‘It is our Olympics’: Cheltenham Festival retains its magic despite spectator decline
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‘Cheltenham Roar’ on Tuesday raises the curtain on 28 races over four days, climaxing in jumps racing’s blue riband: the Cheltenham Gold Cup
by Agence France-Presse
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Crowds may have declined in the past two years but for those with runners at jumps racing’s most prestigious meeting, the atmosphere at the Cheltenham Festival is like being in “the Colosseum”, trainer Jamie Snowden said.
The deafening “Cheltenham Roar” from spectators gets its first airing on Tuesday and raises the curtain on 28 races over four days – climaxing in the blue riband of steeplechasing: the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
With prize money of £5 million (US$6.5 million), the Gold Cup is an annual battle – Cheltenham has been its permanent home since 1911 – between the best the English hosts have in their yards against the formidable array of Irish talent.
For Snowden, who is likely to have five runners this week, this race is what sets it apart from other festivals such as the three-day Grand National meeting.
“I suppose it is the best taking on the best in a wonderful cauldron,” Snowden said. “It is the equivalent of the Colosseum – without the blood.”
Irish trainer Henry de Bromhead achieved the remarkable treble of sweeping the three most prestigious races – the Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and Queen Mother Champion Chase – in 2021.
The 52-year-old has, like Snowden, been dazzled by the festival since he was small.
“People tune in from all over the world – I know it is a cliché but it is our Olympics: the best competing against each other,” he said. “It is when the spotlight is being shone on our great industry.”
It is not just on the track where rich pickings lie for the winners, but the local area, which welcomes tens of thousands of British and Irish racing fans, will also benefit financially.
The most recent estimate of the festival’s economic impact on Cheltenham and the surrounding area was £270 million.
Nevertheless, the rise in the cost of living has played a role in the fall in attendances over the first three days, and Gold Cup day being the exception in being sold out.
A day out at Cheltenham does not come cheap, with entrance to the enclosure, with the best view of the finish line, alone costing £100 – £118 on Gold Cup day – while a pint of Guinness is more than £8.
Bizarrely, Benidorm in Spain has become a better option for the week for increasing numbers of Cheltenham fans, who can drink considerably cheaper beer and bet at the same time.
However, they will miss out on the unique atmosphere of the packed stands, the good-natured banter between Irish and English spectators, and the horses racing with the Cotswolds forming a gorgeous backdrop.
“The festival is made by the spectators,” Snowden said. “I mean, I go as a fan, not just as a trainer, as I want to watch the best of England and Ireland compete.
“The ambience in the racecourse village, with Irish and British spectators alongside one another, is very special – it has a real buzz about it.”
Both Snowden and de Bromhead caught the festival bug early, the former’s first visit for Desert Orchid’s Gold Cup win coming in 1989 and the latter’s a memorable day in 1993.
“It was a massive one as it was the year Fissure Seal won for my father,” de Bromhead said.
De Bromhead, who will have between 15 and 20 runners, said starting out and having runners on a rainy night at an unglamorous racecourse seemed a long way away from the festival.
“You just want to have a winner, then progress from there and maybe once you achieve that, get to those festivals – Cheltenham especially is the ultimate goal,” he said.
Snowden, who has 60 horses and is enjoying a successful season with 45 winners, said success at the festival was “wonderful – the more you have the more you want”.
So far, he has had two winners at Cheltenham – two more than he did as a talented amateur jockey.
“The closest I came to winning was when I fell at the last in the four-mile Handicap Chase,” he said. “I ended up in the hospital instead of the winners’ enclosure.”
On Tuesday, the unbeaten Constitution Hill will bid to regain his Champion Hurdle crown after missing last year’s race, while on Friday Galopin des Champs will join a select club if he makes it three in a row in the Gold Cup.
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