AzertyuiopFan

@calva decoy It's definitely never going back to 3 days. It's not that long since I thought the move to 5 days was an inevitability, but while I don't think anyone can rule out the racing sector making more silly decisions, I think even they have learned a lesson over the last 2 years, and I no longer believe a five-day festival is inevitable. I think it will happen some day, but it isn't going to happen soon.

@Trotter thanks for your reply. I can see where you're coming from with your ideas for handicap racing at the Festival, but I suppose this goes back to my original principle, that I'm acting on the assumption that we must keep it at four days for commercial reasons, and I'm looking to keep all 28 races where possible (and in some places, I just felt it wasn't). We're going to need handicap races to fill out the schedule. I don't have any issue, however, with keeping a solid programme of handicap racing if the necessary changes were made. I think those races would have to go to Grade Two if you introduced a penalty system? I do think a system like that is the way to go, though, with those mid-distance races. Under the current Cheltenham schedule, 9 of the 28 races are handicaps (32 per cent). Under my schedule, that would increase to 11 out of 26 (42 per cent). I don't think that's a bad thing in the context of the four-day meeting as laid out by me because, as it is, not enough is being done to protect the real jewels, and some of those non-handicap races and conditions races (the three mares races, the Cross Country, the National Hunt Chase, the Bumper in its current form) are too open and having a wishy-washy effect on the festival. But if you went down the route of making the mid-distance races handicaps, there would simply be too much handicap racing. If you did it to the Turners and the Ballymore, it would be 13 of the 26 races (50 per cent). If you did it with the Ryanair and a new 2m 4f hurdle race, 15 out of 26 (58 per cent).

Friday 1.30pm: JCB Triumph Hurdle – FIELD LIMITED THE FIELD TO 24 RUNNERS With the Fred Winter on the scrap heap, this is back to being something like the organised chaos of years past, but I can see the argument for taking some of the no-hopers away, so I think limiting the field size is a good half-way option. 2.10pm: ‘Ryanair Hurdle’ – NEW OPEN 2M 4F RACE, GRADE TWO Gold Cup aside, the Friday actually does leave a lot to be desired, and I think it’s right to give two-and-a-half-mile hurdlers their moment in the sun at the Festival with an open race at that distance. With the County Hurdle moving back to its rightful slot as the Festival closer, this is a good bet to fill the gap. Horses who have won races at the minimum and longer trip would be asked to carry significant penalties, so it means there’s a significant layer of protection for the Stayers’ Hurdle and, more importantly, the Champion Hurdle. I think that’s enough to justify this race’s inclusion in the programme. It doesn’t overtake the Aintree Hurdle as the division’s championship race, but again, that doesn’t concern me. I’d rather have a good-quality race that has a minimal effect than a ‘championship race’ that damages more prestigious and genuine championship races. 2.50pm: Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle – NO CHANGE 3.30pm: Boodles Gold Cup – NO CHANGE 4.10pm: St James’s Place Hunters’ Chase – NO CHANGE I like this race and I think it belongs on the Festival programme. I think it makes sense to have it in this slot as a wind-down following the Gold Cup, and of the races restricted to amateur riders, I think this is the one they’d like to win most. It is steeped in history, but its three-mile-two-furlong distance and its traditional slot either side of the Gold Cup has given it a stronger link to the blue riband than it might otherwise have. For me, it stays. 4.50pm: Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase – CHANGE FROM GRADE TWO TO 0-150 HANDICAP I don’t think I need to explain my reasoning behind keeping this race but changing its format – it’s pretty much exactly the same as the cases I’ve made for the Mares’ Hurdle and Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. 5.30pm: County Handicap Hurdle – NO CHANGE A much-loved, unpredictable contest steeped in history, often thought of as the traditional ‘get-out’ race, the County Hurdle moves back to its rightful home and is a much more fitting denouement to the festival. DROPPED: Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle I just can’t think of a solid enough argument to keep this one. Do we really need a race restricted to conditional jockeys over the halfway distance? Not for me.

