six sleeps to 'cheltmas'.

​I am both looking forward to the Festival with the anticipation of a juvenile the week before Christmas and rather dreading the hollow atmosphere and the daylight robbery of victorious horses and jockeys returning to a ‘dead’ arena. Better what we will have, I suspect, than the year of foot and mouth when we had no Festival at all.
And there is so much to look forward to, isn’t there? A Champion Hurdle that looks on paper as if it might be the best renewal for many a long year, with the reigning champion looking set to be deposed by either Honeysuckle or more likely in my opinion Goshen, with a couple of others in with a shout. There is an Arkle that as I write boasts no less than three horses that have ‘Champion Chase’ next year written all over them. There are at least two potential superstars in Envoi Allen and Monkfish to look forward to. Not even a cynic like me can see either being beaten, though the former, due to his last-minute change of stable, might be vulnerable on this one occasion. And let me remind you, all great horses get beaten at some point in their careers.
The Stayers Hurdle (why is this race not called the Champion Stayers Hurdle?) looks really juicy, with Paisley Park and Thyme Hill to do battle again, though I have a sneaking fancy for Flooring Porter of Gavin Cromwell’s. Even the Triumph Hurdle has the appearance of a race that might throw up a potential Champion Hurdle horse for next season. 
I hope David Pipe’s Umbrigado turns-up in one of the handicaps as I was quite taken with him at Newbury last week. As a member of the David Pipe Racing Club, I am privileged to be sent short videos of the Club’s horses on the gallops and schooling grounds and was taken with Umbrigado when he schooled with of the Club’s horses.
Then there is the Gold Cup which should prove a great betting race this season as there as so many horses in with a chance. To my mind Al Boum Photo is no good thing as this year’s race will not necessarily be run to suit him. Also, when under pressure he is prone to fall and I can see Paul Townend having to give him the hurry-up far sooner than in his two previous Gold Cups. On any ground but heavy I still think, despite what all the experts think, Frodon will prove himself a thorough stayer and jump himself to glory, though the fly in the ointment is Native River as it is possible his positive attitude might upset Frodon’s rhythm which will mean Bryony will not be able to dictate the pace as she has done to great effect in the past.
I have the suspicion that British-trained horses may well do better than is anticipated and do not expect an Irish whitewash and I predict three of the four championship races will stay in this country.
Something that does please me this year, and I hope the Cheltenham executive and the B.H.A. take notice, is that the National Hunt Chase will not be an amateur event this year due to government restrictions failing to acknowledge that some amateur riders are as elite as the professionals. I have long suggested that what was a 4-mile novice chase, now 3-mile 6-furlongs, was inappropriate to be restricted to amateurs and that the world’s greatest race-meeting was discredited by having so many races restricted to the unpaid ranks. Amateurs have the Kim Muir and the Hunters Chase, that is perfectly adequate. And yes, tradition has value, and the meeting is called the National Hunt Festival, named after the race that for much of its history was the feature event. But if history and tradition are to be adhered to, the race should still be a 4-mile chase for maidens, and it isn’t.
Finally, the town of Cheltenham will this year be starved of the financial input that accompanies the Festival; and the town, remember, also lost both its cultural festivals last year. To acknowledge the fact that horse racing and the Festival do not exist as lone entities and that the town of Cheltenham is as much a partner as it is a location, the B.H.A. and the racecourse might consider adding a fifth day to the meeting for the next two years in order to help the town recover financially from the ravages of government restrictions. I realise this is a contentious issue with financial consequences but the sport should reach out to the local community in a ‘we are all in this together’ attitude of companionship.
There are four handicaps that will be over-subscribed, all of which could furnish the fifth day with consolation races and if the cross-country race was run as the highlight, with the prize-money bumped-up to make it the most valuable such race in Europe (if you take out Tiger Roll and Easysland the quality of runners seems to get weaker by the year), only one more race is required to make a full card.
As I write, for those of you who live hundreds of miles from Gloucestershire, the weather in North Devon is wet and gloomy, with a measurable amount of rain having fallen over the past twelve to eighteen hours, with sunshine and showers to follow through to the weekend. The forecast is similar for Cheltenham.