Cheltenham Day 1

[Elf On A Shelf]

Ooh yes please to a behind the scenes post race at Hexham! Isnt it Hexham you disapprove of or is it another course?

I'd have to have a written list and cross everything off then go through it again to check I hadnt missed anything I'm not surprised she's ocd ? has anything ever been forgotten?

That makes sensible about needing the silks to hand for whatever jockey is chosen, are they easily washed? Sometimes they look completely ruined.

I hate, loathe and despise Hexham. If Putin could just "accidentally" drop one of his bombs on it I couldn't say I would be sad at all.

Of course things do get forgotten occasionally but rarely by us. But racing is such a great community that anything you do forget someone will happily lend you without a second thought.

Silks aren't made of silk these days. They are either made of light or heavy nylon so are easily washed. A few owners have silks made of lycra that are skin tight and just look weird over top of body protectors.

P.s. Connor has only just turned 17yo and has been out of action since the turn of the year with a broken elbow.

 

[Jeni the dragon]

How is Connor doing Elf? I used to be on the same yard as his mum, she moved there while expecting him, and he always, always wanted to be a jockey!

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

How is Connor doing Elf? I used to be on the same yard as his mum, she moved there while expecting him, and he always, always wanted to be a jockey!

The elbow is taking a long long time to heal. He is aiming to be back riding out for the last week in March and hopefully race riding the first week of April.

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

I have a bad feeling for TR today...

Hope he gets retired safely, I can't say I want him to win as they'll get even greedier and make him come back next year

Hoping he's pulled up safely and retired, then comes back to Aintree for the past winners parade

 

[bonny]

I have a bad feeling for TR today...

Hope he gets retired safely, I can't say I want him to win as they'll get even greedier and make him come back next year

Hoping he's pulled up safely and retired, then comes back to Aintree for the past winners parade

I hope he wins, the celebrations would be something else and it would be a fitting end to a spectacular career. I think he can do it as well ?

 

[leflynn]

@ Elf - I always loved Hexham (local to me), hope you have a good day otherwise!

 

[Laafet]

Had a good day yesterday - popped some play money in my WH account and ended up with extra so that's a bonus, am also 12th on the company tipping comp. Fingers crossed for a good day 2. I love Tiger Roll, he was one of ours we practically gave him away!

 

[Chiffy]

Just wanted to say Hi Everyone who is following Cheltenham. I used to go, back in the day I didn’t live so far away. I will not be commenting here or looking at facebook during the day as I am having to record for later. I have two grandchildren and three extra dogs staying while my daughter and her OH are at Cheltenham. I sit down to watch after bedtime…..children’s that is. Loved yesterday, much better showing from the British than last year. Well done Lucinda’s yard, hoping for more today. I am also a Nico fan which I know some people aren’t. I was well happy with his winners yesterday.
Enjoy it all today.
PS, hoping Stage Star goes well.

 

[Brummyrat]

Come on here just to say well
done to Elf and the team, what a ride that was!

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Come on here just to say well
done to Elf and the team, what a ride that was!

Thank you! It was very much a duck and dive, weave his way through kind of race! Different tactics on Hank today though as he tends to be a front runner.

 

[Velcrobum]

Bravemansgame is out. Looking at Hank's form he stands a very good chance as he has won in soft. L'Homme Presse has not run over this distance before. Looks like it will be an interesting but very very tough race.

 

[Birker2020]

Glad I'm now retired and can watch good racing like this.

Condolences to the connections of the horse fatally injured in the first race.

Shallwehaveonemore? a five year old gelding. Such a shame.

 

[Gamebird]

I think they stable most of them at Aintree and just have that days runners at Cheltenham itself. So they shuttle back and forth for the big teams - Mullins, Elliot and De Bromhead. The ones with only a handful stay at Chetlenham.

So we had horses at Cheltenham from Saturday afternoon (when i arrived). Mostly Tuesday's runners, plus a couple for later in the week who'd benefit from travelling earlier, and a couple whose declarations hadn't been decided yet. More trickled in over the next couple of days up to a maximum of 36 horses at Cheltenham by Tuesday morning. The rest went from Ireland to Aintree and came down throughout the rest of the week as the runners went straight home after racing. So every horse had at least one night at Cheltenham (and exercise in the morning there), and some were actually there for 6 nights for various reasons. Elliots did similar.

 

[humblepie]

So we (WP Mullins) had horses at Cheltenham from Saturday afternoon (when i arrived). Mostly Tuesday's runners, plus a couple for later in the week who'd benefit from travelling earlier, and a couple whose declarations hadn't been decided yet. More trickled in over the next couple of days up to a maximum of 36 horses at Cheltenham by Tuesday morning. The rest went from Ireland to Aintree and came down throughout the rest of the week as the runners went straight home after racing. So every horse had at least one night at Cheltenham (and exercise in the morning there), and some were actually there for 6 nights for various reasons. Elliots did similar.

Hi wondered if you were there - imagine you had an amazing if very busy time. Think it must be brilliant early morning when they are exercising on course.
How many runners did you have in total? And congrats on the wins.

 

[Gamebird]

Hi wondered if you were there - imagine you had an amazing if very busy time. Think it must be brilliant early morning when they are exercising on course.
How many runners did you have in total? And congrats on the wins.

Yes, a very busy week. I did Saturday afternoon until Friday night, and most were 14hr days. I think 63 runners in all ?, and 10 winners. Riding out in the mornings is my favourite bit, especially on Tuesday morning which is very much the calm before the storm, with an army of photographers and cameramen. We have an excellent team.

 

[humblepie]

Yes, a very busy week. I did Saturday afternoon until Friday night, and most were 14hr days. I think 63 runners in all ?, and 10 winners. Riding out in the mornings is my favourite bit, especially on Tuesday morning which is very much the calm before the storm, with an army of photographers and cameramen. We have an excellent team.

Thank you. Can imagine that’s amazing riding out there.