'Best performance, best ride, biggest disappointment' - the highs and lows of the Cheltenham Festival

BEST PERFORMANCE

The Cross-Country Chase was supposed to be about one horse – and in the end, it was. However, that horse was not reigning champion and two-time Grand National winner Tiger Roll.

Easysland’s 17-length thrashing of Tiger Roll was the performance of the Festival, especially when time figures suggest the runner-up might have produced a better display than in either of his two winning runs.

It takes a special horse to quicken out of tacky ground in the way Easysland did, and given that the French-trained winner is only six, multiple Cross-Country wins look possible. If he ends up going over more traditional jumps in the future, the Gold Cup and Grand National could also be at his mercy.

BEST FINISH

Going down the back straight for the final time in the RSA, Champ looked in trouble. Swinging around the final bend, he looked destined for third place at best, and when he pecked at the second last, he seemed destined for mid-division.

He was ten lengths off the leading pair at the last, and as they headed up the hill, Minella Indo and Allaho fought out a ding-dong duel. Yet from nowhere, Barry Geraghty roused Champ into a final burst and the Nicky Henderson-trained novice burst between the leading pair to eventually win by a relatively-cosy length.

Yes, Champ will have to brush up on his jumping if he wants to challenge for the Gold Cup next season. But no other staying chaser can even come close to matching his finishing burst after three gruelling miles. That will always be a potent weapon.

BEST RIDE

Paul Townend deserves huge credit for the composed manner in which he nurtured Al Boum Photo around the Gold Cup course before delivering him for a winning finish, but for me, his best ride came two days earlier in the bumper.

Bumper horses can easily blow their chance in the opening stages of the race, but Townend buried Ferny Hollow away towards the back of a big field and allowed him to gradually make ground as the race progressed.

Heading into the final furlong, favourite Appreciate It looked home and hosed, but Townend had primed Ferny Hollow for a run on the outside and he duly surged clear to win by two-and-a-half months. Last year’s bumper was a hot affair, and this year’s renewal looks like being every bit as good. Both Ferny Hollow and Appreciate It should make fine novice hurdlers next season.

BEST HANDICAP DISPLAY

Saint Roi was hugely impressive in the County Hurdle and Dame De Compagnie landed a huge gamble in the Coral Cup, but when it came to the old adage of having a ‘group horse in a handicap’, it was hard to look past Imperial Aura’s opening-day triumph in the novices’ handicap chase.

Kim Bailey’s seven-year-old had been backed off the boards when he finished second in a trial race at Cheltenham, and duly stepped up again to win by three-and-a-quarter lengths off a mark of 143.

Last year’s winner of the same race, A Plus Tard, went off favourite for this year’s Ryanair, and its easy to imagine the same thing happening with Imperial Aura. Given his strength at the finish, though, it’s not impossible to imagine Imperial Aura being aimed even higher at next year’s Gold Cup.

BEST TRAINER

For the opening two days of the Festival, it looked as though Nicky Henderson and Gordon Elliott were going to be the dominant forces. Indeed, it took until the bumper – race 14 of the week – for Willie Mullins to record his first winner.

At that stage, there were concerns about the wellbeing of the Mullins stable. It is safe to say they were allayed over the next two days. Min’s win in the Ryanair got things back on track, and Mullins’ remarkable four-timer on the Friday saw him leave Prestbury Park with the leading trainer’s title in the bag.

Burning Victory’s win in the Triumph was fortuitous, but Saint Roi trounced a good field in the County Hurdle, Monkfish battled outstandingly to land the Albert Bartlett and Al Boum Photo brought the house down as he retained his Gold Cup crown.

UNLUCKIEST LOSER

It is rare you get 60,000 racegoers standing with their mouths wide open at the same time, but that was the sight in the grandstands as Goshen burst clear after the second last in the Triumph Hurdle.

Gary Moore’s juvenile had been one of the talking horses of the winter, but it was still hard to believe the burst of speed that saw him break ten lengths clear of what will almost certainly prove to have been a top-class Triumph line-up.

Of course, we all know what happened next. Goshen guessed at the last, got one of his hooves stuck in the turf, and jockey Jamie Moore was unable to cling on. It was a bitter disappointment for all involved, but Goshen still looks an exceptional prospect. Hopefully, he will turn up Aintree – if he does, the 20-1 available for next year’s Champion Hurdle might not last long.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

In the Cheltenham build-up, it was generally agreed that the Champion Chase was going to be the race of the Festival.

Things started going awry when Altior was ruled out on the eve of the race, and then the wheels came off completely when Chacun Pour Soi was withdrawn because of injury four or five hours before the off.

Defi De Seuil went off an odds-on favourite but was clearly not right, and while Politologue jumped superbly as he landed the spoils from the front, it was hard not to wonder about what might have been. Given Altior’s age and Chacun Pour Soi’s injury record, the three-way head-to-head we all wanted might never occur.

SOME HORSES FOR THE FUTURE

This year’s novice hurdlers look an extremely strong crop, and you hardly need to be an expert to imagine Shishkin and Envoi Allen being major players in next year’s novice chase division. Abacadrabras, a more-than-honourable second in the Supreme, looks set to stay over hurdles, and could be a huge player in next year’s Champion Hurdle.

Speaking of the Champion, Epatante probably hasn’t got the respect she deserves given how comprehensively she pulled clear. Yes, this wasn’t a vintage renewal, but she did everything that was asked of her and should land plenty more Group Ones over the next few seasons.

Honeysuckle’s connections chose the right race in the end, but might well be tempted to gear next season’s campaign around the Champion Hurdle, while Samcro’s revival means Gordon Elliott can once again start dreaming of top-level chasing success with his former Ballymore winner. Next season’s Ryanair will surely be a target.

As for next year’s Gold Cup? Having bucked the trend of horses being unable to land back-to-back renewals, there’s no reason why Al Boum Photo can’t make it a hat-trick next year. That said though, Champ’s remarkable finishing pace should also make him a factor.