THE FESTIVAL 14-17 MARCH 2023
Festival Wednesday is about the thrills, from the Betway Queen Mother to the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase DAY TWO
W hile Champion Day is about setting the scene for four extraordinary days of racing, Festival Wednesday delivers sensational sport – at speed. Few races on the Jump racing calendar capture fans’ imagination quite like the feature, the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase. Run over a distance of two miles, the Grade 1 contest requires a blend of speed and an ability to be inch-perfect when meeting each of the 13 fences at rapid pace on Cheltenham’s Old Course. This demanding checklist means that winning this race on multiple occasions is not uncommon and famous multiple winners of the trophy include legends of the sport like Flyingbolt, Altior, Sprinter Sacre, Master Minded, Moscow Flyer and Viking Flagship. Last year saw a notable omission firmly corrected when the Cheltenham Festival’s most successful trainer, Willie Mullins, finally saddled the winner of the last remaining Championship contest to have eluded him courtesy of Energumene. Further Group 1 action comes in the shape of the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase. Both races are renowned for producing stars of the future – a theme which
appearance and chasing his sixth Festival win, owner Michael O’Leary had already said that this race would be his swansong. It looked as if the script had been written perfectly, as he led turning for home. With the rain-softened ground not in his favour, the final half-furlong was just a fraction too much for the old warrior and he had to give way by three-quarters of a length – ironically to his stablemate Delta Work. One thing is for certain – as Festival Wednesday draws to a close and we reach the half-way stage of The Festival, it’s as much about looking forward to two more days of extraordinary as it is looking back at the 14 thrilling races we have already enjoyed.
continues to the finale, the Grade 1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper. Winners of the Champion Bumper regularly go on to become household names, and no less than 11 of trainer Willie Mullins’ record 88 Festival winners have come in this race, including in 2022 with Facile Vega. Festival Wednesday also offers something unique in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase. It’s usually all about the winners at the Cheltenham Festival but last year’s runner-up in this race came home to a reception never before seen for an also-ran. That is because the runner-up was the horse that has truly transcended racing in recent years – Tiger Roll. Making his eighth Festival
“RUN OVER A DISTANCE OF TWO MILES, THE GRADE 1 CONTEST REQUIRES A BLEND OF SPEED AND AN ABILITY TO BE INCH-PERFECT WHEN MEETING EACH OF THE 13 FENCES AT A RAPID PACE”
26 THE FESTIVAL PREVIEW MAGAZINE
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