Category: Years

The 2013 Cheltenham Festival was staged between Tuesday, March 12 and Friday, March 15, 2013, but the start of racing on the opening day was delayed by 35 minutes due to overnight frost and the Cross Country Chase was postponed by 48 hours, leaving six, rather than seven, races on day one. Following the British domination in 2012, Irish trainers redressed the balance, to some extent, with victory for Alderwood, trained by Willie Mullins, in the closing Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase, making the final score 14-13 in favour of the home team.

Indeed, Mullins, who saddled five winners during the four days, wrested the leading trainer award back from Nicky Henderson and Ruby Walsh, who rode four, did likewise with the leading jockey award from Barry Geraghty. Nevertheless, Henderson enjoyed a fine Festival, with four winners, including Sprinter Sacre in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and Bobs Worth in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, both ridden by Geraghty.

Of the other three ‘feature’ races, the Champion Hurdle, the Ryanair Chase and the World Hurdle, two went to Ireland. Hurricane Fly, trained by Mullins and ridden by Walsh, regained the two-mile hurdling championship, having finished third, as defending champion, in 2012, while Solwhit, trained by Charles Byrnes and ridden by Paul Carberry, won the World Hurdle. In between times, Cue Card, trained by Colin Tizzard and ridden by his son, Joe, struck a blow for Britain with a commanding nine-length victory over the Irish-trained favourite, First Lieutenant, in the Ryanair Chase.

Tragically, the 2012 Cheltenham Festival, as a whole, was overshadowed by serious injury to leading Irish amateur jockey John Thomas ‘J.T.’ McNamara. McNamara fractured two vertebrae in his neck in a horrific first-fence fall from Galaxy Rock in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup, which left him paralysed from the neck down. He did on July 26, 2016, aged just 41, after suffering complications.

The 2012 Cheltenham Festival was staged, as is customary, between Tuesday, March 13 to Friday, March 16, 2012 and was notable for the dominance of British-trained horses. The for-once-not-all-conquering Willie Mullins saddled three winners, his brother, Thomas, saddled one, as did Rodger Sweeney, but all the other races, including the five ‘feature’ races, went the way of horses trained on British soil, making the final score 22-5 in favour of the home team. Nicky Henderson was the leading trainer, with seven winners over the four days, and Barry Geraghty was the leading jockey, with five.

Rock On Ruby, trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Noel Fehily, sprang a minor surprise in the Champion Hurdle, beating defending champion, and odds-on favourite, Hurricane Fly into third place. Finian’s Rainbow, trained by Henderson and ridden by Geraghty, won the Queen Mother Champion Chase, Riverside Theatre, for the same trainer/jockey combination, justified favouritism in the Ryanair Chase and Big Buck’s, trained by Nicholls and ridden by Ruby Walsh won the World Hurdle for the fourth year running.

In the ‘Blue Riband’ event, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, previous dual winner Kauto Star – making what turned out to be his last appearance at the Festival, as a 12-year-old – was pulled up before halfway. In his absence, victory went to the ill-fated Synchronised, trained by Jonjo O’Neill and ridden by Tony McCoy, who kept on gamely in the closing stages to beat The Giant Bolster and defending champion, Long Run, by two-and-a-quarter lengths and three-quarters of a length. Tragically, less than a month later, the nine-year-old was fatally injured after falling in the Grand National, as he attempted to become the first horse since the legendary Golden Miller to win both the premier steeplechases in the country in the same season.

The 2017 Cheltenham Festival took place between March 14 and March 17, 2017 and resulted in something of a novelty, insofar as Willie Mullins, leading trainer in each of the previous four years, did not defend his title. Indeed, Mullins did not saddle a winner until Yorkhill in the opening Golden Miller Novices’ Chase on day three, ‘St. Patrick’s Day’, but quickly added three more later on the card and two more on day four, ‘Gold Cup Day’, for a total of six altogether.

Mullins’ staunch rearguard action actually gave him the same number of winners as compatriot Gordon Elliott, but the latter edged the leading trainer award on countback. Ruby Walsh, who rode a memorable four-timer for Mullins, on the aforementioned Yorkhill, Un De Sceaux in the Ryanair Chase, Nichols Canyon in the Stayers’ Hurdle and Limini in the Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, all on day three, won the leading jockey award for the eleventh time in his career. Not altogether surprisingly, with Elliot and Mullins contributing six winners apiece, the final result of the Prestbury Cup was a rather one-sided 19-9 in favour of the Irish.

The Mullins camp did suffer a major reverse in the Queen Mother Champion Chase when Douvan, unbeaten in 13 starts for the yard and sent off at prohibitive odds of 2/9, trailed in seventh of the nine finishers and was subsequently found to be lame behind. Victory went to Special Tiara, trained by Henry De Bromhead and Noel Fehily, who finally landed the £208, 300.32 first prize after finishing third in both 2015 and 2016.

Of the other ‘feature’ races, the Champion Hurdle went the way of Buveir D’Air, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty, and the Cheltenham Gold Cup the way of Sizing John, trained by Jessica Harrington and ridden by Robbie Power. Indeed, having won the ‘Blue Riband’ event with her first ever runner, Mrs. Harrington finished the week as the most successful trainer in Cheltenham Festival history, with 11 winners to her name.

The 2016 Cheltenham Festival was staged between March 15 and March 18, 2016 and, as has become customary, featured 28 races, worth £4.1 million in total prize money. Overall, the Festival proved to be quite ‘punter friendly’, with the outright or joint-favourite successful in 10 of the 28 races, albeit three times at odds-on. The third iteration of the Prestbury Cup again went the way of Ireland for the first time, by a score of 15-13 and, in the ‘feature’ races of the week, Irish-trained horses still outpointed their British-trained counterparts by a score of 3-2.

A terribly unlucky loser in the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle at the 2015 Cheltenham Festival, Annie Power, trained by Willie Mullins, took full advantage of a 7lb mares’ allowance to win the Champion Hurdle, Vautour, also trained by Mullins, likewise justified favouritism in the Ryanair Chase, winning comfortably, as did Don Cossack, trained by Gordon Elliott, in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. For the home team, Sprinter Sacre, trained by Nicky Henderson, made an emotional return to something like his best form by winning the Queen Mother Champion Chase for a second time and Thistlecrack, trained by Colin Tizzard, made mincemeat of the opposition in the World Hurdle.

Although yet to train a winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup – he actually saddled Djakadam into second place for the second year running – Willie Mullins won the leading trainer award, as he had done for the last three years, with seven winners. Ruby Walsh, who rode all seven Mullins-trained winners, won the leading jockey award for the fourth year running, and the tenth time in all. Indeed, his fifth winner of the week, Black Hercules in the Golden Miller Novices’ Chase in St. Patrick’s Day, brought up a half century of Cheltenham Festival winners for the Kildare-born jockey. He told BBC Radio, “It’s amazing. When I joined Pat Taaffe here on 25 I thought that was unbelievable, but 50 is incredible.”

Staged between Tuesday, March 10 and Friday, March 13, the 2015 Cheltenham Festival featured 27 races that counted towards the result of the Prestbury Cup, which Britain eventually won by the narrowest margin, 14-13. Day one, ‘Champion Day’, started as anticipated for the indomitable Willie Mullins, who saddled Douvan to win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Un De Sceaux to win the Arkle Trophy and Faugheen to win the Champion Hurdle, with all three ridden by Ruby Walsh. However, the fourth Mullins-trained ‘good thing’ of the day, Annie Power, who was sent off at odds of 1/2 for the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle, fell at the final flight when four lengths ahead and in command. Mullins still won the race, with his second string, Glens Melody, but that was scant consolation for punters who piled into the short-priced four-timer.

Mullins actually went on to become leading trainer at the Festival for the third year running with eight winners over the four days and Walsh the leading jockey, also for the third year running, with four winners. The Champion Hurdle aside, the remaining four ‘feature’ races of the week all went the way of British-trained horses. Dodging Bullets, trained by Paul Nicholls, won the Queen Mother Champion Chase, Uxizandre, trained by Alan King and ridden by Tony McCoy – in his farewell year – the Ryanair Chase and Cole Harden, trained by Warren Greatrex, the Stayers’ Hurdle. Last, but by no means least, Coneygree, trained by Mark Bradstock, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and, in so doing, become the first novice since Captain Christy, in 1974, to win the prestigious steeplechase.

Commenting on his decision not to replace winning jockey Nico De Boinville, who was having his first ride in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Bradstock said, “It’s not just about Coneygree, it’s the work he does coming in whenever we ask him for the other horses as well.” For his part, De Boinville said, “It’s the greatest feeling in the world.”