How the other half live! - the inside of a Cheltenham box

So this is how the other half live! Last year we spent Gold Cup day in the "Courage Enclosure", colloquially known as "The Cabbage Patch" - this year we were treated to the ultimate luxury of a glass fronted box. The biggest drawback to the Cabbage Patch is that, unless you are interested purely in gambling and drinking there is very little else to do; the patch is situated on a spur of the course away from the jumps, leading up to the finishing post. It is on the opposite side of the track to the main site and you cannot visit any of the main site facilities. The other drawback is that the patch becomes absolutely packed and as the afternoon progresses, the beery fumes increase! The "plus" offered by the Cabbage Patch is that it is relatively cheap.

This year it was the whole hog - "Club" passes and a heated box overlooking the second to last fence. Two things immediately struck me as we entered the main concourse; that there was a greater air of excitement and anticipation of a superb day's racing ahead, and that the Cheltenham Racecourse is HUGE! Although we arrived three hours before the first race we had still not totally gained our bearings before the first tapes went up.At eleven o'clock it was possible to walk quite freely through the main grandstand and to look at the paddock area but within an hour of the first race the entire area was seething with people anxious, so it seemed, to get somewhere else.

The packed parade ring before the first race

The first race of the day, the Elite Racing Club Triumph Hurdle had been set alight by the entry of the French horse Snowdrop. Little had been known of the mare until she won very impressively at Kempton the month before. She rapidly overtook Mister Banjo as the ante post favourite although, at 7-1, she was by no means considered a "dead cert".

With a large twenty-eight-horse field, jockey Thierry Doumen spent much of the early part of the race trying to stay out of the rough and tumble of the main pack. As they rounded the final bend Thierry had the four-year-old filly perfectly placed on the outside of the main field and went to the post two lengths clear of Regal Exit. Thierry's father, Francois, who trained Snowdrop for owner John Martin, commented "It's a pity I don't get a breeder's premium for producing the jockey!" Snowdrop was a popular winner and as she entered the winners' enclosure a large cheer went up as all hoped the day would proceed in such a smooth fashion.

Bacchanal and Lady Lloyd-Webber Photo © Trevor Jones

Apparently several bottles of good wine were involved when Bacchanal was christened by his owner, Lady Lloyd-Webber - his name means "drunken orgy"! In fact, anybody who watched his run from the last to the winning post in the Bonusprint Stayers Hurdle might have been forgiven for assuming that the six year old had partaken of the odd Guinness or two as he meandered to the line - yet he and jockey Mick Fitzgerald broke the course record for the three mile ½ furlong race.

Trainer Nick Henderson was quite surprised by his win, saying "I have always thought he has huge potential but I was amazed that he won on this ground - I have always assumed that he wanted a bog!" Rider of the second placed horse, the Irish hope, Limestone Lad, lodged a complaint stating that Bacchanal's wandering had hampered his chances. However the stewards gave Shane McGovern short shrift and fined him £65 for wasting everybody's time!

So now it was time for the big one. Twelve of the world's best chasers pitted against each other. Last year's winner, See More Business, was strongly fancied, especially since he had won his last four races, but Irish money was firmly on Florida Pearl. Looks Like Trouble was also very popular, despite the fact that he been pulled up in his last race but one and that his usual jockey, Norman Williamson, had been sacked by his owner Tim Collins just three weeks before the Festival. The young challenger, Gloria Victis, who had looked stunning in all of his races, was also being backed heavily - all was set for a fantastic battle.

We watched the horses in the parade ring on the television in the box before heroes from previous Gold Cups, Desert Orchid, Norton's Coin, Cool Dawn and Cool Ground led the parade of twelve in front of the grandstand. Other guests hurried down the corridor to the Tote, but we our money had been on Looks Like Trouble for several months so we took off in the opposite direction, out into the middle of the course to stand by the start.

As they milled around behind the tapes every horse looked the picture of health, brought to the peak of fitness purely for the next six and a half minutes. As the tapes went up Gloria Victis went to the front and stayed there for the majority of the race, although he lost length after length by jumping markedly to the right each time. See More Business was challenging the six year old by the time the horses approached us on their first circuit, and for a long way it seemed to be a four horse race as Florida Pearl and Looks Like Trouble kept pace.

Looks Like Trouble winning the Gold Cup Photo © Trevor Jones

As the horses passed us for the second time, jumping the third from last, Gloria Victis appeared to be under pressure, particularly from Florida Pearl. By this time there were only eight horses left in the race and by the time they landed there were only seven as Rince Ri unseated his jockey in front of us. It was at the next fence that the valiant Gloria Victis, tiring, having given the race of his life, was to make a fatal blunder, pressed hard by both Florida Pearl and Looks Like Trouble. The Irish horse led briefly but Looks Like Trouble quickened, leading over the last and from there he had it all sewn up.

The wall of sound that greeted him across the line must have been daunting and as he was led back to the winners' enclosure by his stable lass Tracey Buckland a sea of well-wishers engulfed him and jockey Richard Johnson. Whilst all the celebrations and congratulations were going on in the paddock, down on the course the green screens surrounded the stricken Gloria Victis.

As we walked into the box all was hushed as the guests looked down at the scene while vets and officials assessed the damage. Our host was in tears and being comforted and the magic was gone. There was a brief moment of hope when the gelding was loaded into the horse ambulance but it was not long before we heard that the shattered cannon bone had been deemed beyond repair and Gloria Victis had been destroyed.

continues.........