Oli Bell reflects on the Cheltenham Festival drama

I had such a good time at the Cheltenham Festival and I feel very lucky to have been part of the ITV Racing team there.

A massive thanks goes to everyone involved, including all the guests, people behind the scenes, grooms, trainers and everyone who allowed us access to showcase the sport. 

A personal thank you goes to the excellent Producer Coops and director David Francis as well as all The Opening Show crew who remarkably managed to put up with me for a week! 

While there are still improvements we can make, it was a lot of fun to be involved and we will continue to work hard to portray the sport in the best possible light. 

I had a lot of fun interviewing Ruby Walsh every day – believe it or not we do get on well and I hope people found our daily chats entertaining. I do need to brush up on my comebacks in time for Aintree because he definitely got the better of me at the Festival!!

Tuesday 

17-year-old Irish jockey Jack Kennedy and Labaik got the meeting off to a stunning start with victory in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. Jack is a real star and when I interviewed him in the build-up I was very impressed by his attitude and ability. 

He’s clearly a very good rider. He’s very driven and has that single mindedness and focus that you need to be the best; he’s had that since nine-years-old. He won 221 pony races and some of the footage we had in the feature was incredible. You can just tell that he’s wanted to do this forever and it’s quite remarkable to think he’s 17 and just won the Supreme. 

Some have said Altior wasn’t quite as impressive in the Arkle Chase as people expected but Chris Dixon explained it perfectly on The Verdict on Racing UK this week. 

It’s a difficult race for any horse to look in an absolutely different league. Altior has that trait and ability to do everything in second gear and when Nico De Boinville does go through the gears it does take a little time to go from second to sixth. 

When he gets there, his dominance is quite languid but it is imperious. He’s a very impressive horse for a lot of reasons and whatever you throw at him he will be able to deal with.

Was it a vintage Champion Hurdle later in the day? Probably not, but it was a good performance from Buveur D’Air. I’d repeatedly tipped Brain Power ahead of the race and even though he faded suddenly, I still haven’t lost complete faith in what is a really talented horse. 

He travelled really well and showed he was deserving of his place in the field. But with the way he stopped really quickly I wouldn’t be surprised if there was something amiss and I hope everything is ok.

Lisa O’Neill with a great ride on Tiger Roll gave us a terrific end to the day, rounding off a memorable opener for trainer Gordon Elliott with victory in the National Hunt Chase.

Ladies Day – Wednesday 

All the talk was about the disappointing Douvan in the Queen Mother Champion Chase but the fact he was only beaten by 11 lengths having suffered what was later diagnosed as a stress fracture in his pelvis is incredible. The injury won’t end his career and you can’t write him off just yet.

Might Bite conjured up one of the most unforgettable finishes to the RSA Chase in memory. The fact he was able to get back up and beat Whisper on the line was remarkable. He was dossing out front and needed that loose horse to get him going again. 

What he did in the middle of the race was just brilliant. The King George VI Chase at Kempton is the ideal race for Might Bite (currently 5/1 with Sky Bet) and if I had to have a bet it would be that horse without a doubt. 

I still wouldn’t be afraid of backing Might Bite at 10/1 with Sky Bet for next year’s Gold Cup. He wasn’t stopping in the RSA, he wasn’t tired and he’s a bit of a monster, really. His quirks make him a horse you can’t take your eyes off. Because you don’t necessarily know what he’s going to do next, it makes him even more interesting. 

St Patrick’s Thursday

As mentioned above, Ruby Walsh came into the studio for The Opening Show on every day of the Festival, which was very good of him to do, particularly after the disappointment of Douvan. But as he reminded me on Thursday morning and throughout the week, it’s sport – you have highs and lows. 

Whereas Tuesday and Wednesday must’ve been frustrating for Ruby and trainer Willie Mullins, they showed just why they are champions at Cheltenham on Thursday. It was a complete masterclass from Ruby in riding the track and a complete masterclass in training from Willie.

Yorkhill was excellent in the JLT Novices’ Chase and little pocket rocket Un De Sceaux was fascinating to watch in the Ryanair. 

