Cheltenham.......
- Thread starter jass1960
- Start date
G
Guest
Guest
kotori
Fool of Fortune
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2001
- Posts
- 28,474
Not I
But I'll have my eye on the Irish. From today's Irish Times:
Istabraq again carries Irish hopes over the Cheltenham hurdles
Ireland's most popular racehorse will jump into the record books today if he can defy age, growing frailty and the doubts of bookmakers to win the Smurfit Champion Hurdle for an unprecedented fourth time.
As the Cheltenham National Hunt festival gets under way this afternoon, the 10-year-old carries Charlie Swan and the hopes of at least one nation in the feature race. But for the first time in four years, he looks likely to start without the weight of favouritism.
This will matter little to the estimated 8,000 Irish fans in Cheltenham for the festival, which was cancelled last year due to the foot-and-mouth crisis. And supporters of the horse can take heart from the opinion of jockey Conor O'Dwyer, who said: "If Istabraq turns up alive, he'll do it."
The champion's camp has been plagued with rumours about his health since he last raced in December. Reporting "no good vibes" about the horse, some British bookies pushed him out to 9/4 last night and made Martin Pipe's Valiramix the new favourite, on a sustained flow of money from punters.
But Irish hopes remain high that Istabraq can win his fifth race in all at the festival, even though his recent vulnerability over hurdles may cause a brief heart-in-mouth epidemic among his fans today.
Those closest to the horse have sounded a cautious note. "He is a horse that can never be replaced," said trainer Aidan O'Brien. "He's showing signs of age but we're trying to do the best by him."
Charlie Swan was equally guarded, saying: "Hopefully Istabraq will be able to do it again. It would be great if he could."
Last year was the first time since 1944 that the Cheltenham festival was cancelled and it cost the Gloucestershire town £7 million.
With more than £1 million expected to be gambled on-course alone, on each of the races over the next three days, punters will be eager to make up for lost time.
Close on £100 million is expected to be gambled in Britain and Ireland through the festival, with Irish bookies predicting a turnover of nearly €25 million.
Other major Irish fancies today include another McManus owned hope Like-A-Butterfly in the opener, and the Jessica Harrington trained Moscow Flyer in the following Arkle Trophy
But I'll have my eye on the Irish. From today's Irish Times:
Istabraq again carries Irish hopes over the Cheltenham hurdles
Ireland's most popular racehorse will jump into the record books today if he can defy age, growing frailty and the doubts of bookmakers to win the Smurfit Champion Hurdle for an unprecedented fourth time.
As the Cheltenham National Hunt festival gets under way this afternoon, the 10-year-old carries Charlie Swan and the hopes of at least one nation in the feature race. But for the first time in four years, he looks likely to start without the weight of favouritism.
This will matter little to the estimated 8,000 Irish fans in Cheltenham for the festival, which was cancelled last year due to the foot-and-mouth crisis. And supporters of the horse can take heart from the opinion of jockey Conor O'Dwyer, who said: "If Istabraq turns up alive, he'll do it."
The champion's camp has been plagued with rumours about his health since he last raced in December. Reporting "no good vibes" about the horse, some British bookies pushed him out to 9/4 last night and made Martin Pipe's Valiramix the new favourite, on a sustained flow of money from punters.
But Irish hopes remain high that Istabraq can win his fifth race in all at the festival, even though his recent vulnerability over hurdles may cause a brief heart-in-mouth epidemic among his fans today.
Those closest to the horse have sounded a cautious note. "He is a horse that can never be replaced," said trainer Aidan O'Brien. "He's showing signs of age but we're trying to do the best by him."
Charlie Swan was equally guarded, saying: "Hopefully Istabraq will be able to do it again. It would be great if he could."
Last year was the first time since 1944 that the Cheltenham festival was cancelled and it cost the Gloucestershire town £7 million.
With more than £1 million expected to be gambled on-course alone, on each of the races over the next three days, punters will be eager to make up for lost time.
Close on £100 million is expected to be gambled in Britain and Ireland through the festival, with Irish bookies predicting a turnover of nearly €25 million.
Other major Irish fancies today include another McManus owned hope Like-A-Butterfly in the opener, and the Jessica Harrington trained Moscow Flyer in the following Arkle Trophy
G
Guest
Guest
Similar threads
