DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES

Graham Buddry shares his views on The Festival... and the jockeys

- 

The 2025 Cheltenham Festival was probably the strangest mix of Fairytale and Nightmare that any of us have ever experienced. When you consider that 224 horses ran over hurdles at the Festival last year with only four of them falling, what price could you have got that Constitution Hill and State Man, when well clear at the last, would be two of them. One crazy race!

Another race I found weird was the Coral Cup. One of the most awful jockeys at this time of year, Danny Mullins, won the race while Nico De Boinville and Rachel Blackmore, who both have abysmal form in handicaps, filled the next two places.

With both Jonbon and Galopin Des Champs both made to look mortal as well it was one hell of a strange week, only offset by Michael O'Sullivan's two 2023 winners both winning among quite a few other fairytale results.

From a personal perspective The New Lion more than compensated me for the disappointment of Ile Des Francais to help leaving me in profit after four very peculiar days.

When I first started looking into the jockey stats for the Festival an awfully long time ago now we could rely on the "Four Aces" to provide a plethora of Grade 1 winners. Those jockeys, AP McCoy, Ruby Walsh, Barry Geraghty and Davy Russell have long since departed the saddle along with some of their top flight replacements, most lately Rachel Blackmore, who will be sorely missed.

The Festival is where everyone wants to win and where jockey preferences really stand out the most. This doesn't always point to a certain winner but it often warns of ones to be avoided and it paid its way again last year.

For those not fully acquainted with Cheltenham, let me put the two different types of obstacles and courses into more athletic terms. The jumping side is as different as long jump is to high jump and the courses are akin to a flat arena track or a rugged cross country circuit, thus jockey preferences can often be accentuated come March.