Cheltenham Countdown Continues

IT'S all go for the Cheltenham Festival with the main trial races now run for the jumps season's biggest contests.

The action kicks off for four fabulous days from , March 11, and 's March edition will be packed with everything you need to know for the . As you can see from the image above, we heavily the Festival in last year's March issue.

The headline from Trials Day was the comeback – and defeat – of four-times winner Big Buck's. He had to settle for third place in the Cleeve Hurdle but will be back to fight for his title on Festival .

His trainer Paul is far from concerned that his superstar was beaten just over a length in Saturday's big race on the back of a 422-day absence. It may have been the end of his 18-race winning streak over hurdles but Nicholls is far from downbeat.

He said: “I am thrilled with him. He travelled with his old zest and jumped well – he just got a bit tired from the last. It is very testing ground.

“We could have easily took him out and saved him for another day but I was desperate to get a run into him before The Festival. It is second time he has been on grass since he last ran and I would have liked to have got another racecourse gallop into him. He has just got tired – that will improve him enormously. Obviously, we would have liked to have won but that will put him bang on for his next run when the ground won't be as bad as that.”

Don't miss the March edition of Racing Ahead. Order a print or digital subscription at www.racingahead.net.

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