THE F E S T I VAL™ SUPPORT I NG WE L LCH I LD
16-19 MARCH 2021 DAY
OTTWNHEFOROEUER Two years ago Day Three of The Festival™ supporting WellChild produced some of the most remarkable racing imaginable. For decades Cheltenham has delivered not only some truly brilliant storylines on the track, but moments of unrivalled emotion too
O wners, trainers, jockeys and racegoers have all shed a tear or two in victory and defeat as success and failure is greeted with raw emotion on horseracing’s biggest stage. Few days of sport, however, have come close to conjuring up the drama, passion and joy of what will forever be known as ‘The Golden Hour’ on Day Three of The Festival in 2019. Thursday of Festival week is the only day that stages two Grade One ‘Championship’ races, with the Ryanair Chase and the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle taking place back-to-back. Two years ago those races produced winners in Frodon and Paisley Park respectively, but it was the nature of their victories and their own unique back-stories that will ensure both horses and their achievements live long in the memory. Frodon’s victory in the Ryanair Chase was particularly signicant, as it saw his jockey Bryony Frost become the rst British female jockey to win a Grade One race at the Cheltenham Festival. Frost’s career had already been on a sharp upward curve and with a gift for describing her emotions and her horses, the interview which followed on ITV Racing is now almost as synonymous with the day as Frodon’s performance itself. She said: “He is Pegasus, he has got wings! My god, he jumps and just at that
moment and he will be joined in this year’s race by Philip Hobbs’ Thyme Hill, with the score standing at 1-1 between the pair this season. Meanwhile connections of Lisnagar Oscar will be hoping their hero can repeat last year’s remarkable feat, although he is on everyone’s radar now after causing a monumental 50-1 upset 12 months ago. Thursday’s theme seems likely to be about returning heroes, and a seven year old who is already building quite the Festival legacy is Envoi Allen. Unbeaten in 11 starts under Rules and with two Festival victories to his name already – in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper in 2019 and last year’s Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle – the sky could well be the limit. He will bid for Festival win number three in the Marsh Novices’ Chase and if our Festival ambassador for 2021, Barry Geraghty, is right then it would be folly to bet against him. Geraghty, with 43 Festival wins to his name, said: “I sat on Envoi Allen at Gordon’s back in November. He would be along the lines of sitting on Sprinter Sacre – he has a similar presence. There is no doubt, he is the real deal.” To be likened to a Festival icon by a Festival icon is no mean feat, and both Cheveley Park Stud and Elliott will be hoping that their rising star can steal all the headlines once again – on a day that is bursting at the seams with talent.
minute when he got overtaken, most horses would quit, but he grabbed me by the hands and said, ‘Don’t you dare give up, don’t you dare not send me into the last – I want this more than you, now come on, where are you?’ “Just look at what he’s done there – deny that he just loves racing. He’s unbelievable. He just made the dream come true, it’s just incredible. He will deserve every single high ve, pat and carrot.” Racing fans, regardless of whether they were at Cheltenham or not that day, had barely got their collective breath back when Paisley Park delivered a perfect performance to complete a fairytale of his own by winning the Stayers’ Hurdle. His owner, Andrew Gemmell, is blind and has an incredible connection with the horse, a story which was well documented before the day and repeated many times later, especially after he shed tears of joy when greeting his hero in the winners’ enclosure. Many believed Paisley Park was on the cusp of creating a legacy and although he lost his crown last year, it is an achievement in itself that he is back on the track and on schedule to run in the race this year, having been found to have been suering from an irregular heartbeat. Emma Lavelle’s star is at the forefront of a division which is ourishing at the
26 THE F E S T I VAL TM SUPPORT I NG WE L LCH I LD PREV I EW MAGAZ I NE
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