Cheltenham starts tomorrow

lucym

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whos excited?!?!...I AM
the best weeks racing, and it starts tomorrow YEY
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may all horses and jockeys come home safe
 

BBH

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They had an interview with John Francombe one of the commentators in the sundays, he seems a nice bloke so enjoy your viewing.
 

Tinker_Belle

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I am fizzing with excitement!! I cannot wait! Although it does mean Chelt is an absolute nightmare to get around, it's worth it.

Everywhere you turn there's Irish
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& I'm for Denman for the Gold Cup
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rossivale

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Me and my mate are going on Thursday, we cant wait, we have never been before. Just got the general admission ticket.

We are travelling up from Gwent South Wales, can you give us some pointers like what is the traffic like, getting in and out (bad I should imagine) best places to eat etc

thanks Jo
 

Fantasy_World

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I have just seen the tips but in fairness it the same as with other tips dished out by racing pundits in the preview publications in that they offer no value.
To pick 3 in each race and to back them at their short odds is folly since you would hardly even get back your stake money even if you backed each way and all 3 were placed.
Now if there were longer priced outsiders amongst the selections then value is there to be had so long as they got placed at the very least.
I usually have 3 or 4 runners in the big handicaps if I cannot split them but they are never short priced runners. If I did fancy a short priced horse in a non handicap race I would always have a saver on another horse I feared as a danger in order to cover the bet ( sometimes larger) on the shorter priced runner.
This year for some reason I don't have the same enthusiasm leading up to the festival. Could be a number of things, a lot of my ante post ( good things at fancy odds) have been withdrawn and I have just moved yards at the weekend so I am very upside down at the moment.
Still I bet I will still have that butterflies in stomach sensation when the starter lets them go for the Supreme Novice hurdle tomorrow.
Good luck to anyone who has a punt.
I don't very often do tips unless I really fancy just one horse in a race and I just got so sick of people saying 'give us a tip' when anyone discovered I was a racing journalist that the phrase was done to death lol.
I can only echo other people's sentiments that all the jockeys and horses return home unscathed. Sadly that is not always the case but with the forecast ease in the ground it should make injuries and fatalities less likely as I would never like to see a repeat of circumstances that occurred a few years ago at the festival on unsuitably fast ground.
 

madgirl

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Want Straw Bear to win the champion hurdle, and tomorrow the 4.00 O'clock Monkerhostin definitley worth and each way bet....has won at cheltenham before and has good odds a really trier.
 

smokeybabes

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[ QUOTE ]
Me and my mate are going on Thursday, we cant wait, we have never been before. Just got the general admission ticket.

We are travelling up from Gwent South Wales, can you give us some pointers like what is the traffic like, getting in and out (bad I should imagine) best places to eat etc

thanks Jo

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you driving?? If so where are you parking? If you haven't already got parking for the racecourse itself it may be better to park somewhere on outskirts! People with big drives/fields often provide parking for £10/15 which often means you can get in and out easier and is just a short walk up the road to the racecourse.
Majority of the pubs nearby on way to racecourse and in town do breakfasts from 9am so you can get some grub on the way!
 

rossivale

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thanks for the reply smokeybabes, we paid for parking when we bought the tickets, so i am assuming its at the racecourse.

I hope you had a good day today, the weather looked pretty good
 

glenruby

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I went last year. trainer forgot the horse's exercise sheet for t he paddock so I ended up going over a day earlier than planned. Nearly got to see cheltenham from the winner's enclosure but horsey got beaten by a short head - so saw it from 2nd spot instead! ;p probably the closest Il ever get!!
I usually pcik the horse I think most likely to win unless it is less than 2-1 and also pick a long priced runner that i think has a chance. Had a fantastic weeks results in 2006 ( ended 700euro up after the week), not so good last year - was down to my last St£20 ( if i lost Id have been stranded in Cheltenham!) before the last race of the festival. I was undecided between fair Along and Pedrobob - tempted by fair Along's 2nd placing earlier in the week but liked Pedrobob when seeing him racing in Ilreland and he was the better value(20-1at the time) so backed Pedro. Good job I did!!
 

Over2You

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I dreaded it! And for good reason. There are always equine fatalities and poor Whispered Promises was one of them this year. About the only place to acknowledge his passing was Animal Aid's site. There have been at least thirty horses killed on British tracks this year (it is only March) and 162 since this time last year. Then there's all the training and post race deaths If there were the same number of human fatalities in a sport, there would be a major investigation and an international outcry. But because they are animals doing "something they love", the whole affair is brushed under the carpet and all those unfortunate horses forgotten about.

The "sport" makes me sick to my stomach!
 

Over2You

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Nice bloke? He doesn't give a stuff about the horses! I remember him saying the only place for those not up to the job, was in the bellies of greyhounds. If I could I would've reached through the TV and strangled him!
 
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