Cheltenham racing ahead without fans

The cheltenham festival starts tomorrow and while it will be a very different affair, behind closed doors, outlines just some of the things to look forward to this week

justin palmer frodon & bryony frost

RACING desperately needs a feelgood story to help repair its tarnished image following the Gordon Elliott photograph controversy, and what better way to provide it than Frodon and Bryony Frost winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday?

Frost hailed Frodon as ‘one in a million’ after their shock King George win on Boxing Day and having memorably triumphed in the Ryanair Chase at the Festival in 2019, the Paul Nicholls-trained star is more than just a live outsider at around 12/1.

If Frodon and Frost, the most successful female rider in British jump racing history, can again dominate from the front then they may just gallop their rivals into submission.

chacun in champion chase

THE two-mile championship is always a race to savour and should be extra special with big guns Chacun Pour Soi and Altior set to clash after both missed the race last year.

Nicky Henderson’s Altior won the showpiece in 2018 and 2019 but it remains to be seen if he can still be a force to be reckoned with, even though the now 11-year-old is unbeaten in four previous visits to the Festival.

Willie Mullins, odds-on to be leading Festival trainer again, has never won the Queen Mother but in hot favourite Chacun Pour Soi – a Group One winner at Leopardstown on his last two starts – he has every chance of doing so.

opening-day favourites

WE ALL like to see bookmakers take a hammering from punters and the opening day of the Festival tomorrow certainly provides gamblers with a host of warm favourites to get stuck into.

Appreciate It heads the betting for the first race, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at 6/5, while Henderson’s Shishkin is 1/2 favourite for the following Arkle.

The big race of the day, the Champion Hurdle, sees the unbeaten Honeysuckle, trained by Henry De Bromhead, as 2/1 market leader while Concertista is strongly fancied at 6/5 to land the Mares’ Hurdle.

walk in park for paisley?

PAISLEY PARK bids to regain the Stayers’ Hurdle crown he won in 2019 and his cause has been helped after chief rival Thyme Hill was ruled out of the Festival by injury.

Emma Lavelle believes that she has the nine-year-old back to his best after he was found to have a heart issue following a disappointing run in this race last year and his win in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot in December would appear to suggest just that.