Davy Russell, who achieved 25 winners at the Festival prior to his retirement, rides an emotional rollercoaster at an “extraordinary” Cheltenham Festival
Where do you start with this year’s extraordinary Cheltenham Festival? We saw a mix of established winners enjoying the spotlight, new trainers coming to the fore, some talented young jockeys earning their place in the winner’s enclosure and, while Ireland remained dominant, success came from both sides of the water.
In the same way the Brazilians play soccer or the English are good at cricket, we live and breathe horseracing in Ireland. So it’s important for us to succeed and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we’re good at it.
Watch the videoKopek Des Bordes’ victory, in the opening Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, got the four days off to a great start, but it was a rollercoaster ride after that.
Lossiemouth’s win in the mares’ hurdle was a real standout, and you can see where Willie Mullins was coming from, separating her from Champion Hurdle contender State Man. Had it not been for State Man’s fall at the last, Willie would have won both races.
For trainer Gavin Cromwell to supplement Inothewayurthinkin as a late entry for the Gold Cup – and win – was phenomenal. Forget about how much money it cost, you make these decisions under immense pressure. Then all you have is hope, when the outcome could change your future in the sport. So all credit to JP McManus for being such an understanding owner. It was a huge call, but they were all duly rewarded.
“We felt Michael’s presence all week”
My great friend Ken Budds saddled his first Festival runner, 125/1 shot Anyway – who I bought for the owner and have been riding at home – to finish second to Caldwell Potter in the Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase. I started riding out for Ken as a kid, and the sign I used to do with my hands at the top of the hill during my racing days was for Ken’s brother, who passed away.
It’s a big undertaking to take a horse to Cheltenham and it had been our long-term plan, but you’re putting your neck on the line doing so and horses have a habit of making an eejit out of you. In another year, Caldwell Potter would most likely be running in a different race, but we’re happy to finish second – we thought he’d run a huge race, so we’re very proud.
But we must pay tribute to jockey Michael O’Sullivan, who died last month after a fall at Thurles. He had won on Anyway, and for his 2023 Cheltenham winners Marine Nationale and Jazzy Matty to win in succession like that was extraordinary; we felt Michael’s presence all week.
As always, there were plenty of hard-luck stories, so credit to Gordon Elliott and his staff who held up all week long, despite not enjoying a single winner – even though his horses ran well – until the last race, when he pulled it out of the bag with Wodhooh.
Whether you’re a jockey or a trainer, you love to see the Irish horses winning at Cheltenham and if you have a winner on day one, you can float around for the next three days. But if you’re looking at everyone else celebrating, even though you’re happy for them, you’re thinking, “When is it my turn?” For such a tough man to show such emotion tells you how much it meant to finally get there.
New-look hurdles
What interested me was the impact of the new-style hurdles they introduced at Cheltenham this year and which they’ve started rolling out at racecourses in Great Britain and Ireland. Replacing the traditional timber obstacles, these foam-padded rubber hurdles are designed to improve safety for horses and jockeys – they are said to reduce the chances of horses falling by about 11%.
I don’t want to blame the jumps and I don’t know the numbers, but there did seem to be plenty of trips and spills. There’s a louder noise off them – which increases with a whole field of runners – and a different sensation when horses hit them or flick the top of them. They also seem to swing as they come back into place, whereas timber hurdles tend to be knocked flat. I don’t think there’s a problem, they’re just different and anything different takes time to adapt to.
Hats off to Cheltenham for another phenomenal week.
● What were your standout moments from this year’s Cheltenham Festival? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and country, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine
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