The pop scene long ago turned to self-cannibalization, an issue that is becoming familiar for the Cheltenham festival if its discordant elements aren’t rectified promptly. Various parties have a vested interest in perpetuating the idea of ‘business as usual’ for the upcoming week. But given the dwindling anticipation, this assertion seems to be more wishful thinking than reality.
Promotions continue to liken Cheltenham to the Olympics of jump racing, a supreme contest of human and animal partnership. These narratives have been the festival’s backbone for many years and there was a time when they held a solid ground. However, nowadays, these overused refrains feel increasingly out of tune and tiring, much like a chartbuster that’s overplayed.
The phrase ‘eating itself’ was initially used to describe the industry’s penchant for repurposing. Cheltenham, touted as the greatest showcase for jump racing, has been reshuffled, renewed, and renamed into a somewhat hit-or-miss event. There are certainly moments of true excitement to look forward to, such as Galopin Des Champs in the centenary Gold Cup. Yet, there’s a feeling that much of the event doesn’t live up to its projected championship status.
Cheltenham is riding the gale-force wind of the Jockey Club’s determination to squeeze every penny from the festival’s commercial appeal.
Looking back fondly on the streamlined three-day programme that aptly delivered a competition of the finest isn’t merely nostalgia. The addition of a fourth day nearly twenty years ago, along with the necessary programme expansion to facilitate it, has led to an extended format that seems to dilute the quality of Cheltenham.
In the end, the festival is turning into a casualty of its own triumph.
The outcome is an inflated agenda, crammed with an overwhelming array of choices but essentially a finite pool of participants. This results in horses weaving their way through the diverse opportunities to find the easiest way to win. Regardless of the context, success at the festival, with its rich legacy and status, has become a coveted achievement in its own right.
Cheltenham seems to be compromising its own prestige by casting uncertainty over star performer, Lossiemouth’s participation in the emblematic Champion Hurdle which might end up reducing the festival’s popularity. With Constitute Hill missing, Lossiemouth, an established festival victor, has an advantageous championship prospect as well as a significant 7lb sex allowance. Interestingly, the question arises as to why Willie Mullins, should lock horns with his own highly favoured contender State Man, when there exists a top-tier alternative in the Mares Hurdle merely 40 minutes away.
This move by Mullins appears strategically wise; his intent is to amplify his odds of winning. However, strategic shrewdness does not make a spectacle, and it doesn’t alleviate the tiresome task of predicting during the festival build-up how a single influential person could most beneficially distribute his squad.
Mullins has fourished in the recent Cheltenham atmosphere, and his transformation over the past ten years to achieving a ‘century’ of festival victories is an extraordinary accomplishment by any measure. This has entrenched an unparalleled dominance for the nebulous ‘Team Ireland.’
However, this year’s festival build-up appears to be suffering from an unenergetic tempo. With an unprecedented number of highly favoured contenders coupled with the domination by one team, and a skewed Anglo-Irish rivalry, there is visible evidence of the public’s declining fascination. Sporting charm can always vary. But once indifference sets in, it is an obstinate adversary to push back.
The proposition to extend the festival to a fifth day last year indicates the Jockey Club is lagging behind the public’s appraisal of its high-value asset. Since Cheltenham is considered the premier showcase for the sport, there is a vital task ahead on both sides of the Irish Sea to revamp the festival’s diminishing competitive allure.
The essence of this issue is realising that sometimes less is truly more. It’s not fair to fault individual owners and trainers for leveraging the provided programme to their maximum benefit. There is a pressing need to promote competition instead of watering it down. It’s high time we listened to something original rather than persistently recycling outdated hits that are starting to show their age.
For your Weekend Predictions
The shortest distance on heavy terrain could be just the right fit for WHISKEYWEALTH (3.55) in this Saturday’s featured handicap chase at Gowran. The horse, trained by Terence O’Brien, achieved a pleasant victory over hurdles at Naas just a month ago, after which the trainer from Co. Cork instantly set his sights on this race. Jockey John Shinnick, who rode at Naas, once again knocks off a crucial 7lb.
The Robcour colours of Brian Acheson triumphed in Saturday’s Gowran bumper with Bob Olinger (2020) and Journey With Me the following year. The entrepreneur is now the proud owner of GOOD N’KIND (5.40), the December point-to-point winner at Dromahane, now racing for the first time under Henry De Bromhead. This race has previously shown promising talents, including Tullyhill just a year ago, and it seems this year’s event will be no different.