NICO DE BOINVILLE
Extraordinary events in Prestbury Park history
See 12-page Mirror Racing pullout
THE 2021 Cheltenham Festival, the first to be staged before empty grandstands, will be like no other.
But it’s not the first to stray from the norm since Prestbury Park became the meeting’s permanent home in 1911.
While there was no Festival during the World War II years in 1943 and 1944 — the Gold Cup and Champion
Hurdle were run a fortnight apart the following year — the British weather has been the most frequent disruptor, including when ‘17 degrees of frost’ wiped out the fixture in 1931.
“The people of Cheltenham have suffered a big financial loss through the abandonment of the meeting,” lamented the Gloucester Citizen.
Six years later, snow and rain put paid to Golden Miller’s bid for a sixth Gold Cup triumph. “Nothing but bad news in the racing world,” wrote the Daily Mirror’s Bouverie. “Gone is the chance of Golden Miller to equal Brown Jack’s Ascot record by winning the Gold Cup for the sixth year in succession.”
Snow intervened not once but twice in 1947, when Fortina (Gold Cup) and National Spirit (Champion Hurdle) returned to Cheltenham to enter the record books on April 12.
And Midnight Court lifted the Gold Cup on the same date in 1978 for Fred Winter and John Francome after snow flurries had caused its cancellation on March 16.
Course coverings now protect the racing surface against all but the deepest freeze, but the elements again had their say when galeforce winds destroyed a hospitality tent on the morning of the Queen Mother Champion Chase 2008, with Wednesday’s six races split between Thursday (10 races) and Friday (nine races).
“We had a forecast last night that wind speed would gust over 50mph,” Cheltenham managing director Edward Gillespie (above) told the media. “That has sadly been reinforced.”
Cheltenham took place amid the escalation of coronavirus 12 months ago, but another virus — foot-and-mouth disease — claimed the 2001 Festival after sheep had grazed on the course in the lead-up. At least the Racing Post’s splash that delivered the bad news was a triumph for headline writers.
SILENCED BY THE LAMBS.
WellChild Gold Cup
Friday (3.05)
LANDED Cheltenham’s novice handicap chase two years ago before running third to Min in 2020 Ryanair Chase, having scored at the top level over two miles on his previous outing.
Beaten at odds-on when second in Grade 2 Fortria Chase at Navan in November but led close home to lift Savills Chase over three miles when holding Kemboy by half a length at Leopardstown over Christmas.
DE BROMHEAD SAYS: A Plus Tard was really good in the Savills Chase but he had a hard enough race there so we decided to put him away.
There aren’t many horses that can win a Grade 1 over two miles and be in the Gold Cup picture — Kauto Star would be one.
We went to the Savills with (2019 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle winner and Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase runner-up) Minello Indo and he fell.
We couldn’t go for the Gold Cup off the back of a fall so we plumped for the Irish Gold Cup and he ran respectably (in fourth behind Kemboy). He is in mighty form and loves Cheltenham.
NEWSBOY’S VERDICT:
Little surprise that Rachael Blackmore has chosen to ride A Plus Tard, a Festival winner over fences and interesting at the Gold Cup trip.
Minella Indo’s Festival record stands up to scrutiny but he needs to bounce back from a so-so Irish Gold Cup effort last time out. ODDS: 5-1