The 25th February was to be somewhat of a watershed in terms of the Triumph, not least with the antepost favourite Minsk making his debut at Fairyhouse. Winner of the Irish Cesarewitch for John Oxx and rated 106 on the flat, this Grade 2 was run at no pace with the horse jumping noticeably slowly and ultimately finishing second although the first three all finished in a heap. Initially connections said he would still line up at Cheltenham before he was then ruled out the following day suffering with an infection. Here at Kempton...

On the second day of the 2012 Cheltenham Festival, you’ll find my favourite race of the week, the Champion Bumper. This Grade 1 National Hunt flat race is open to horses aged between four and six and takes place on the Old Course over a distance slightly beyond two miles. Quick Stats Winning small field races pre-Cheltenham is no good, it pays to focus on horses that have proved themselves against at least a dozen opponents. Coming into this on the back of a win also merits a big tick, while Cue Card aside, four year olds...

On the final day of the 2012 Cheltenham Festival, comes the main event, the Cheltenham Gold Cup. A Grade 1 in stature, the Blue Riband contest is open to horses aged five and above. The Gold Cup is run over three miles, two furlongs and change, on the New Course, with twenty-two fences standing between success and abject failure. Quick Stats The golden age bracket is between seven and nine, and in recent times, horses towards the very top of the market have been the ones to focus on. It clearly pays to have won or at least...

On the second day of the 2012 Cheltenham Festival, you’ll find the Neptune Investment Novices’ Hurdle. A Grade 1 in stature, the Neptune is open to novices’ aged four and above and is run over the trip of two miles and five furlongs on the Old Course, with a total of twelve hurdles that require jumping along the way. Quick Stats Horses aged five or six have a certain monopoly on this contest, especially those that came first or second in their previous race. It’s been beneficial sticking towards the top of the market...

The graveyard of ‘good things’ that is the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, will as per-usual, be greeted with a vociferous roar as it opens the 2012 Cheltenham Festival. A Grade 1 in stature, the Supreme is open to novices’ aged four and above and consists of an extended two miles on the Old Course, with eight flights to navigate en route. Quick Stats Winning last time out is a plus, as is doing so within forty-five days of the race, a race in which the Irish have a strong record, but short priced favourites do not. Steps...

The David Nicholson Mares Hurdle is a Grade 2 event run over two and a half miles, and has been run now for four years, and has been dominated by Quevega winning the last three. Over the last three years the race has been won by the superstar racemare Quevega and trainer Willie Mullins will be sending her try and complete a historic four-timer in the race, named after the legendary David Nicholson, who rode 5 winners and trained 17 more in a fantastic career. Nicholson trained some of the fantastic festival favourites...

The third race on Thursday will be the eighth renewal of the Ryan Air Chase and the fifth renewal since it gained Grade 1 status. The race is open to horses aged five and above, run over two miles five furlongs, on the Cheltenham New Course, with a total of seventeen fences to be jumped. The race was won last year by the Jonjo O’Neill trained Albertas Run, under a fine ride by AP McCoy, winning at odds of 6-1, successfully defending his crown having won the race the previous year. It looks like Albertas Run will be coming...

The Jewson Novices Chase commences the third day of racing at the Cheltenham Festival. The race is run on the New Course over a distance of two miles and four furlongs, which see’s participant’s jump a total of seventeen fences. Introduced for the first time last year, the race didn’t disappoint attracting a high quality field, which saw the impressive Noble Prince battle up the hill to a four length victory over the Phillip Hobbs trained Wishful Thinking. This year’s renewal looks set to attract another high class...