Cheltenham from 14 March to 17 March 2017

Dear Friends
I have noticed in the past that some of you would like to visit the festival.
As I live 40 min away from the course
I am prepared to arrange FREE OF CHARGE accommodation transport to and from Cheltenham.
The reason for early bookings is that accommodation and tickets are normally booked up early.
I would need numbers and dates you would like to come you arrange your own flights If need I could arrange trance port from Heathrow airport
Accommodation would probably be in a bed and breakfast and they are pretty good here but I would need numbers so You list your name and contact e-mail and lets see how it works out.
Once I have some kind of numbers we can fine tune the logistics

Moose

Great moose

Time to start planning... Who's in?

In

Sound's great

you expecting plenty of interest moose, (hope you see the funny side of the post)

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/16/trav...ks-before-the-start/

Ticket prices for Tues, Wed and Thurs:


Ticket prices for Fri, Gold Cup Day:


Cheltenham enclosures map:


Proposal: the cheap seats days 1 to 3 and expensive seats day 4? For photo reasons, I would like an enclosure where I can have access to most of the course like the bends, the jumps, the start. Else I'm flexible.

cheltenhamtickets.thejockeyclub.co.uk/Online/

Mac you say you want an enclosure that allows you to view the bends, jumps etc. You will find that plus everything else on the TV It won't be like the leisurely day you experienced at Salisbury. This will be 10 notches up but if you enjoy huge moving crowds then this is for you

THREE-TIME Cheltenham Festival winner Vautour has died after a freak accident at Willie Mullins' yard.

"He broke a foreleg and has had to be put down," his trainer told the Racing Post on Sunday evening. "It's very tough to take for all of us."

Mullins does not know exactly how the injury happened. He explained: "Vautour was out in a paddock with another of our horses, Shaneshill - the two of them go out to the same paddock most days.

"We don't know what exactly happened - it must have been a freak accident - but when one of the girls went out to feed the horses Vautour was found with a broken front leg and our vet had no option but to put him down."

A real superstar

The Rich Ricci-owned seven-year-old was the 8-1 second favourite to add the 2017 Timico Gold Cup to his Supreme (2014), JLT (2015) and Ryanair (2016) festival successes.

The five-time Grade 1 winner was victorious on ten of his 16 career starts and finished out of the first two only once, when falling at Aintree in the Grade 1 JLT Melling Chase.

He is a horse who really captured the racing public's heart with his dominant Cheltenham displays and was always spoken of in the most glowing terms by Mullins and his big-race partner Ruby Walsh.

Last season Walsh said: "I love him. He has so much natural ability and is so straightforward. He's a horse we've always thought a hell of a lot of."

Terrible day for Mullins yard

The news came on a terrible day for the Mullins yard as they also lost another star performer in Hennessy Gold Cup second favourite Avant Tout, who had to be put down at Naas after jumping the first and being pulled up in the Grade 3 Brady's Family Ham Supporting Kildare GAA Poplar Square Chase.

Avant Tout jumped the first deliberately and was quickly pulled out of the race on the short run to the second fence, with jockey Paul Townend clearly not happy with his mount.

Avant Tout suffered a deep laceration to his off-fore tendon and racecourse veterinary surgeon Tom Burns confirmed he had to be put down after arriving at the Anglesey Veterinary Clinic on the Curragh

RIP

That's sad news Bob

I see Vroum Vroum was put in its place today



Reports: Fairyhouse, Sunday

Bar One Racing Hatton's Grace Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m4f, 4yo+

EIGHT days after she was agonisingly denied by Irving in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle, Apple's Jade jumped back up off the canvas and knocked out Vroum Vroum Mag for the first time since she joined Willie Mullins. This was a barnstorming battle.

It was a brave call by Gordon Elliott to turn a four-year-old filly out again so quickly after her near miss at Newcastle. It was a brave feat by Bryan Cooper to recover so quickly from a crashing fall off Peace News in the Royal Bond. But the bravest of the lot was Apple's Jade who fought back tenaciously up the run-in to deny Vroum Vroum Mag an 11th triumph on the trot.

How ironic too that it was an ex-Willie Mullins inmate that ended the winning sequence and BoyleSports and Betfair reacted by cutting Apple's Jade into 2-1 favourite from 7-2 for the OLBG Mares Hurdle.

"Walking into the racetrack today, a few people were slating me for running her," Elliott said afterwards. "Obviously I'm in a lucky position to be training for the lads [Gigginstown] and they left the decision up to me. I weighed her this morning and she was actually heavier than what she weighed going to Newcastle last week.

"We said we would let her take her chance after that and, although I was under no pressure, it was great that it worked out. The mares' hurdle at Cheltenham is going to be her Gold Cup. That's her main aim. I'm not sure where she would run beforehand, there's a couple of races around February time that we could take in prior to Cheltenham."

Mares' Hurdle will be ideal

Cooper, so brave himself, hailed Apple's Jade toughness afterwards.

"She is horrid tough. I made the call to ride Petit Mouchoir last week as I just felt the more the season went on, the more that Apple's Jade would improve. I didn't think for one minute that she would be running here today but I sat on her Tuesday morning and she was bouncing," Cooper said.

He added: "Gordon told me that I knew her better than anyone and to do my own thing. I knew she stays from last year. Greenness got her beaten in the Triumph and she just ran around a bit in front. I thought last year in Aintree that she wanted two and a half miles and she proved that today. She is only four and the World Hurdle over three miles may be a few years too early. There is a lovely mares hurdle at Cheltenham that will be ideal for her."

Just a short-head separated Apple's Jade and Vroum Vroum Mag at the line and they pulled seven lengths clear of Shaneshill in third.

Must say love Cheltenham and the build up the punters had the upper hand last year let's hope for same summary to follow