The Vanessa Feltz ‘Too Many Seconds Award’ goes to….
Me! Judging by the comments and emails I’ve received this will probably be hotly debated and I know Matt will have something to say about it but I backed Get Me Out Of Here, Somersby, The Package, L’Ami, Caroles Legacy, Forpadydeplasterer, Notus De La Tour, Othermix, Prince Eric, Poquelin and Najaf. Plus two 3rds and a 4th. Can anyone beat that?
The Anfield Kop ‘You’re Not Singing Anymore Award’ goes to…..
All those people who bought Denman or Kauto Star scarves ready to wave them as their hero storms up the run-in. Ooops! Was there a money back guarantee if neither of them won?
Pricewise ‘Top Tipping Award’ goes to…..
My brother Gary for his incredible 33/1 (Chief Dan George) and 25/1 (A New Story) double posted on Matt’s site.
The Sheikh Mohammed ‘Get Your Cheque Books Out Award’ goes to…..
Cue Card who went from Fontwell class 6 NH flat race winner to the most exciting prospect in NH racing after demolishing the field in the bumper. I doubt Sheikh Mohammed will be interested but I bet JP McManus, Graham Wylie or Sir Robert Ogden have already made their offers known. Do I hear £250,000 anyone?….
The tumbleweed ‘Hear A Pin Drop Award’ goes to……
Cue Card storming up the run-in to the sound of moans, groans and betting slips being ripped up. Rails bookmaker John Hughes claimed in Monday’s Racing Post that it is the first time he has ever bet at the Festival and not laid a single bet on the winner of a race! Oh to be a bookie again.
The Corleone ‘Family Clan Award’ goes to…..
the Walsh’s of course. First there was Ruby riding the horses, Ted training the odd runner and then acting as the Irish expert for Channel 4 and now we have sister Katie to look out for as well. She only had two rides at the Festival but she managed to win on them both which, given the competitive nature of the meeting, is nothing short of amazing. Oh and mum Helen also got her 10 minutes of fame with plenty of exposure and interviews with the CH4 team. All together now aaaaahhhh.
The Incredible Hulk ‘Green With Envy Award’ goes to….
all us punters who had to listen to bookmakers gloating that it was their best ever Cheltenham. Don’t worry folks, he who laughs last, laughs loudest! We’ll get our own back in the National, The Guineas, The Derby, Royal Ascot and every other meeting this year and bring the bookies to their knees. hahaHA
Barclaycard man going down the water chute ‘Greatest Advertising Of The Week Award’ goes to…
Paddy Power for their enormous erection on the hill looking over Cheltenham racecourse. It didn’t go down too well with the authorities but you couldn’t miss their 50 foot high sign and the amount of press coverage they received made whatever they paid to put it there worth every penny.
The Carry On style jokes ‘Worst Innuendo Award’ goes to…
The last award category.
The Tri-Annual Log Flume at Blackpool Pleasure Beach ‘Worst Ride Award’ goes to….
plenty to choose from including the great AP McCoy for his ride on Get Me Out Of Here but for me it has to be 3lb claimer AP Crawley for his ride on Maucaillou in the Pertemps Final. You’d think that with 3 miles to travel he’d have had time to get the horse into a challenging position but Mr Crawley decided that he’d wait until 2m 7f had been run before getting busy and trying to win the race. The horse has plenty of ability but he hasn’t won for over 2 1/2 years and I reckon a change of jockey is desperately needed.
George Clooney Best Actor Oscar ‘Deserved to Win but didn’t Award’ goes to….
Barizan in the Triumph Hurdle. He hadn’t run since last November but was backed from 40’s into 14/1 so it seemed connections were hopeful of a good run and that’s exactly what they got. Leading from the start he was soon well clear and for much of the way was upwards of 20 lengths in front. With 2 hurdles left to jump he was still 15 lengths clear but as he started to tire a bit his jumping let him down and he crashed through both of the last two flights. He still had a 5 length advantage at the last but the hill found him out and he succumbed in the final 100 yards. A really brave attempt from both horse and jockey that deserved to win the race.
The Gavin and Stacey final episodes ‘Biggest Disappointment Award’ goes to…..
Tell Massini. I wasn’t alone in making this one my bet of the meeting as everything looked in place for a big run. I’m not sure what happened to him but this cannot have been his true running as he had form with both the 1st and 3rd home that would have placed him in the shake-up. It really was too bad to be true.
The Millenium Dome ‘Bad Decision Award’ goes to….
both the Cheltenham racecourse executives and Tom Taffe. Firstly, the Cheltenham powers-that-be for deciding to move the final hurdle 70 yards nearer the finishing line in an effort to cut the number of jockeys getting a whip ban. It almost certainly stopped the best horse in the Supreme Novices Hurdle (Get Me Out Of Here not Dunguib) from winning the race but ironically, the winning jockey Richard Johnson got a 4 day ban anyway. Great work chaps! Tom Taffe gets his share of the Trophy for deciding to run Smoking Aces in the Pertemps Final and not the Coral Cup. A strange choice of target given the horse had never won beyond 2m4f and had never shown anything to suggest that 3 miles would be his ideal trip. He was really well handicapped and in the form of his life but those extra 3f were too much for the horse. The £1050 he won for 6th place in The Pertemps was a mere fraction of what he would have won for a top 2 finish in the Coral Cup.
The Monty Python ‘Ministry of Silly Bets Award’ goes to…
It could have been me for my ante-post Lucky 15 that nominated 3 non runners or it could go to Matt for his multiple bet that had just one winner (unfortunately it wasn’t the race at Cheltenham he nominated. In fact it didn’t even win at Cheltenham!) but I’ll give it to the William Hill telephone punter who staked a whopping £16000 on 10pew accumulators. 80,000 accumulators! He must have been on the phone for hours.
Mind you, he did have the last laugh when he copped £450,000. It would have been over a million if Mon Mome hadn’t collared Carruthers on the line for third place in the Gold Cup.
The Saga ‘OAP Award’ goes to….
Mister McGoldrick who despite being a 13yo zipped round Prestbury Park giving a fine display of jumping and front running and only gave best jumping the last. A very decent 4th place finish meant he’s not been out of the top 4 in any of his last 7 chase starts which have all been at class 2 or higher. If Cheltenham are thinking of staging another race, which I think they are, then I suggest a veterans chase. Imagine 20 of your old favourites running in the same race, brilliant! Kauto Star would even qualify for it next year.
Runner up for this award is A New Story who actually won as an 12yo but as it’s only a rubbish race with silly obstacles it doesn’t really count (though I’m sure Gary would disagree).
And finally, the ‘one to keep an eye on next time out Award’ goes to….
Shanrod. Despite mixing it with the best 4yo novice hurdlers in Ireland and carrying just 10-13 he was sent off at 50/1 but he ran a race much better than his 13th place would have you believe. He went from way back to chasing the leaders in a matter of strides and was making good headway when a bad mistake stopped him in his tracks. I doubt he’s up to taking on the top hurdlers at level weights but he looks well rated to take a handicap.
Good luck,
Gavin.