While many British festivals are significant events in the racing world, few rival Cheltenham when it comes to being an iconic affair for fans of all sports nationwide.
Currently the biggest meeting in the National Hunt calendar, the festival has grown substantially since its first National Hunt Chase was held in 1861. The contest as we know it truly came into being in 1911, at which point it held a prominent position in the British horse racing world as the second most important meeting behind the Grand National.
Much of its early rise can be accredited to influential visionary Frederick Cathcart, the clerk of the course who, up until his death in 1934, negotiated successfully to keep the races in his town rather than spread across the UK.
80 years later and the four-day event attracts over 200,000 spectators, with major races such as the Gold Cup bringing in millions of TV viewers worldwide. This year was no exception, with the 26 races producing a number of lessons for even the most learned of track followers.
You can now find out the Gold Cup 2015 results – who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup race?
No hero’s exit
Everyone loves a dramatic ending to a superstar’s career, yet this year taught us that such fairytales often fail to live up to their appeal.
Going into his final festival after an illustrious career, many fans would have been hoping for AP McCoy‘s legendary status in the sport to bow out in style.
Unfortunately, he was unable to capitalise on such expectations, as not only did his 14/1 horse Carlingford Lough fail to make the top three in the Gold Cup, but he also finished fourth in his final ever race at the Grand Annual. However, he did walk away with a win from the third day on Uxizandre (16/1) in the Ryanair Chase.
Haven’t won until you’ve won
There’s no such thing as a guaranteed bet, but we all fall victim to thinking otherwise sometimes. Day one saw such an example in Annie Power who, going into the penultimate fence on the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle, looked so sure of winning that some bookies had her at odds of 1.05.
Yet the final hurdle proved her undoing, as she misjudged the obstacle and came crashing down to allow Willie Mullins-trained Glens Melody to come in first place. Many have since speculated that she tried to jump her shadow, which will be of little comfort to those who took those seemingly dead-set odds.
Favourites outshining expectations
A favourite crossing the line first is hardly the biggest of surprises, but sometimes the nature in which they finish means they surpass expectations for even the best odds.
At 6/4, Vantour was already considered a strong contender for the JLT Chase on day three. What nobody expected was for him to take a modest length and a half lead with 10 jumps to go and extend it to an astonishing 15 lengths by the time he crossed the finish line, leaving Apache Stronghold (7/1) and Valseur Lido (9/2) trailing in his tracks.
For Cheltenham results from the previous year, please click here – top horses & jockeys from 2015.
