Ultimate Guide To Cheltenham 2012

PADDY POWER Paddy Power ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CHELTENHAM 2012 Facts, Figures & Fakery Over 235,000 people are expected to attend the four days of the Cheltenham Festival. Enough people to fill 783 double-decker buses. £600,000,000 Total amount expected to be wagered on the festival. It's not enough to bail out Ireland. But it's enough for £5 notes to be laid out to cover the circumference of the Earth. BAIL OUT FUND 200,000 Pints of Guinness will be drank at the festival. That's 2,500 kegs! As the tape goes up for the first race of the festival, the famous Cheltenham roar is likely to be between 120 - 130 Over 500 horses will run at the festival. All to win over £3.4 million in prize money. decibels. Almost as loud as Cyndi Lauper! CHELTENHAM RACE SCHEDULE Day 1 (Tuesday 13th) Day 3 (Thursday 15th) 13:00 Supreme Novices Hurdle 1405 Arkle Challenge Trophy 14:40 JLT Specialty Steeple Chase 15:20 Champion Hurdle 16:00 Cross Country Chase 3:00 Jewson Novices Chase 14-05 Pertemps Final 14:40 Ryanair Chase 15:20 World Hurdle 16:00 Byrne Group Plate 16:40 Kim Muir Challenge Cup 16:40 David Nicholson Hurdle 17:5 Centenary Novices Chase Day 4 (Friday 16th) 13:00 JCB Triumph Hurdle 14:05 County Hurdle 14:40 AB Novices Hurdle 15:20 Chettenham Gold Cup Day 2 (Wednesday 14th) 13:00 National Hunt Chase 14:05 NIM Novices Hurdle 14:40 RSA Chase 15:20 QM Champion Chase K6.00 Coral Cp 16:00 Foxhunter Chase 16:40 MP Conditionals Hurdle 17:5 JH Grand Annual Chase 16:40 FW Novices Hurdle 17:5 Champion Bumper IN THE PADDOCK Top Horse Racing Folk On Twitter Top Current Jockeys At The Festival Top Current Trainers At The Festival @AP_McCoy - 105,571 @PFNicholls - 42,121 @paddypower – 22,815 @BarryJGeraghty – 18,382 @Ruby_Walsh – 17,691 @MCYeeehaaa – 10,658 2011 Ruby Walsh Nicky Henderson 2010 Ruby Walsh 2009 Ruby Walsh 2008 Ruby Walsh Robert Thornton Paul Nicholls Willie Mullins (IRE) Edward O'Grady (IRE) Jonjo O'Neill 2007 THE 2012 AT THE BANKERS Who can you rely on at the 2012 Cheltenham Festival? Horse Age Form – last 5 Race Odds Hurricane Fly 8. 111-11 Champion Hurdle 4/5 Quevega 911/1-1 DN Mares Hurdle Evens Big Buck's Sizing Europe 9. 11-111 World Hurdle 4/7 10 1-2121 QM Champion Chase 2/1 Luck of the Irish! Irish Trained Winners 15 At The Cheltenham Festival 12 9. 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 Number of Irish Trained Winners in 2012? - 11/10 4 - 6 winners inclusive – 5/1 7-9 winners inclusive – 6/4 0-3 Winners inclusive – 25/1 10 or more BIGGEST PRICED WINNERS IN THE LAST 22 YEARS SUPREME NOVICES HURDLE: 1994 Arctic Kinsman NA Twiston-Davies 50/1 CHAMPION HURDLE: 1989 Beech Road G BBalding 50/ NATIONAL HUNT CHASE: 2005 Another Rum IA Duncan 40/1 RSA CHASE: 2002 Hussard Collonges P Beaumont 33/1 CHAMPION BUMPER: 2010 Cue Card CL Tizzard 40/1 PERTEMPS FINAL: 2006 Kadoun MJP O'Brien 50/1 WORLD HURDLE: 1999 Anzum D Nicholson 40/1 GOLD CUP: 1990 Norton's Coin S G Griffiths 100/1 FIRST FENCE Did you knów? The late Freddie Williams had the fastest book in the business, once recording 700 individual bets on a single race - that's roughly one a second. But that's nothing compared to Paddy Power who allegedly lays thousands of bets per second during the festival. The first officially recognised Cheltenham Festival took place at Prestbury Park, which remains the home of the Festival, in 1902. Tens of thousands of spectators converged on Cheltenham to watch the racing at the two-day event. The last grey to win the Gold Cup was Desert Orchid in 1989. Dawn Run is the only horse to have won both the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup. She was successful in 1984 in the Champion Hurdle and won the Gold Cup in 1986. In 1982 every winner over the three-day Cheltenham Festival was ridden by a different jockey, with Jonjo O'Neill receiving the coveted top jockey trophy on the basis of being placed in other races. CHAMPION HURDLE 23 of the last 27 winners won last time out. Only one five-year-old since 1985 has won. OVER THE LAST QUEEN MOTHER CHAMPION CHASE 10 of the last 12 winners started no bigger than 5/1. Just one winner older than 10 since 1997. Gold Miller won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on 5 occasions, but Arkle is considered the better horse despite only winning it three times. WORLD HURDLE The Aidan O'Brien trained Istabraq won the Champion Hurdle in three consecutive years, '98 to 2000 and but for Foot In Mouth Epidemic may have made it four. No Irish trained winner since 1995. No 5 year-old has ever won, although plenty have been placed. Pat Taaffe won the Queen Mother Champion Chase on five separate occasions from 1967 to 1981 GOLD CUP 9 of the last 10 winners were officially rated 166+. 18 of the last 18 winners have run In 2012, Big Buck's will set an astonishing record in the World Hurdle of four consecutive victories.... if he wins! on or after Boxing Day that season The Finishing Post "They are unpredictable - horses are like women - Jimmy Pike, owner of Kawagino, fifth at 100-1 in the Champion Hurdle 2007 She's as game as a pebble. Go on you little beauty !" -Jonjo O'Neill after winning on Dawn Run in 1986 Gold Cup "I just cleaned out Paddy Power with a bet on Grands Crus -You in 2012 POST