How the Cheltenham Festival changes will play out in practice - including a 33-1 tip for March
The Cheltenham Festival changes have been discussed at length but not properly dissected yet. We know Michael O'Leary is dead against them, Nicky Henderson is all for them and Willie Mullins reckons it's the cost rather than the class of race that's to blame, but what will these tweaks actually mean? How will the renovated races actually look?
Let's kick off with the one which caused the most controversy – the old Turners Novices' Chase. It's no longer a Grade 1 and will now be run as a handicap for novices.
The last time we had a similar event was in 2020 when we had 20 runners for the Northern Trust Company Novices' Handicap Chase and the two 4-1 joint-favourites fought out the finish. Imperial Aura won it. What happened to him? Not a lot. His form figures after 11 starts read 31113122111. His form figures for his last six turned into UPFPP0. Galvin, the other joint-favourite, was second and a subsequent Grade 1 winner.
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Published on inDavid Jennings
Last updated
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