THE FESTIVAL 2017 MEDIA GUIDE

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The first female jockey to win a race at Cheltenham, Caroline Beasley who won the Christie’s Foxhunter WEATHERBYS CHAMPION BUMPER The Weatherbys Champion Bumper is the only Grade One National Hunt Flat race to be run in Great Britain and the contest was introduced at The Festival in 1992. Weatherbys, racing’s administrators, have backed the extended two mile contest since 1997. Willie Mullins has saddled eight winners - he also rode his first winner of the race, the 1996 scorer Wither Or Which, while his son Patrick was in the saddle when both Cousin Vinny won in 2008 and Champagne Fever scored for the stable in 2012. Irish-trained horses enjoy a superb record in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper, accounting for 17 of the 24 winners. The first winner of the Weatherbys Champion Bumper was Montelado, who achieved what is thought to be the unique feat of winning two consecutive Festival races. The Bumper, now run on Wednesday, was originally the last race of The Festival. Montelado went on to win the opening race of the Festival in 1993, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. ST JAMES’S PLACE FOXHUNTER CHASE The Foxhunter Chase is one of the oldest races at the Festival. The first running in 1904 was won by the 6/4 favourite Palmy Boy, owned and ridden by Mr J Widger. It is now the richest and most prestigious hunter chase of the season, worth £45,000. Christie’s, the international auctioneers and valuation experts, backed the race for 34 years until 2012. The Country Gentlemen’s Association (CGA) sponsored in 2013 and 2014. St James’s Place Wealth Management, with offices around Britain and headquartered in Cirencester, became the backer in 2015. Since 1946 eight horses have won the St James’s Place Foxhunter Chase twice, most recently On The Fringe in 2015 and 2016, although no horse has won the race three times. The St James’s Place Foxhunter Chase is the only race at The Festival open to trainers who are not full-time professionals or hold a permit to train their family’s horses. Richard Barber, brother of Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cupwinning owner Paul, has been the leading trainer with four wins – Rushing Wild (1992), Fantus (1995 and 1997) and Earthmover (1998). Paul Nicholls trained Earthmover to his second victory in 2004. The St James’s Place Foxhunter Chase is one of three races exclusively for amateur riders at The Festival – the others are the National Hunt Chase and the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Chase. Colman Sweeney is the most successful jockey with three wins – Sleeping Night (2005) and Salsify (2012 & 2013). Three of the five 13-year-olds to have been successful at The Festival since 1946 have come in the St James’s Place Foxhunter Chase – Earthmover in 2004, Merry, who dead-heated in 1953, and Greenwood in 1950. The other two 13-year-olds to have won were Approval in the 1959 Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle and Willie Wumpkins in the 1981 Pertemps Network Final. They are the oldest horses to have succeeded at The Festival in this period. There have been 10 Irish-trained winners since 1946, including the last five - Eliogarty (1983), Attitude Adjuster (1986), Lovely Citizen (1991), Whyso Mayo (2006), Zemsky (2011), Salsify (2012 & 2013), Tammys Hill (2014) and On The Fringe (2015 & 2016). Caroline Beasley became the first female rider to win a race at The Festival when successful on Eliogarty in the 1983 St James’s Place Foxhunter Chase. Since then the race has been won six more times by women – Katie Rimell on Three Counties in 1989, Polly Curling on Fantus in 1995, Fiona Needham in 2002 on Last Option, Rilly Goschen on Earthmover in 2004, and Nina Carberry with On The Fringe in 2015 and 2016. 58
Bookmakers in front of the See You Then Terrace on New Year’s Day MORE RACING AT CHELTENHAM IT IS EASY TO FORGET, SUCH IS THE ATTENTION ON THE FESTIVAL, THAT CHELTENHAM HAS A LONG-ESTABLISHED FIXTURE LIST THROUGHOUT EACH JUMP SEASON. THE SHOWCASE Cheltenham’s October meeting, the first of the new season at the Home Of Jump Racing, was renamed The Showcase in 2007 and moved to a Friday/Saturday slot. The Open Cheltenham Media Guide 2017 The popular two-day meeting is a natural starting point for horses returning from their summer breaks and is often used in preparation for The Open the following month. THE OPEN The Open is a prestigious and historic three-day meeting at Cheltenham Racecourse, which signals that the new Jump season is in full swing. There is lots of prize money on offer and BetVictor Gold Cup is the feature race. The Open is the biggest and most important meeting of the first half of the Jump season - a weekend of entertainment, sport and fun not to be missed, including a plethora of trade stands in the shopping village. THE INTERNATIONAL The International takes place at Cheltenham in mid- December each year over two days, Friday and Saturday. Key races during The International include the Grade Two StanJames.com International, a leading trial for the Stan James Champion Hurdle at The Festival in March, and the Grade Three Caspian Caviar Gold Cup. NEW YEAR’S DAY Cheltenham races twice in January and starts off each year in great style on January 1. It is a very popular day with racegoers. FESTIVAL TRIALS DAY The second January raceday at Cheltenham happens later in the month and is the last opportunity to experience the delights of the Home of Jump Racing before The Festival. Festival Trials Day on a Saturday in late January offers tremendous racing with horses out to prove their credentials at the course ahead of The Festival. The feature is the BetBright Trial Cotswold Chase. APRIL MEETING The April meeting at Cheltenham is staged in the middle of the month over two mid-week days and marks a perfect time to experience racing at the course in a relaxed atmosphere. HUNTER CHASE EVENING The Hunter Chase Evening marks Cheltenham’s final fixture of the season and has a different ambience, celebrating the important amateur element of Jump Racing. It takes place in late April or early May. 59
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THE FESTIVAL 2017 MEDIA GUIDE
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WELCOME The build-up to this year
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