Cheltenham’s end of January meeting is supposed to be an amuse-gueule to give us a few form lines for the four-day Festival in March. Instead, this one gave us everything including emotional victories for an 18-year-old jockey and a 92-year-old owner, a demonstration round by a new female hurdling superstar and defeat by inches for the most popular horse in training. It also underlined the many qualities needed to be a successful racehorse trainer.
To keep a 12-year-old like Paisley Park relishing his racing the way he clearly still does takes a special talent
First things first. The Clarence House Chase, run at Cheltenham after being frosted off at Ascot the weekend before, was supposed to be a formality for Nicky Henderson’s chaser Jonbon who went off at 1-4. Jonbon hit the fourth-last fence and sprawled. Jockey James Bowen seemed certain to hit the ground but in a miraculous feat of acrobatics managed to remain in contact with his mount.
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