Cheltenham Festival and Gold Cup 2008

14 March – Cheltenham Festival and Gold Cup 2008 are in town for another year and Gloucestershire residents and visitors are in store for another year of passionate and exciting horse racing, hats galore, not to mention a fair few wagers.

With a history dating back almost two centuries, Cheltenham has become synonymous with world class National Hunt horse racing, and from Tuesday 11 March to Friday 14 March 2008 a staggering 230,000 people will descend on Gloucestershire’s spa town for the world-famous spectacle known as The Festival.

Encompassing the internationally-renowned Cheltenham Gold Cup, the four-day event will see 25 world-class races take place, with well over £500 million being waged on some of the world’s finest race horses as they speed around Cheltenham Racecourse’s Old Course, New Course and Cross Country Steeplechase Course.

The scheduled line-up of events for The Festival 2008 is as follows:

Tuesday 11 March – The Smurfit Kappa Championship Hurdle

Kicking off the four-day Cheltenham Festival, The Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle race is set to be another gripping event this year – particularly as the winner is granted the most sought after prize anywhere in the world for two mile hurdlers. And, since Irish horses and their jockeys have won seven of the last nine runnings of the historic contest, the homeside will be hoping to turn the tables in 2008.

Wednesday 12 March – Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase

The second day of Cheltenham Festival 2008, has been postponed due to high winds. The Seasons Holiday Queen Mother Champion Chase, among Wednesday’s other scheduled races, will now take place on Thursday 13 and Friday 14 March 2008.

Thursday 13 March – The Ladbrokes World Hurdle and Ladies Day

Thursday, the third day in the Festival line-up, sees what is arguably the most important race take place in the form of The Ladbrokes World Hurdle – when only the brave and the strong prevail in the thrilling three-mile race. This year fans will be playing particular attention to Inglis Drever and Paddy Brennan – the horse and jockey hoping to win the coveted race for the third time.

Following on from a successful introduction in 2007, Thursday will also mark The Festival’s second annual Ladies Day, when fashion provides a very different slant to a day at races. Members of the fairer sex will be showing off their best glad rags and most overstated hats in the hope of scooping an award for the Best Dressed Lady, Best Accessories or Best Hat. Ladies are selected and invited to enter the fashion awards on arrival at the course and entrants are judged in a private area, away from public view. Presentations are then made before the horses enter the paddock for the first race of the day. So ladies, dress to kill if you have your eyes on this particular set of prizes.

Due to the postponement of Wednesday’s races, the revised racing schedule for Thursday 13 March 2008 will now take place as follows:

12.30pm Peter O’Sullevan National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup 4m
1.05pm Royal & SunAlliance Chase 3m 110yds
1.40pm Jewson Novices’ Handicap Chase 2m 4f 110yds
2.20pm Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase 2m
2.55pm Ryanair Chase 2m 4f 110yds
3.30pm Ladbrokes World Hurdle Race 3m
4.05pm Racing Post Plate Handicap Chase 2m 4f 110yds
4.40pm Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle 3m
5.20pm Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase 3m 1f 110yds
5.50pm Weatherbys Champion Bumper NH Flat Race 2m 110yds

Friday 14 March – The Cheltenham Gold Cup

Undoubtedly the highlight of The Festival – Friday’s Cheltenham Gold Cup is one of the most famous races in the world, and one which every horse owner, trainer and jockey dreams of winning. A testing three and a quarter mile course will see defending champion Kauto Star hoping to snag another win, joining legends Golden Miller, Arkle and Best Mate as a multiple winner of the exciting event. And, for the first time ever, crowds will be treated to a seventh race to culminate the four day Festival, in the form of an event for the best mares in the land.

Due to the postponement of Wednesday’s races, the revised racing schedule for Friday 14 March will now take place as follows:

12.30pm David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle 2m 4f 110yds
1.05pm Ballymore Properties Novices’ Hurdle 2m 4f 110yds
1.40pm Coral Cup Hurdle Handicap Hurdle 2m 4f 110yds
2.15pm JCB Triumph Hurdle 2m 1f
2.50pm Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle 3m
3.30pm totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase 3m 2f 110yds
4.05pm Christie’s Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup 3m 2f 110yds
4.40pm Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase Challenge Cup 2m 110yds
5.20 Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle Race 2m 1f

Plus, with plenty of live music, entertainment, dining and trade stands to indulge in and explore in addition to the races, whether you’re a seasoned Festival fan or not – The Festival and Cheltenham Gold Cup 2008 is not to be missed.

Event: The Festival 2008
Venue: Cheltenham Racecourse
Date: Tuesday 11 to Friday 14 March 2008
Times: Vary per specific event, contact organisers for details.
Tickets: Start from around £20. Call the Cheltenham Racecourse box office on (01242) 226226 for more information.

For more information about this year’s event including daily-updated news, weather forecasts and a special ‘Virtual Cheltenham’ guide, visit BBC Gloucestershire’s website bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire.

SoGlos.com
12 March 2008