Thursday 1.30pm: Turners Novices’ Chase – CHANGE FROM GRADE ONE TO GRADE TWO This race has its place but definitely not as a Grade One. That makes it far too viable for horses that should be competing in the more prestigious Brown Advisory or Arkle contests, and when a quality novice is elected for this as a get-out, the chance of it thinning out the Turners field and making it an unattractive betting heat – and an unattractive spectacle full stop – is far too high. So, I’d introduce significant penalties for horses who’ve won or placed at the sprint and stayer distances, just as I would for the other mid-distance races. 2.10pm: Pertemps Handicap Hurdle – SCRAP QUALIFICATION SYSTEM I’m not a big fan of stayers’ hurdles, truth be told, but with the exception of a slight tweak to the Albert Bartlett, I’m willing to leave the programme for staying hurdlers largely untouched. I would do away with the pointless qualification system for this race, however. 2.50pm: Ryanair Chase – CHANGE FROM GRADE ONE TO GRADE TWO I’d like to particularly discourage winners of quality races at the minimum trip and the long trip from entering this, and if their trainer wants them to go in this one, they must do so while carrying a significant penalty. I think this would be an extra cushion of protection for genuine mid-distance types, who deserve their crack at the Festival. It means the Melling Chase becomes the two-and-a-half-mile championship again, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. Cheltenham doesn’t need a monopoly on championship races, and it might actually be counter-productive to the Festival in having it so. It just needs to be crammed with really good racing, and this would remain a very worthy part of the schedule. 3.30pm: Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle – NO CHANGE 4.10pm: Festival Plate Handicap – NO CHANGE 4.50pm: Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle – CHANGE FROM GRADE TWO TO 0-150 HANDICAP I don’t like the mares’ races, but I can understand why they’re part of the Festival programme, and I think removing them could be a blow to (so far, very successful) efforts to keep mares and boost their market value. But the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle is open to being used as a ‘get out’, and that possible loophole needs to be nipped in the bud. Changing it to a 0-150 handicap is also likely to bring in a bigger overall field, so surely the change I’m suggesting would make it a bigger boost to the mares’ sector than the status quo. 5.30pm: Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup – NO CHANGE The case for getting rid of this one is quite strong, but the Thursday card has always been the lightest on quality, so I think it makes sense to at least offer racegoers an additional contest. Of the races that faced the chopping block, the Kim Muir, for me, made the strongest case to be kept. This is partly because of its long history. But while it does sit funnily between the Ultima and the Hunters – and is, ultimately, neither – the three-mile chase division is the division most deserving of encouragement, so I think you can justify keeping this one on, at least more than other ‘filler’ races.

Wednesday 1.30pm: Gallagher’s Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle – CHANGE FROM GRADE ONE TO GRADE TWO I debated whether I should make the mid-distance novice races Premier Handicaps or Grade Twos, but in the end I settled on the latter, perhaps swung by the thought that the former would see too much handicap racing at what should be the jewel in the national hunt crown. I haven’t decided exactly what the penalties should be for previous wins and even places over the sprint distance and stayers’ distance, but they would have to be significant to provide greater protection for the Albert Bartlett and, more important, the Supreme Novices. 2.10pm: Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase – NO CHANGE 2.50pm: Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase – NO CHANGE 3.30pm: Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase – NO CHANGE 4.10pm: Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle – NO CHANGE 4.50pm: Weatherby’s Champion Bumper – CHANGE TO A JUVENILE RACE It's not my cup of tea, but there should be some room for variety at Cheltenham, and there have been very good Bumper winners, so I think the argument for keeping it beats the argument for dropping it. One change I would make is to change it to a juvenile race. You can argue that a juvenile doesn’t need to be jumping at that stage of their career; it’s much harder to make that case for a five-year-old, certainly a six-year-old. DROPPED: Cross-Country Chase I think it’s better suited to the April meeting. While I can appreciate I’ve kept a race with literally no jumps, at least the Bumper can be justified as a stepping stone for horses who may go on to have strong careers in Grade One racing. That argument is far weaker for the Cross-Country, and given the changes I’ve suggested to the National Hunt Chase – the protection of which, I feel, is more important than protecting the Cross Country – it’s even harder to see what this race’s purpose is.

Extended version of my OP Tuesday 1.30pm: Skybet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – NO CHANGE 2.10pm: My Pension Expert Arkle – NO CHANGE 2.50pm: Ultima Handicap Chase – NO CHANGE 3.30pm: Unibet Champion Hurdle – NO CHANGE 4.10pm: National Hunt Novices’ Chase – CHANGE TO AN OPEN HANDICAP, GUARANTEE THE WINNER A PLACE AT THE GRAND NATIONAL There was a time – admittedly, not today or yesterday – that this was the festival’s blue-riband event. It’s hard to see why, though, because if you were designing the perfect Cheltenham schedule today, there isn’t a chance in hell that you would say to yourself, ‘we need a marathon race exclusively for novices and amateur jockeys’. But I do think there would be quite significant interest in a race that, effectively, would be a trial for the Grand National, and the link to the Grand National could be accentuated further by guaranteeing the winner a place in the National field. It may have been daft that this was once considered the Festival’s blue-riband, but it would be a mistake to scrap a race with such a rich Festival history, and I think my proposed changes would breath new life into this contest. 4.50pm: Close Brothers’ Mares’ Hurdle – CHANGE FROM GRADE ONE TO A 0-150 HANDICAP, MOVE TO LATER IN THE SCHEDULE This would prevent this race from being used as a soft option for top-class mares who should be competing in Grade Ones. It would also increase the field size, making the race a far more attractive betting heat. Surely this would also make the race a greater incentive to keep mares in training, with your Lossiemouths, Quevegas and Annie Powers no longer there to scare the competition away. DROPPED: Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle I don’t like it, it doesn’t interest me, and we don’t need two juvenile hurdle races at the Festival. I also don’t like the effect it has had on the Triumph Hurdle; yes, the Triumph looks more like a genuine Grade One nowadays, but I adored the tough, unpredictable nature of the former Triumph Hurdle. I’d drop the Fred Winter in a heartbeat.

