Whether
it be "the race of the day" or a small prize round the gaffs, we
will attempt to use our knowledge of the formbook to highlight the fancied
horses participating each day and their
characteristics and requirements. Hopefully this ´second opinion´ provides
you with a winner or two each day, or even reinforces your own view on a
particular may even convince you to back some of those horses which we
feel are the "ones to fear", or have decent each-way claims.
whichever is the case, we hope the information is of use to you.
SELECTIONS - For each race, we have given you who, in our view, are the likeliest winners;
(1er _ THE WINNER?), as well as any runners who could run well at each-way
odds;
(E/W
ALTERNATIVE) . Any runner from our features are shown before each race 's analysis.
The Cheltenham Festival, held at what most people believe to be the home of jumps racing in England, is about to hold one of the greatest racing festivals in the world. The following three days include renewals is set to be a great clash between Steeplechasers from the UK, Ireland, plus a small but stronger challenge from France, and Germany. Every race is of a high standard, and how many of this
year´s winners could be about the greats like Gold Cup winners Red Splash, (1924), Easter Hero (1929 & 1930), Golden Miller (1932-36), Prince Regent (1946), Cottage Rake (1948-50), Mill House (1963),
L´Escargot (1970-71), Arkle (1964-66), Dawn Run (1986) and the beloved Desert Orchid (1989), as well as the Champion Hurdlers;
Hatton´s Grace, Bula, Sea Pigeon, Comedy of Errors, Lanzarote, Sir Ken, Persian War and See You Then, and of course Istabraq.
Cheltenham... The
History
Cheltenham and its surrounding area is some of the most beautiful parts of this country.
An Anglo-Saxon settlement, Cheltenham - possibly from Celtenhomme, ´the town under the
hill´ - was the site of a monastery as early as 803. Alfred the Great wrote admiringly of the peace of the settlement on the banks of the River Chelt, and by the 13th century Cheltenham was noted for its fairs and markets.
In 1716 the town´s sudden rise from obscurity began when - according to legend - a flock of pigeons discovered a spring on the site of what is now the Ladies College. The locals, noticing that the pigeons seemed to thrive, tried the waters for themselves and found that they eased many of the disorders that afflicted 18th century man. Local entrepreneurs soon realised that there was money to be made from this gift of nature and started to develop the town in order to attract the wealthy and famous.
Amongst the early visitors to take the spa waters were distinguished people like Handel and Samuel Johnson. The event, which ensured the success of Cheltenham as a Spa town, was the visit of George III in 1788.
By 1798 the area of Cheltenham began to take shape. It was then known to run from what is now known as Kingshighway on the east and went as far as the City limits on the west end. Because of its locality to the River de Peres, it made a good area for settlements. In later years, immigrants were drawn to the area because they needed work. Factories sprung up with the mining of clay. The earliest and largest of the enterprises was the Laclede Fire Brick Company, which began in 1844. This quickly expanded rapidly with the coming of the railroad, which attracted Irish, Italian, German, and Polish immigrants came to work in the factories.
By World War II, most of the mines had shut down and the brickyards had closed. Subdivisions were built over the mines and pits.
After the Second World War, the town´s fortunes picked up again with the establishment of the Government Communications Headquarters (G.C.H.Q.) which has become one of the
West´s most important secret surveillance centres (while maintaining the fiction that it was just part of the Foreign Office).
Cheltenham continues to thrive, and its surroundings are popular amongst tourists ... and of course the occasional racegoer!!
Cheltenham... The
Courses
Cheltenham Racecourse has 15 days of racing in a season lasting from October to April. Apart from the National Hunt Festival in March The Open meeting (formerly the
Murphy´s Irish Craic) in November, it holds the Tripleprint Meeting, which attracts top class fields in December, as well as Pillar
Steeple¨CH´. Day in January, and its popular Hunter Steeple¨CH´.´ evening in May.
Cheltenham has three courses; known as "the Old" and "the New" courses over regulation fences, as well as the increasing popular cross-country courses. "the Old" and "the New" will be used during the festival
THE OLD COURSE
The Old Course is oval and covers a distance of 1m 4f.
THE NEW COURSE
The New Course built on the outsides of the course is 1m 5f.
Both are undulating, and very stiff, with the accent very much on stamina. The uphill finish of 240 yards is one of the most demanding tests in the country, and the results of the race can changed dramatically as horses weaken up the final hill. The fences have been modified to maximise safety, however they
don´t take prisoners, and jumping at speed is still an essential requirement
Cheltenham ´04 .... The
Races
TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2004
Old Course
Letheby & Christopher Supreme Novices´ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 110yds £100,000
Irish Independent Arkle Chase (Grade 1) 2m £140,000
SMURFIT CHAMPION HURDLE (Grade 1) 2m 110yds £300,000
William Hill National Hunt Handicap Chase (Grade 3) 3m 110yds £80,000
Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Handicap Chase (Amateur Riders) 3m 110yds £50,000
Pertemps Final (Handicap Hurdle) (Listed) 3m 1.5f £60,000
Cheltenham ´04 ... The
Preview
Hopefully this preview gives you a good insight to those horses we believe have good chances of success ... plus of course a few winners!!!
This
page was last updated on
Sunday March 14, 2004
at
03:31:36 AM
THE
FEATURE MEETING
POSTING
TIME
Selections for Monday - Friday should be available
after 9:30pm the previous evening, however on Saturday
and Sunday due to other commitments won´t be posted
until after 8:30am those respective mornings unless
otherwise stated. Hopefully this helps
DEDICATION
GEORGE
E. ROBERTSON
1936 - 2003
FURLONG
TO GO would like to convey our condolences to the rØøk,
whose father; George Edward Robertson passed away on
16th April 2003.