Nichols Canyon is a multiple Grade One winner, but not many people said he would win the Sun Bets Stayers’ Hurdle going into the week. It was a really clever ride from Ruby – probably the best of the meeting – as he targeted the right horses. It may have been pretty obvious to track Uknowwhatimeanharry, but he still had to track Noel Fehily and then make his move at just the right time. 

Let’s Dance added to a phenomenal day for jockey and trainer in the Mares’ Novices' Hurdle, giving the stable staff extra reason to celebrate with victory landing them a €50,000 bonus having already won at Leopardstown in January.

Ruby was just a wizard. He’s ridden so many winners at Cheltenham and yes, that’s because a lot of the time his on the best horses. However, he’s not all of the time and Nichols Canyon is a perfect example of what you can do with a horse when you’ve got someone with Ruby’s nous and experience of Cheltenham on top. He had a pick and mix of rides, but in their own way they were all brilliant.

My interview on Friday morning was understandably a lot better than on Thursday and Ruby even reminded me after he won on Yorkhill that it was me stuttering earlier and not him. Thanks to him, I even had someone on Twitter genuinely complimenting me for managing on live television a stammer I don’t have!

Gold Cup Friday

What a day for handler Jessica Harrington, jockey Robbie Power and Sizing John in the Timico Gold Cup – it was brilliant to see them in the winners’ enclosure. 

He’s a very good horse who looks like he’ll go to the Punchestown Festival next, where he’s as short as 5/4 with Sky Bet to add the meeting’s Gold Cup to his English and Irish versions. At just seven, he’s of an age where he could be about for a long time to come.

It was good that Cue Card was up quickly from his fall three out, while Colin Tizzard stablemate Native River ran well for third.  Reports suggest the two could go head-to-head at Aintree next month, which says both are likely to be in A1 condition after their Cheltenham runs.

Saturday

I presented ITV’s afternoon coverage for the first time at Uttoxeter and I have to say the staff at the course were so friendly and put on such a good show for Midlands Grand National Day. I thoroughly recommend going racing there – it’s a great day out at a lovely course.

Yeovil disappointed once again, struggling to a 1-1 draw against ten-man Accrington in Sky Bet League Two at Huish Park. They head to play-off hopefuls Exeter in something of a West Country derby this weekend and I can’t see the trip home along the A303 being the cheeriest for the Glovers.

England’s winning streak came to a dramatic end in the Six Nations on Saturday, losing 13-9 to Ireland. I thought I’d have one up on Ruby with the rugby but they even won that – fair play to the Irish. 

I listened to it on the radio on the way back from Uttoxeter and it didn’t sound like England played exceptionally well. Maybe it was a reality check with one eye on the World Cup, which wouldn’t be a bad thing.

This week and beyond

I was at Kempton Park on Monday, covering an all-weather card for Racing UK. Lady Frankel was an interesting winner in France on Sunday so all the signs show attentions are increasingly on this year’s Flat season. 

I will be at Doncaster with ITV a week on Saturday for the start of the Flat, but first will be presenting this weekend’s coverage at Newbury for their final National Hunt card of the season.

Then it’s Randox Health Grand National time from April 6-8. Ruby will be joining us on every morning of the Aintree festival for The Opening Show so he will no doubt stitch me up again on live television.

With the news that Minella Rocco will bypass the Grand National I'm still very keen on the chances of One For Arthur, who was victorious in the Classic Chase. I wouldn’t rule out The Last Samuri either but clearly his conqeuror at Doncaster in the Grimthorpe, Definitly Red is also a big player. It's wide open, as you'd expect.

I’m really looking forward to watching Germany v England on Wednesday night. I saw the stat that Jermain Defoe made his England debut when Marcus Rashford was six – and now they could be playing in the same team. 

It’s good to see Gareth Southgate pick a few of the younger players he will have known from his England Under 21 days and it could be an exciting time for English football. I think he’s an excellent manager with a good vision for the country’s game. 

I know we always get excited every time a new manager is appointed but I have been impressed with how Southgate has come across. Hopefully this will be the start of a positive new era for English football. But then again...