I have come up with the following schedule for a revamped Cheltenham Festival programme. When I set out on designing this, I wanted to follow these principles: 1) I’m taking it as given that it doesn’t make commercial sense to switch back to a three-day festival; and 2) I’m trying to avoid dropping current races, so if I can put up any kind of a compelling case in a race’s favour, it stays on the Festival programme. The end result is a significantly altered programme (reduced from 28 races to 26 and from 14 Grade Ones to 10), but only three races were dropped (with one added). I don’t think it’s perfect – it can’t be when I would prefer a three-day festival) but I think my proposed schedule strongly tackles opportunities for trainers to allow their horses to ‘duck and dive’ from other top-class racehorses; increases average field sizes and competitiveness; and the while having minimal effect on the commercially successful four-day schedule. Please note that novices would not be allowed to enter handicap races unless those races are geared specifically to novices. Tuesday 1.30pm: Skybet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – NO CHANGE 2.10pm: My Pension Expert Arkle – NO CHANGE 2.50pm: Ultima Handicap Chase – NO CHANGE 3.30pm: Unibet Champion Hurdle – NO CHANGE 4.10pm: National Hunt Chase – CHANGE FROM NOVICE TO AN OPEN HANDICAP, GUARANTEE THE WINNER A PLACE AT THE GRAND NATIONAL, MOVE TO EARLIER IN THE SCHEDULE IN LIGHT OF REVAMP 4.50pm: Close Brothers’ Mares’ Hurdle – CHANGE FROM GRADE ONE TO A 0-150 HANDICAP, MOVE TO LATER IN THE SCHEDULE IN LIGHT OF REVAMPED NATIONAL HUNT CHASE Dropped: Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle Wednesday 1.30pm: Gallagher's Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle – CHANGE FROM GRADE ONE TO GRADE TWO, PENALTIES FOR HORSES WHO'VE WON/PLACED IN HURDLE RACES AT 2M/3M 2.10pm: Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase – NO CHANGE 2.50pm: Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle – NO CHANGE 3.30pm: Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase – NO CHANGE 4.10pm: Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase – NO CHANGE 4.50pm: Weatherby’s Champion Bumper – CHANGE TO A JUVENILE RACE Dropped: Cross Country Chase Thursday 1.30pm: Turners Novices’ Chase – CHANGE FROM GRADE ONE TO GRADE TWO, PENALTIES FOR HORSES WHO'VE WON/PLACED IN CHASES AT 2M/3M 2.10pm: Pertemps Handicap Hurdle – SCRAP QUALIFICATION SYSTEM, OTHERWISE KEEP IT AS IT IS 2.50pm: Ryanair Chase – CHANGE FROM GRADE ONE TO GRADE TWO, PENALTIES FOR HORSES WHO'VE WON/PLACED AT 2M/3M THAT SEASON OR PREVIOUS SEASON, MORE SEVERE PENALTIES FOR THOSE WHO'VE DONE EITHER OUTSIDE OF NOVICE COMPANY 3.30pm: Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle – NO CHANGE 4.10pm: Festival Plate Handicap Chase – NO CHANGE 4.50pm: Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle – CHANGE FROM GRADE TWO TO 0-150 HANDICAP 5.30pm: Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase – NO CHANGE Friday 1.30pm: JCB Triumph Hurdle – FIELD LIMITED THE FIELD TO 24 RUNNERS IN LIGHT OF FRED WINTER BEING DROPPED 2.10pm: ‘Ryanair Hurdle’ (NEW) – OPEN 2M 4F RACE, GRADE TWO. PENALTIES FOR HORSES WHO'VE WON/PLACED AT 2M/3M THAT SEASON OR PREVIOUS SEASON, MORE SEVERE PENALTIES FOR THOSE WHO'VE DONE EITHER OUTSIDE OF NOVICE COMPANY 2.50pm: Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle – NO CHANGE 3.30pm: Boodles Gold Cup – NO CHANGE 4.10pm: St James’s Place Hunters’ Chase – NO CHANGE 4.50pm: Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase – CHANGE FROM GRADE TWO TO 0-150 HANDICAP 5.30pm: County Handicap Hurdle – NO CHANGE, MOVED TO BECOME FESTIVAL’S CLOSING RACE Dropped: Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle