Firstly, welcome to the new blog. We've moved house for a few logistical reasons which are simply too boring to explain. Secondly, apologies for the lack of updates on the old blog over this jumps season. Other things have taken over, we've been busy, and we've missed out on posting over a fantastic National Hunt season. Said fantastic National Hunt season climaxed at Cheltenham this week and the festival took over our minds, hearts and lives for those brilliant four days in March, as it always does.
The 2014 festival carried with it its highs and its lows. On the first day, in what was bound to be one of the races of the meeting, last year's novice superstar Our Conor took a nasty fall and tragically had to be put down. My mind is cast back to 2013, the first race on the last day of the festival. Our Conor led the betting that day, but was due to face stiff competition from the unbeaten Far West and new French arrival Rolling Star. Maybe the form didn't turn out to be quite as solid as we had imagined on the day, but the class of Dessie Hughes's four year old as he left the others for dust and cantered to a seemingly easy victory is a memory that will stand out in my mind for many years to come.
It's truly tragic to think that the life of the same horse ended just one year on at the same event and venue. In my honest opinion, I can't say that I would have backed Our Conor against My Tent Or Yours or The New One on Tuesday, or, in my own misjudgment, against Hurricane Fly, with whom I followed my heart over my head. I would say however, that for 2015 or '16, I would have thought that in Our Conor Dessie Hughes had a Champion Hurdle winner and he must be truly devastated to lose such a talented horse, as must all connections.
The ups and downs of the week were further summed up by Daryl Jacobs. The Ditcheat top jockey's devastation when losing on Southfield Theatre by a nose to Fingal Bay in the Pertemps on Thursday was obvious. He's an emotional man but both he and his stable had been having a bad run at the festival and it was clear that the pressure was getting to him. On a sidenote, winning jockey Richard Johnston's reaction after the race was admirable. He was clearly full of joy but managed to supress it enough to console his upset friend. Paul Nicholls has no issues with criticising jockeys and one would have to wonder whether this has a positive effect on the performances of an individual such as Jacobs.
It was understandable that the crowd were delighted, therefore, when Jacobs picked up a win in the 2.05 on the final day with Lac Fontana. You could see how much it meant to the man to grab a festival winner - a weight off his shoulders. The crowd cheered and his fellow jockeys congratulated him with enthusiasm as he joined them back in the weighing room, victorious at last.
But his fortunes quickly turned. In the very next race, Port Melon was presumably spooked by the crowd and crashed into a railing, throwing Daryl off his back to land head-first on the other side of the railing, onto hard tarmac ground, some billboards and a camera (the cameraman jumped out of the way just at the last moment). The horse, having brought down the railing and some billboards, stood up surprisingly quickly, but we were left with the worrying image of Jacobs, the hero of Cheltenham only 10 minutes previously, lying on the ground surrounded by medics and police by the winning post.
The injury seemed not to be as bad as first thought - he was given oxygen and was well enough to talk to Channel 4 presenter Alice Plunkett, explaining that he had a pain in his leg and his elbow and wanted to stand up but the medics wouldn't let him. He was stretchered off and brought to hospital, where he was treated for a leg injury.
And his wasn't the first, or the worst, injury to a jockey this week. Today, Ruby Walsh took a crashing fall in the first, supposedly fracturing his upper arm and he's sure to be missing for a while. Bryan Cooper suffered a horrific fracture in his leg and will be absent from the racecourse for a while yet. This injury for him coincided with the death of Our Conor, the horse who he had saddled on most of its outings. He surely had a connection with the upcoming superstar and it would have come as a tough blow for him.
Unfortunately, there were four horses whose careers and lives ended during these four days of racing - Our Conor, Akdam, Stack The Deck, Raya Star - let their names not be forgotten. This may seem a small load compared to the accident of JT McNamara last year, but these four horses will leave a huge gap in the lives of their connections and those who work with them everyday. The bonds built between equine and human counterparts shouldn't be underestimated and we should pass on our condolences to all involved with those lost over the week.
The inaugural Prestbury Cup was organised by the racecourse this year, a competition between Great Britain and Ireland to see who can train the most winners at the festival. Last year, the Irish won more races at the festival than the British, and although the British were overwhelming favourites and ultimately winners this year, the Irish contribution to jumps racing worldwide can be seen in every corner of the sport. Irish-bred horses are arguably the best in the world, the trainers are word class and so are the jockeys. And considering that the British won the Prestbury Cup this year thanks in part to Jonjo O'Neill, there are some flaws in the system that will hopefully be addressed by next year, and if so then that will make a close contest out of it.
Well, that's just a few ramblings of a busy mind post-Cheltenham. The racing will be reviewed in due time, next year's festival previewed too. All that's left to say for tonight is that I hope that you finished the festival in profit, that you soaked in the atmosphere, that you enjoyed the magnificent spectacle that is Cheltenham. Aintree and Punchestown are attractive prospects looking ahead, as is the upcoming flat season, but while we have Cheltenham fever, my mind is in just one place - Prestbury Park, 2015. To quote the esteemed poet that is Del-Boy Trotter: "This time next year, we'll be millionaires."
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