The Guide to Cheltenham: Day Four

Welcome to day four of the four-day guide to the 2011 Cheltenham Festival. This guide was written to give you the basic information for all four days of the festival, and more in-depth information on the days’ major races.

The final day of the Cheltenham festival sports another seven races, but it would be foolish to pretend the entire day isn’t centred around the Cheltenham Gold Cup: the most prestigious steeplechasing race on the planet.

You can find links to days one, two and three at the bottom of the article.

Day Four Schedule

Major Races

Seven races get underway on day four, three of them worth taking a look at. These three races include: the JCB Triumph Hurdle, the Albert Bartlett and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The JCB Triumph Hurdle

A number of premier hurdlers set their careers in motion after a victory in the JCB Triumph Hurdle. The opening race of the final of the Cheltenham Festival, the JCB Triumph Hurdle tends to draw a similar crowd as the Supreme Novices, but some consider it to be a slightly softer race as it is restricted to juveniles. Contenders go 2m1f over eight hurdles.

• Barry Geraghty, Richard Johnson and Robert Thornton have taken the race seven times in the last ten years.
• Nicky Henderson boasts the best conditioner record in this one with a total of five victories.
• Betting on juveniles can be tricky as big improvements can come from nowhere and disappointing performances can arise from seemingly consistent jumpers.
• Look for good quality performance on the NH Flat circuits and the ability to close out a race well.

The Albert Bartlett

Also known as the Spa Novices’ Hurdle, this Grade 1 National Hunt contest is open to contenders four years and older and goes 3m over twelve hurdles. A longer distance than many novices generally run, this is considered by many to appeal to a very specific type of jumper. The race has only been around since 2005 and has been a staging point for festival glory for a number of contenders including Wichita Lineman and Weapon’s Amnesty.

• This is a generally a race that can prompt a contender to switch over to chasing afterwards.
• Look for contenders proven at the distance as many hurdles races don’t go 3m.
• Despite being open to four year-olds, a four year-old has never won the race. Only one five year-old has scored as well and that was in the first iteration of the race in 2005.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup

The be-all end-all of steeplechasing, the Cheltenham Festival showpiece can catapult an accomplished horse to legendary status in a mere 3m2.5f. The race sees the crème-de-la-crème of chasers navigating twenty-two fences over the new course at Cheltenham. The race has been run since 1924 but traces its roots back to a flat race in 1819. The race holds the distinction of being the highest purse offered in a non-handicap chase in Britain.

• Avoid odds-on favourites in this race as there is generally so much talent on offer that it simply isn’t worth the risk.
• Favourites in this race tend to get overbet due to the massive volume coming in from “twice-a-year punters”.
• The TBP markets are especially hot for this race and the ability to get paid out on more than 3 places can be a crucial factor in a profitable gold cup.
• Paul Nicholls has won three of the past four Gold Cups.
• Many contenders are pointed firmly towards this race for the duration of their campaigns, making the ante post markets slightly more predictable.

The Guide to Cheltenham by day:

The Guide to Cheltenham: Day 1
The Guide to Cheltenham: Day 2
The Guide to Cheltenham: Day 3
The Guide to Cheltenham: Day 4