Cheltenham Festival 2021 – Not about who was present, but more about those who are absent

Good Boy Bobby and Sam Twiston-Davies in action at Cheltenham in December 2019. It will be a very different feel to the Cheltenham Festival this year.

PHOTO: Tom Williams / JTW Equine Images

The last 10 days before any Cheltenham Festival in recent years have followed a standard timeline, one that does not detract from the previous years’ proceedings. Anticipation building in yards and from media and punters alike. Up and down the country, Festival “Preview Evenings” are in full swing, with those in attendance looking forward to the guests’ views on the meeting and an evening of laughter, cheer and wonder. Those who have booked tickets for the meeting are planning their outfits and making final adjustments to them, the tweed and accessories ordered and labelled with meticulous precision. Hospitality at the racecourse is in full preparation, with the beer in regular delivery and thousands of ingredients for meals on order for preparation into fine dining. A champagne order every Frenchman would be proud of, is on its way to Cheltenham Racecourse, in addition to the gallons of Guinness that will be provided by the brewers for the likes of the famous “Guinness Village”. Hair and nail appointments are booked, and suit fittings are big business for tailors.

Hotels, B&Bs, restaurants and pubs in the Cotswolds have been booked, and parties have been planned. Holiday lets and homes have been booked up. Punters up and down the country are scrutinising the entries and trends for the races, looking for an edge to their bets and a potential dark horse that will win them a fair amount of money, and see the connections score a famous triumph that will go down in history.

Flights are booked from all over the world. Flights and ferries from Ireland are fully booked, where a combination of the Irish battalion of equine athletes and avid racegoers will descend upon the Cotswolds to enjoy 4 days of high quality racing, the highlight of the racing year and equine calendar. The anticipation is building, with racegoers full on excitement, joy and a “Gold Cup Breakfast” many establishments have provided that morning, until around half past one on a Tuesday afternoon in March. At which, the crescendo of the famous “Cheltenham Roar” that fills the air for miles around like a cannon starting a battle, greets the Gods and signifies the runners are off for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle; the Cheltenham Festival is under way.

But not this year. This year, when the tapes go up for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, you will be able to hear a mouse drop a pin in a vacuum in Burford Church.

The one word that has signalled a year of misery, restrictions and despair will unfortunately mean the Festival will go ahead, but behind closed doors and with no crowds – Coronavirus. Like a bad odour , it has caused a stench and a stain upon the lives of many for a year. Lives have been lost, opportunities denied, families kept apart from loved ones and a huge strain put on our emergency services.

Due to the monstrous and damaging effect on the public COVID-19 has had over the last 6 months, the decision was made by the BHA and RCA to hold the meeting behind closed doors, meaning all of the first three paragraphs is and are not possible. It is a major blow to racing, but also to the local economy, which would make millions in revenue from such a huge event in the tourism calendar. The only other event that would come close is either the November Meeting back at Cheltenham, or the Royal International Air Tattoo, the world’s biggest military airshow, that is held every July at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Unfortunately, this year’s edition has already been cancelled, so it is a further hammer blow for an area that needed the boost after a dreadful 12 months.

The Cheltenham Festival brings in around £20 million in revenue for the local economy, and to have the event held without a crowd is a terrible blow for the local economy, who usually at this time of year are looking forward to the biggest week of the year and a feeling of racing’s equivalent of a carnival. The streets of Cheltenham will feel eerily quiet for this time of year, and the Cotswolds will be empty of the sheer number of racegoers flooding the likes of the A40 from Oxford to Cheltenham, to attend the Festival for a memorable day that will cement legends into history.

Many of you reading this undoubtedly look forward to being in the likes of the Guinness Village enjoying a few drinks with friends before the action begins, and hopefully backing a winner or two. The famous “Cheltenham Roar” that gets the meeting started is like the raising of a curtain in the best theatre in the world, one that catches attention towards the main event of the day. It will be a strange moment when the tape goes up and there will be no crowd to roar the runners towards the first hurdle.

