After a fine summer on the Flat, attention now firmly turns to the finest that Jump racing has to offer over the winter months as National Hunt enthusiasts gear up for the 2014 running of Cheltenham’s Open Meeting, live on Channel 4.
Always an autumnal treat of top jumping action and one of the many highlights on the British horse racing calendar, the Open meeting marks for many the true start of the Jumps season with three days of top class action, with the highlight being the running of the Paddy Power Gold Cup on Saturday afternoon.
Held every November, Cheltenham’s Open Meeting provides thrilling competition between many of the best Jump horses in Europe, with an attendance of around 70,000 over the three days.
The volume of racegoers to the meeting will continue to be just as high this year, despite the fact that the racecourse, home to the world-famous Cheltenham Festival every March, is undergoing a major transformation.
Since Cheltenham shut its doors for the off-season at the end of April, the progression on an impressive new £45million grandstand development has been significant, with construction set to continue throughout the 2014/15 season and beyond, while improvements to other key facilities including the weighing room, parade ring and paddock are also being made.
No racedays during the season will be affected by the new developments, with racing set to continue as normal throughout, though racegoers will quickly notice some of the changes to the racecourse’s facilities, which are all set to be completed by the 2016 Festival.
Cheltenham’s first major multi-day race meeting of the season is set to provide plenty of drama and intrigue as the Jumps season kicks off in style at Prestbury Park.
Saturday’s Paddy Power Gold Cup is the meeting’s main highlight and the two-mile and four and a half furlong handicap chase has been won by some of National Hunt’s greats since its first running in 1960.
These include Grand National winner Gay Trip, dual champion chaser Fortria and Gold Cup winner Imperial Commander, while the most successful trainer in the race’s history is Martin Pipe, who won the race on eight occasions between 1987 and 2005, with his son David carrying on the family tradition when saddling Great Endeavour to win the race in 2011.
Last year’s Paddy Power Gold Cup winner Johns Spirit looks set to make a bold bid to become the most recent back-to-back winner since Bradbury Star in the early 1990s.
Jamie Snowdon’s Present View heads the betting in the week prior to the meeting, with Nicky Henderson’s Rajdhani Express, who finished fifth last year, and Alan King’s Uxizandre also in contention for the £160,000 prize pot.
Oscar Whisky and last year’s winner Johns Spirit are below them with last year’s runner-up Colour Squadron another in the mix, while Buywise, Attaglance, Caid Du Berlais and Champion Court are other notable entries.
Other highlights on Saturday include the £50,000 Murphy Group Handicap Chase and the JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial, while Friday’s action features the Grade 2 Novices’ Hurdle and Sunday’s pick of the action includes the Greatwood Hurdle.
The Open Meeting kicks off the start Jump racing season on Channel 4 Racing with the final two months of the year taking-in the exciting Open meeting, the Betfair Chase on November 22, a race which delivers many Gold Cup insights, to the historic Hennessy Gold Cup on November 29, plus the Christmas highlight, the King George VI Chase from Kempton Park on Boxing Day.
Into 2015 and the focus remains firmly on Jump racing with the premier highlights being the iconic four-day Cheltenham Festival, horseracing’s Olympics, from March 10-13, followed by the 2015 running of the Crabbie’s Grand National Festival from April 9-11.
As the jump season draws to a close in late April, racing fans will have enjoyed 37 racedays devoted to the gallant sport and may have witnessed the world’s greatest jump jockey in AP McCoy securing his 20th consecutive Champions title.
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Channel 4 Racing will screen live action from all three days of the 2014 Cheltenham Open Meeting as the jumps season gets into gear.
Nick Luck and the Channel 4 team will be at Prestbury Park to present the channel’s live action of this autumnal jumps spectacular from November 14-16, with live coverage of four Cheltenham races each day on Channel 4 Racing, plus additional races from Wetherby and Fontwell on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Analysis and comment on all the big races from the studio overlooking the course comes from Jim McGrath and Graham Cunningham, while Mick Fitzgerald provides on-course reports and interviews.
Tanya Stevenson will have all the latest news and views from Cheltenham betting ring; and Simon Holt provides commentary on all of Channel 4’s live races from Prestbury Park.
In addition to the live action across the three days, Channel 4’s weekly morning preview show The Morning Line, hosted by Nick Luck on Saturday at 7.55am, will provide all the news and tips ahead of a top day’s jumps racing with guests Jamie Lynch and Graham Cunningham, plus there will be the first of the season’s Dark Horse features with jockey Sam Thomas.
Further analysis, reports and news from the Cheltenham Open Meeting can be found via the Channel 4 Racing website – channel4.com/racing – and on Twitter via @Channel4Racing.
Live streaming of all Channel 4 Racing programmes can be viewed via channel4.com, while all shows will also be available via the broadcaster’s catch-up service 4OD.
In addition to Channel 4’s free-to-air coverage, dedicated horse racing channel Racing UK will also be screening live coverage every race from the Cheltenham Open Meeting across all three days.
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Friday 14th November
Channel 4 Racing: Cheltenham
LIVE: 1.40pm-4.00pm Channel 4
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C4 Race Card
1:35 Paddy Power Handicap Chase
2:05 Steel Plate And Sections Novices’ Chase
2:40 Neptune Investment Management Novices´ Hurdle
3:15 Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase
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. Saturday 15th November The Morning Line Preview: 7.55am-9.00am Channel 4 Channel 4 Racing: Cheltenham & Wetherby LIVE: 1.30pm-4.00pm Channel 4 . C4 Race Card 1:50 Murphy Group Handicap Chase 2:05 totescoop6 The Millionaire Maker Handicap Chase (Wetherby) 2:30 Paddy Power Gold Cup Chase 3:00 Ultima Business Solutions Handicap Hurdle 3:15 Follow Scoop6 At totepoolliveinfo.com Handicap Hurdle (Wetherby) 3:35 JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial .
. Sunday 16th November Channel 4 Racing: Cheltenham, Fontwell & Punchestown LIVE: 1.20pm-3.40pm Channel 4 . C4 Race Card 1:35 Sky Bet Supreme Trial Novices’ Hurdle 1:50 totepool Southern National Handicap Chase (Fontwell) 2:10 Racing Post Arkle Trophy Trial Novices’ Chase 2:15 StanJames.com Morgiana Hurdle (Punchestown) 2:40 Shloer Chase 3:15 StanJames.com Greatwood Hurdle
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