Mr.
Robertson nurtured the rØøk´s enthusiasm for this
sport, and it was this inspiration, which is
probably behind the creation of this website. As a
permanent tribute to his memory, all the meetings
covered under the "feature Meeting" banner
will be dedicated to him...
"Big
George"
Success
Stories
MARKET
RASEN
Saturday
31st August
3:00 Audrey Buttery Reunion Novices´ Steeple Ch. -
£6000 added, 5yo plus, 2m 6f 110yds, penalty
£4111.25, 7 runners.
Ashgar, Misty Ridge, Sijujama, and Mount Gay, are
the only runners which make any sort of appeal in
the second. Punters are likely to have Ashgar down
as a banker, especially with "A.P." on board....
I can see where they are coming from, however he is
notoriously lazy and makes no appeal at likely
odds. He was very hesitant at his obstacles last
time out at Southwell and if one of his rivals were
to expose this weakness, he could even thrown in
the towel and sulk (which he has done before).
Misty Ridge and Mount Gay, have run creditably of
late over hurdles however it is Mount Gay [a
winning point-to-pointer], who may be able to take
him on. His second placing at Perth 27 days ago was
a sound effort, and he is in my view worth taking a
chance with {if they had been eight runners he´d
have been an excellent each-way wager}.
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬> Mount Gay,
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Misty Ridge,
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Ashgar [USA],
Mount
Gay obliged at odds of 7/1.
MARKET RASEN
Saturday 20th July
Tote Scoop6 Summer Plate. (H´cap. Steeple Ch.). £65000 added, 5yo plus, 2m 4f, 16 runners.
"As much as I like Demasta, there is so much pace here, that I cant help but think that the front runners may go too fast for their own good here. It makes sense [in my view], to be looking for something likely to be able to travel well... and despite my very negative comments above... I have (since the runners were declared), had a lot of time for the chance of
Chicúelo (at each-way odds). I think some horses suit certain trainers, and I think this horse has a better chance of winning a race like this with Martin Pipe than Ian Williams - not because I necessarily think Pipe is a far better trainer than Williams is... its more to do with understanding this type of horse.
Nicholashayne - more than most training establishments - does particularly with their foreign purchases. I think this is in part because due to the amount of time/effort they have invested into studying not only
French form, but also how certain trainers educate their young horses - adopting if/when necessary previous regime/style of training. Secondly, (more importantly), some
French breds improve after a season´s
acclimatization. A look at this horse´s form in France and
you´ll find, for example, his good third to Sleeping Night and Ilnamar (beaten 8½lengths) in the Prix Morgex (Chase) (Grade 3) , or his third to Sleeping Night and Douze Douze in the Prix Maurice Gillois Grand Steeple-Chase Des 4 Ans (Chase) (Grade 1) in November 2000. He has certainly been given a chance here off of only a handicap rating of 116, and I
can´t see him not finishing in the first four....
He´ll do for me".
"ANOTHER WINNER FOR "ONE TO JUMP
2003"
WORCESTER
Sunday, June 9th 2002
Tote betXpress Hurdle {H
´
cap}. £20000 added, 4yo plus, 2m, penalty £13897, 14 runners.
Cupboard Lover, Saragann, Dick The Taxi, Barren Lands, Boater,
Bërnardon, Inn Antique, Barren Lands, and
Knight´s Emperor make most appeal in a decent
handicap hurdle for this time of year. There is bound to be market
support for Cupboard Lover, especially after his smooth win at Newbury on the flat
earlier this week, however in Bërnardon, and Inn Antique, he meets two
potentially well treated "improvers". I have a high regard
for Bërnardon, who I literally
haven´t stopped raving about. This
former Group winner in Germany is much better than the form he showed when trailing home at Chepstow last time out, and off of this handicap mark, he is worth chancing.
Bërnardon
held on to score at odds of 13/2
ASCOT
Saturday 16th February, 2002
1:30 Amlin Reynoldstown Novices´ Steeple Ch. {Gr.2}
Realistically, course and distance winner Arctic Jack, Father McCarten, High Cotton and Ex-French recruit Jimmy Tennis are the likeliest winners of this Grade 2 event. I have a healthy regard for Arctic Jack, and
I´m certain he´ll run creditably here, however, I´ve been monitoring Jimmy
Tennis' career and always thought that he could make the grade over here. He was one of the better four-year-old chasers in France in 2001 and despite an absence of 140 days hopefully can make best use of the weight for age allowances he receives
here.
JIMMY TENNIS won - 3/1
2:00 William Hill H´cap. Hurdle
A very competitive handicap hurdle with several of these having strong claims. Farmer Jack, Teaatral, Lord Brex, Aspirant Dancer, Creon,
Mr. Markham, and Ideal du Bois Beury all have serious claims. Father Jack (who was probably ridden too positively last time out) is sure to go well and probably would have been my selection if Ideal du Bois Beury
hadn´t been in opposition. I thought he won with a bit in hand under top weight at Leicester last time out and looks very appealing off of the minimum weight.
IDEAL DU BOIS BEURY won - 10/1
DISCLAIMER:
In no way does "Furlong To Go!! guarantee that selections
posted above will win the specified races advertised.
They are merely an indication based on current form. Whilst
the selections, and advice are the basis by which we will
personally place our own bets, like you, any selections
that are backed, are done so at your own risk.
characteristics and requirements. Hopefully this ´second opinion´ provides
you with a winner or two each day, or even reinforces your own view on a
particular may even convince you to back some of those horses which we
feel are the "ones to fear", or have decent each-way claims.
whichever is the case, we hope the information is of use to you.
