| Victoria Spicer | VickySpicer |
