Cheltenham Day 3 Recap and Results
There is only one day to go in the Cheltenham Festival and if your predictions have been hitting the wall, you have some the final opportunity to redeem yourself. The third day of the festival (St. Patrick Thursday) was full of action especially in the highlight race of the day, the Stayers’ Hurdle. This race was expected to be a battle mainly between Faugheen, Paisley Park and last year’s runners up Supasundae. The weather was nice although a little damp and several people were able to make it to Prestbury Park to witness the action. For the punters, the day was generally a good one for those who had played their cards right as most of the chosen favorites made it to the first three positions. As you wait for the Gold Cup on Friday, here is a review of what transpired on the third day in black and white.
The JLT Novices’ Steeple Chase was the first race and it was, without doubt, a delight to the fans. The favorite of the race, Defi Du Seuil did the gamblers and his trainer Collin Tizzard proud but some credit should also be given to his jockey Barry Geraghty. Geraghty came into the competition ready for a battle of wits and he managed to stalk down Lostintransition before charging Defi forward to the finish line. Lostintranslation took the second position and MengliKhan the third. In the Pertemps Final, the first three positions were occupied by Sire Du Berlais, Tobefair and Not Many Left in that order. The race was a thrilling experience given that Sire rose from struggling for some space in the final lengths to become the top. Tobefair also surprised fans with his determination and were it not for Sire finding a gap, the 40/1 horse would have carried the day. Frodon registered perhaps one of the best victories for the day in the Ryanair Chase. He managed to hold the number one position from the start of the race to the finish line. Aso and Road To Respect took the second and third positions respectively.
The Gold Cup is just around the corner and being the greatest race of the event, many people are bracing themselves for the entertainment that comes with it in addition to the money returns from bets. Bookies have gone out of their way to ensure you have all the necessary stats for the race. To begin with, the last 20 competitions have never had a winner with a price greater than 8/1 and since the beginning, the highest price that has ever made it first to the finish line was 25/1 in 1998. Again, for the last 20 years, over 50% of winners had ratings of 170 and above. The name also seems to matter in these races although most people consider it a far-fetched variable. Single-word name horses do not make it to the top three positions with as much frequency as two- or three-word name horses. Finally, the ages 7-9 have produced 90% of the last 20 winners and thus it is expected that even the winner in this competition will not be far from that bracket.
When it comes to Cheltenham races, one has to have a strategy and this is what Paisley Park’s jockey seemed to have in mind. For about 90% of the course, Paisley maintained his position at the middle of the park only to beat his rivals down to their knees. Sam Spinner and Faugheen took the second and third positions respectively. In the Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Handicap Chase, Siruh Du Lac, Janika and Spiritofthegames occupied the first three positions. The Trull House Stud Mares’ Novices Hurdle was won by Eglantine Du Seuil (50/1) followed by Concertista (66/1) and Tintangle (40/1). Finally, Any Second Now managed the top position in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase. The runners-up was Kilfilum Cross and in the third position was The Young Master.
