Is the Cheltenham Festival still the be-all and end-all? I'm pretty sure it is – but the definite answer will come in March
It was December 2020 when Michael O'Leary told me having a winner at the Cheltenham Festival was "as close as fat, old, middle-aged men get to playing in the Premier League".
The 2024 version of that quote probably reads "as close as as fat, old, middle-aged men get to playing in the Europa League" judging by his reaction to the radical overhaul of the festival roster which was announced on Thursday.
O'Leary described the changes as "inane and misguided" and was particularly disillusioned by the news that the Turners Novices' Chase and Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase were both becoming handicaps. He vehemently argued that the festival "should be about Grade 1s and quality horses, not more boring handicaps which benefit nobody except bookmakers".
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Published on inDavid Jennings
Last updated
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- The Irish Champions Festival needs life-saving surgery - and only bundles of cash and energy can save it
- We could have had Vautour v Un De Sceaux in an Arkle so I'm all for turning the Turners into a handicap
- I've said 'wow' four times this Flat season - and I fully expect Economics to make that five at Leopardstown
- There is something seriously wrong when Mouse Morris is going 14 months without a winner in Ireland
- Constitution Hill is Pele at his peak playing in Saudi Arabia, that's where the real frustration lies