Connected to this is another aspect of the day that is most welcome – The Shopping Village. A plethora of different retailers, ranging from Darren Birdie with his incredible art to Country Clothing Retailers, The Injured Jockeys Fund and even Bentley have all been present at the Festival, with merchandise, products and demonstrations, turning the Festival into a huge trades fair, convention and PR opportunity for any company trying to advertise to a wider audience. That side piece will be missed at this year’s meeting as some well-known brands have used the Festival to establish a contact base, and it also brings in added revenue for the racecourse, so adds to the purses for racing as a whole. After all, you can always find a good bargain or a rare piece that you could add to your current or future outfit there, and would be an excellent memento from the Festival. It is somewhat frowned upon by those who have attended the Festival for many years, but to those who have only just been introduced to the sport or see the event as a huge social occasion, it is a well-loved diversification from the hoi polloi of usual raceday experiences.

Another high profile absentee at the Festival will be those who make the sport possible - owners. The likes of J P McManus, Gigginstown House Stud, Mr and Mrs Donnelly, The Riccis, Ann and Alan Potts and Cheveley Park Stud have all enjoyed Festival success, and their colours are looked out for at every Festival, as usually they have an excellent chance of adding to previous Festival glory. It is always a pleasure to see them after their horse has won in a post race interview, such as the show of emotion that radiated from Andrew Gemmell when his talented hurdler Paisley Park took apart a classy field and stormed home to win the 2019 Stayers Hurdle. The assembled media swarmed around him, keen to get the reaction from such a delightful and much loved owner.

Charisma personified is Mr Rich Ricci, owner of the likes of Vautour, Faugheen, Douvan and Monkfish, all of which who have written themselves into Festival Folklore. All bar Monkfish have each won at least two races at the Cheltenham Festival, albeit Monkfish is a very short priced favourite for the Brown Advisory Novices Chase ( formerly the RSA Novices Chase ) to add to his success last year in the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle. Without the owners, the sport would not exist, and it is sad that those who put the most money into the sport cannot be there to see their pride and joy on the greatest stage of all.

Worst still, it is heartbreaking to know that syndicates, such as the Owners Group, will not be able to be present at Cheltenham. Tasting success with Pentland Hills in the 2019 Triumph Hurdle, the Owners Group syndicate has made ownership available for a fraction of the price it would normally take to own a racehorse, particularly one from a high profile stable such as Nicky Henderson's at Seven Barrows. The sheer ecstasy on the faces of syndicate members when their horse wins at the Festival cannot be measured, and it is saddening that they won't be able to be present at Cheltenham to savour the atmosphere and experience of having a Festival runner, let alone what would happen if they went and won. Hopefully there will be more and more syndicates in the future, particularly now they are available to more people than ever before.

The areas where the full effect of restrictions will be felt the most is of course on the track, and it is a bit of a hammer blow for those who do not see much of the public limelight – the Amateurs. The National Hunt Chase, Kim Muir and Foxhunters’ are usually restricted to Amateur riders only, providing the likes in the past of Jamie Codd, Alex Edwards, Patrick Mullins, Derek O’Connor, Katie Walsh, Nina Carberry and Sam Waley-Cohen a chance to shine on the biggest stage of them all. Of course they can ride in the likes of the Weatherbys Champion Bumper, and some of the most memorable Festival moments have come from an amateur rider lifting home a winner from an impossible position. Fayonagh’s victory in the 2017 Champion Bumper under Jamie Codd is a fine example, as she came from last to first to collar Debuchet close home. Commentator Mark Johnson accurately described her charge for home just over a furlong out, declaring “Fayonagh, begins to fly, from a different parish!” In the process, she brought up 5 wins for trainer Gordon Elliott at that year’s Festival, a state of euphoria from the crowd, and a double on the day for Mr Jamie Codd, who had scored in the Cross Country Chase an hour and a quarter earlier with Cause Of Causes, who then ran a fine second in the Grand National at Aintree to One For Arthur a month later. The aforementioned trainer has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently, and his string will now be in the care of Denise Foster for this year’s Festival due to his ban imposed by the IHRB and reciprocated by the BHA, so he will be another high-profile absentee.

