10:00am Saturday 20th March 2010
By Ray Burroughs
Looking back over the week, day one of the Cheltenham Festival proved to be a triumph for the bookmakers with the first five favourites beaten, although jockey Ruby Walsh came to the rescue of the backers by winning the last race on the 6/4 favourite Quevega for Willie Mullins.
There was no luck for the local Barbury Castle yard of Alan King, whose runner in the Champion Hurdle, Medermit, finished seventh. Bensalem looked to be in the shake up but crashed out at the last but one fence in the William Hill Trophy.
Broad Hinton trainer Andy Turmell’s Bible Lord finished down the field in the same race.
Lambourn trainer Nicky Henderson added another winner to his Festival tally when Binocular came back to form to win the feature race of the day the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle ridden by champion jockey AP McCoy.
Less than a month ago it looked like the six-year-old would miss the race due to a muscle problem but the trainer thought his charge was back to his best, which possibly coincided with the faster ground. Bookmakers were keen to quote some short prices for a follow-up next season. There were plenty of punters around who had binned their ante post wagers on Binocular after connections had said he probably wouldn’t run. Betting offices had plenty of punters writing out duplicates to get their money.
The meeting started badly for punters with the much touted banker of the meeting Dunquib finishing in third place in the Supreme Novices Hurdle after having to go round all the runners on the outside rounding the last turn.
Punters were again left scratching their heads on day two as favourite after favourite was turned over, including the odds-on Master Minded in the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
A tearful Katie Walsh added to the family’s Cheltenham record after winning the opening National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup on Poker De Sivola. Her brother Ruby had ridden 25 Festival winners prior to this year, and her father Ted had four Festival wins as a jockey.
Ruby Walsh came to the aid of the backers by winning the Fred Winter Juvenile Novices Hurdle on the 4-1 favourite Sanctuaire but it was soon back to normal as 40/1 shot Cue Card won the Weatherbys Champion Bumper.
With the well fancied Poquelin, trained by Paul Nicholls, getting beaten on day three bookmakers couldn’t believe their luck. However, the well-backed Big Bucks won the World Hurdle and relieved them of a few pounds.
West Country trainer David Pipe landed a huge double with Bueno Vista and Great Endeavour, both giving a first Festival success to jockeys Haddon Frost and Danny Cook.
The final day of the festival continued to produce shocks, as much-fancied Kauto Star, ridden by Cheltenham master-jockey Ruby Walsh, fell to relinquish his stranglehold on the race.
That left the door well and truly open for Kauto’s Paul Nicholls-trained stablemate Denman to return his second Gold Cup crown, and ‘The Tank’ led with three left to jump.
But Nigel Twiston-Davis’ Imperial Commnader, guided by Paddy Brennan, had other ideas.
The 8/1 shot stormed up the inside of champion jockey AP McCoy, on board Denman, to stride home by fully 10 lengths in front of a baying Cheltenham grandstand.
It completed an unprecedented succession of upsets over the course of the four-day festival which has left bookmakers beaming and punters seriously out of pocket.
Elsewhere on Friday, Katie Walsh took victory on 20-1 Thousand Stars in the Vincent O’Brien Handicap Hurdle, much to the delight of father Ted in the Channel 4 studio, whilst brother Ruby earned the best rider award and Nicky Hederson the best trainer.
Another outsider, Bertie’s Dream, won the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle at 33/1 for Paul Gilligan, and Sam Twiston-Davis, son of Gold Cup-winner Nigel, rode Baby Run, the 9-2 favourite, home in the Christie's Foxhunter Chase.
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