2010 Cheltenham Festival Preview. Some events capture the attention of the world. They breathe new furor within culture and move masses to action. On Tuesday March 16th 2010 one such event is taking place and it’s got the entire world buzzing. After a year of speculation and wagering Jump horse racing’s most paramount incarnation, the 108th installment of the Cheltenham festival is finally here and tickets for the Best Mate Tattersalls are already sold out for World Cup Day.
The Festival is going on from the 16th through to the 19th and for that glorious week hundreds of millions of pounds will be laid out on the line, 200 000 people will be in attendance and to top it all off it perfectly coincides with St. Patrick’s day and the Guinness will be flowing, the ladies will don their best threads and millions of pounds will be won and lost.
2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup festival will include 26 races on 3 courses and as usual it all begins with the now world famous “Cheltenham roar”, a thunderous applause heard around the world.
After this most prestigious of kickoffs all will keep their eyes and interests on the Champion Hurdle, where Go Native and Solwit will go up against a recently injured and recovered Binocular. There are no favorites but the odds could go either way, with horses like Kybher Kim and Zaynar also having impressive results.
The following day, Wednesday, will be a beer soaked Queen Mother Champion Chase with people seeing double and Master Minded aiming for a triple. It’s a St. Patrick’s day celebration but don’t let Minded’s French breeding fool you, he’s got the luck of the Irish having won the last two Champion Chases and now he’s hungry for a third. However he does have some stiff competition in the form of Kalahari King and Twist Magic. In this humble journalists opinion something can be said for the power of three and without sticking my neck out or making any bold statements I for one am betting on a certain picture perfect unity to prevail.
Thursday is a big day for the ladies, they call it Fashion day, and in honor of all things female a special charity race will be held for Cancer Research U.K. a ladies only event pitting the best women of the sport up against one another. On the lighter side of things an Alpha Romero Mito will be awarded to the best dressed woman in attendance, so Ladies will be dressed for success and to please, and with so many easy on the eyes treats, this is one Thursday that will ease the going public out of Wednesdays St. Patrick’s hangover and into a more positive state of mind.
Friday is the big day, the one every one’s been talking about, the one every one’s been waiting for. Here, everything comes to a head in a showdown fit for a Hollywood script. Kauto Star is battling it out with Denman in a fight to the photo finish that will have thousands in an uproar no matter what the outcome. These stable mates have faced off in the Cheltenham gold cup before, it was all Denman in 2008 and Kauto Star took home the cup in 2009. Now in 2010 these stable brothers, raised by the same mentor and trained to the same beat are finally bringing their rivalry to the most dramatic of conclusions. The odds are favoring Kauto Star who’s been jump horse racing’s golden child in recent years, but with Imperial Commander and Cooldine thrown in the mix to add that little extra spice it could be anyone’s race. Denman is the second favorite but don’t let his ranking fool you, he’s known to pull off upsets when he’s needed. As for the White Knuckle ride, well, he is the king, but as they say, heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Grab your tickets, place your bets and get your drinks folks because the Cheltenham Festival is back, spring is in the air and for an entire week of feverish enthusiasm and anticipation fortunes will be made, hopes will be lost, and spirits will be rekindled. Strap yourselves in, and enjoy the ride.
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