The Cheltenham Festival Begins
The phrase “a tournament of horse racing is unlike any other,” would adequately describe the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The entire event started back in January and will run through early May. For this month every fan’s focus will be on the March Tournament that is slated to start on the 16th of March ending on the 19th. These four days of horseracing will feature dozens of prominent jockeys riding even more talented horses, promising to be an event of fun and festivities. That is why so many refer to the tournament as the Cheltenham Festival, known as one of the biggest parties of the year for horse-racing fans. Weather forecasters stated the first two days of this year’s March Tournament are looking sunny with a light breeze.
On the 19th of March, the party will just be getting started. If the tournament’s history is anything to go by, this year’s festivities will be enjoyed by over two-hundred-thousand fans from around the world tuning into the event. If you’re flying in from the Southern Hemisphere where it has been muggy and warm, you’ll enjoy the cooler air of the Gloucestershire, England has to offer in early spring. You’ll also fall in love with the scenery and the odd mixture of ancient culture and modern convenience that surround you when you visit this beautiful venue. Let’s not forget the main reason why you’re here, it’s the event of horses and jockeys and the thrill of competition.
Tuesday’s big event can be reckoned as one of Jump Racing’s biggest, the Smurfit-Kappa Champion Hurdle. This year’s race promises to be very exciting with Kyber Kim, the Boylesport.com International champ eligible to tack on an additional £200,000 if he can pull off a victory and Go Native eligible to take home an extra £1million to add to his pair of big victories earlier in the season with a win in this race.
Of course, the Smurfit-Kappa is not the only show in town. Other races scheduled for the March tournament’s opening day (Tuesday) will include:
Supreme Novices' Hurdle
Arkle Challenge Trophy
William Hill Trophy
Champion Hurdle
Cross Country Chase
David Nicholson Hurdle
It is fitting to have a parade featuring many of Cheltenham’s previous champions on the opening day of the tournament. Expect the famed Kicking King and Moscow Flyer among others to be there, so get ready horse racing fans this is something you don’t want to miss
With St. Patrick’s Day falling on the 17th time will tell if the luck of the Irish will hold in all of the races. Still, no one attending this year’s Cheltenham festival will be able to miss out on the genuinely contagious air of Irish Fun as the enclosures will be serenaded by Irish bands. The Guinness village will be open and doing a thriving business as fans mill about for a bit of refreshment between races and perhaps a bit of shopping. You will see many shops with souvenir shamrocks as a memento of the Cheltenham events for the day.
The big race on Wednesday is the Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase. This year brings viewers an unprecedented opportunity, as Master Minded will be racing to complete a hat trick, a feat that no horse in Cheltenham’s long history has ever accomplished until this day. It is certain to be a day to remember for those fortunate enough to participate in the festivities.
In addition to the Queen Mother Chase, the other races to be held at Cheltenham on Wednesday include:
National Hunt Chase
NIM Novices' Hurdle
RSA Chase
QM Champion Chase
Coral Cup
FW Novices' Handicap
Champion Bumper
Though the festival will be loads of fun for those fortunate enough to attend the event in person, many other horse racing fans will have to sit content with being on the grounds in spirit. Hundreds of thousands of racing fans and die-hard wagering enthusiasts will be watching the results on monitors and television screens as they await the outcome of the races. After all, the wagers on all twenty-six of this year’s races will probably run into the millions! For just about anyone, managing to win just a small portion of that kind of pot would certainly be an occasion worth celebrating.
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