Amateurs have been unable to race in Britain since January 16th in Britain due to the Coronavirus pandemic, while they have been unable to do so in Ireland from around the same time for the same reason. There has been no Point-To-Point Racing in Britain since January, whilst for the Hunter Chase season this year professional jockeys have been permitted to ride in usually amateur only races, given dispensation because they are classed as elite athletes and NH Racing is classed as elite sport, meaning it can continue under Government guidelines. It is a very unfortunate situation for the amateur jockeys, who many of which will be present at Cheltenham from Ireland as they are stable staff and travel with their horses to Cheltenham, yet they are unable to race due to the restrictions. Patrick Mullins contemplated turning professional just to race at Cheltenham this month, but decided against it for the long term. It is a huge shame that they will not be able to take part in this year’s Festival, as they deserve to be on the centre stage. Sam Waley-Cohen won the 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup on Long Run as an amateur, a position he still holds today in addition to his main job as a dentist. It highlights the fact that these amateurs are amateur only in the name, as they are more than capable of mixing it with and beating the professionals. It is a shame to see that they do not get as much coverage on the Friday of the Festival, as the race after the Gold Cup is the Foxhunters’, and where media outlets have been known to shun in favour of more coverage of the Gold Cup winner. Surely they deserve the limelight and coverage too, as the Foxhunters’ is their Gold Cup, rather than being shunned by agencies who could not care that much about them?

Speaking of which, this year has been tough for media, mainly photographers such as us. As I write this we are feeling somewhat deflated, as we were unable to secure media accreditation for the Cheltenham Festival this year as only 15 RCA Accredited photographers have been allowed to cover the Festival. That is a serious restriction on previous years, and Cheltenham have expressed their apologies to us that we cannot be accredited, of which we are grateful for hearing from them, but it still does not make up for not being able to cover the Festival. We share the same feelings as countless others, so we are not alone in that sense of huge disappointment. We hope that we will be able to make it the 7th time of applying lucky next year.

Media such as us, who do not possess an RCA National Accreditation, have been barred from attending race meetings and providing coverage to clients. As we do not have the national accreditation that is required to be able to operate at UK Racecourses during the pandemic and subsequent restrictions. It is not a popular decision, and the fact those without it have been unable to operate at the Festival will only fuel the fire of those opposed to it, so a time when they are no longer required is very much looked forward to. Fingers crossed, for everyone unable to operate at present, that it is extremely soon, rather than later.

Whether we produce any write ups of the meeting is still under consideration, as we would not be able to provide imagery to go with them. It would have been a huge advantage and honour to have covered the Festival, but due to current RCA media restrictions, once again that opportunity and wait goes on.

It will be a different Festival, one that we hope will never be repeated in the manner it is. Next year should see Guinness flowing on tap, crowds gathering in anticipation of the equine superstars gracing the hallowed turf of Cheltenham Racecourse. Preview Evenings will have been inundated with attendees, the hotels, B&B’s, restaurants and holiday lets all fully booked with people looking forward to the event. The return of amateurs and more media such as ourselves in attendance to provide coverage to all clients who require imagery and write ups.

Let us all do what we can to get the most out of this Festival. It is not fair on anyone how this year’s renewal will play out, with many others missing out on what is without a doubt the highlight of the racing year. Whether you be racing staff, media or a paying punter, it will be somewhat heart-breaking for all involved in the love of this fine sport to see it taking place with an eerie silence greeting the winners home, rather than the roar of the crowd and attempts by many a punter to send a copy of the Racing Post into space.

Most of all however, let us see all horses and jockeys come home safe, and let us show this sport for the great and exciting reality it is, not the side that has been seen to negative effect, in recent days.