From Alan Brazil to Zara Tindall… A definitive A to Z guide with everything you need to know about the Cheltenham Festival
talkSPORT looks ahead to Cheltenham, in association with
Ah, the Cheltenham Festival. One of the greatest weeks in the sporting calendar.
Since 1861, horse racing’s finest have flocked to the small town in Gloucestershire to fight for some of the most historic prizes in sport.
And punters follow them to the hallowed turf of Prestbury Park for an emotional rush which cannot be matched.
The sound of Cheltenham is like no other: a thunderous crescendo of equines backed up by the fever-pitched roar of thousands.
For one week only, everyone’s an expert. Everyone’s got a tip. Even those who aren’t all that into horse racing have the occasional flutter underneath the table at work.
At The Heart of Cheltenham:
On March 10, horse racing fever will sweep the nation. So whether you’ve got a box for the Gold Cup or plan to stream it on your phone, here’s your definitive A to Z guide for the Cheltenham Festival.
A is for Alan Brazil
Our very own Breakfast Show presenter is a cult hero at The Festival.
When he’s not live on air, you can often find him holding court with various A-listers in the Guinness Tent, or celebrating his winnings in one of the quaint pubs nearby.
Al will bring you the Breakfast show live from the course every day this week, as talkSPORT brings you exclusive radio coverage of the Festival.
B is for Betting
And lots of it. Millions of pounds will change hands during the week.
Gambling, so long as it’s done responsibly, adds to the thrill for many punters, and a day out at Cheltenham can end up being free if you play your cards right.
C is for Craic
Good times had by all, usually featuring the odd drink or two. The term probably translates most directly to ‘fun’, although that doesn’t really cut it. It’s a quintessentially Irish form of fun.
Irish revellers travel to Cheltenham in their thousands to celebrate the Festival, which has a deep connection with the Emerald Isle.
D is for Dark horses
A horse which could surprise people and win, despite being unlikely to do so.
A white horse can be a dark horse because the expression actually has nothing to do with the colour of the horse. Consider your mind blown.
E is for Eric Dier
The Tottenham midfielder was born in Cheltenham before moving to Portugal at a young age.
It’s not the only thing which connects Spurs to the Festival. Many footballers enjoy a day out at the races, and former Tottenham star Jamie O’Hara told us a brilliant story about the time Harry Redknapp joined the squad at Cheltenham just days before they faced Manchester United.
F is for Foot and Mouth disease
The 2001 festival was abandoned due to the infamous disease, which ended up costing the British economy £8billion due to the mass infection of its agriculture.
We suspect it cost the bookies a fair amount, too.
G is for Gold Cup
The main event! Friday is Gold Cup day and the roar is unmistakable.
It’s a steeplechase run over three miles with 22 fences to jump, a layout which means any horse in the field has a chance of winning - just look at 100-1 shot Norton's Coin in 1990.
Betfred boss Fred Done's verdict...
“I’ve suffered massive highs and lows in the Gold Cup – I celebrated when Norton’s Coin won at 100/1 but I’ve also gone home skint when horses like Best Mate, Kauto Star and Bobs Worth all hosed up as favourites.
"I’ll be looking to get the first two in the betting in the book which are last year’s winner Al Boum Photo and Santini then just crossing my fingers.”
H is for Horses
Duh?
I is for Ireland
Cheltenham is an opportunity for Ireland to boast the health of its racing, and also compete in a bit of traditional competition against the English.
Whichever nation has the most winners over the week takes home the Prestbury Cup, a sort of makey-uppy trophy. It’s pretty hotly contested, though, and last year saw a 14-14 draw.
J is for Jockey
The Festival represents the chance for someone, often short and stocky, to immortalise themselves in sporting history.
Legends such as Ruby Walsh have made household names of themselves at Cheltenham.
K is for Kauto Star
One of the most successful steeplechasers in history and an icon at Cheltenham.
He finished his career with a National Hunt record £3,775,883 in earnings, none of which he got to touch though, because he was a horse.
L is for Luck
Infamously elusive for most and annoyingly common for some. We all have that one friend.
You’ll need plenty of it if you want to enjoy Cheltenham.
M is for Montpellier
The ‘posh’ end of Cheltenham town.
The bars of this pretty little district are where you’re most likely to bump into the famous faces who carry on after the racing’s done.
N is for Nicky Henderson
We’ve mentioned the Prestbury Cup. Another fierce rivalry is the one that exists between the top two trainers of recent years, Henderson and Willie Mullins.
Just one winner separates them, with Mullins currently in the all-time No.1 spot with 65, and Henderson will want to do something about that this year.
O is for Odds
The shorter the odds, the more likely your horse is to win, but also the less money you get back for your stake.
Tipsters thrive on discovering hidden gems with long odds which stand to win punters large sums of money.
At The Heart of Cheltenham:
P is for Promenade
This is the heart and cultural hub of the town.
If you ever venture outside Prestbury Park, you’ll discover that Cheltenham is actually really nice.
Q is for Queen Mother Champion Chase
The Queen Mother was massively into horse racing, so much so that she got the feature race on day two of Cheltenham named in her honour.
A successful owner of horses, she never won her own race, only managing a runner-up with Game Spirit in 1976.
R is for Roar
Not to be mistaken with the Katy Perry tune, the Cheltenham roar is something to behold.
Those who have heard it often find it hard to describe, but essentially it’s just thousands of punters yelling at horses really loudly.
S is St Patrick’s Day
Imagine spending your whole life thinking St Patrick’s Day was March 17 before realising it’s actually whatever date the Thursday falls at Cheltenham.
Regardless of its proximity to the 17th, day three at The Festival is known as St Patrick’s Day. As you can probably guess, it’s a traditionally Irish affair.
T is for talkSPORT
We love Cheltenham, in case you hadn’t worked that out already.
We’ll be bringing you the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast Show LIVE from The Festival, as well as commentary of every race on talkSPORT 2.
U is for Underdog
Sort of like a dark horse, but less likely to win.
An underdog isn’t supposed to triumph, so everyone usually roots for it and rejoices if it does.
V is for Victory salute
The traditional method of celebration for a victorious jockey.
It’s a miracle they manage to stay aboard their horses sometimes.
W is for Willie Mullins
A legend of the game. Backing one of his horses is usually a pretty good shout.
Will he stay ahead of his long-standing adversary Henderson this year?
X is for X-citement
You try and come up with something for X.
Y is for Yearling
When a horse is a year old but not yet two, it’s known as a yearling.
These are usually considered too young to run, with most races at Cheltenham requiring a minimum age of five, but they’re so damn cute.
Z is for Zara Tindall
Princess Anne's daughter and founder of Cheltenham's 18-24 club, Zara Tindall is massively into her horse racing.
Her husband and former rugby star, Mike Tindall, often co-presented the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast from Cheltenham.
Neil Warnock once told a brilliant story about how he ended up in the Guinness tent with Brazil and Mike Tindall at 10am after the show.
At The Heart of Cheltenham:
*18+ T&C’s apply. See Betfred.com for full details. Begambleaware.org.