Cheltenham Festival 2020
The 2020 Cheltenham Festival was one of the most controversial in recent years, not because of events on the racecourse, but because it was staged during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Cheltenham Gold Cup, for example, was witnessed by 68,500 on-course spectators on March 13, 2020, just ten days before then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced national lockdown measures in the United Kingdom, which legally came into force on March 26. Despite accusations that the Cheltenham Festival was a ‘super spreader’ incident, the Jockey Club, which owns Cheltenham Racecourse, insisted that the decision to proceed with the four-day event was in line with the unequivocal government guidance at the time.
Politics aside, the Prestbury Cup went, once again, to Ireland by a score of 17-10, with Easysland, saddled by David Cottin, providing a rare French-trained Festival winner in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase. Willie Mullins was leading trainer with seven winners and Paul Townend with five, but the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and Stayers’ Hurdle all went the way of British-trained horses, namely Epatante, trained by Nicky Henderson, Politologue, trained by Paul Nicholls, and Lisnagar Oscar, trained by Rebecca Curtis.
Fittingly, perhaps, the Cheltenham Gold Cup was won, for the second year running, by Al Boum Photo, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend. Winner of the Savills Chase at Tramore on New Year’s Day, as he had been in 2018/19, the reigning champion was sent off 100/30 favourite for his title defence, but had to work significantly harder than he had the previous year. At the top of the hill, he disputed the lead, but was narrowly headed by Lostinthetranslation between the final two fences, before regaining the lead soon after the last. In the closing stages, he was all out to hold the challenge of 5/1 second favourite Santini, who stayed on well close home to get within a neck of the winner at the finishing line. Lostintranslation finished a valiant third, a further length and a quarter behind and just a neck in front of the fourth horse, Monalee.