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Cheltenham Festival 2026

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Cheltenham Festival 2026

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Vincent Finegan

Latest Blogs from Vincent Finegan and "My Racing Story"

Mon 21st Nov 2016

Heart Warming

It was freezing cold at Punchestown on Sunday but only a truly cold heart couldn’t respond to the circumstances surrounding First To Boogie’s success. He was a first winner as a trainer for Madeleine Tylicki. She took out a licence in June and for most of the last four weeks she has been at the bedside of her stricken brother Freddie. Racing is famously a magnificent triviality but First To Boogie’s otherwise mundane handicap hurdle success was proof once again how winning and losing remain anything but irrelevant.

8.58AM

Mon 14th Nov 2016

Almanzor The Obvious Choice

Racing’s awards season has began, a big deal in many other racing jurisdictions, but which in this part of the world is generally regarded as the sport’s silly season, a view that won’t have been altered by the decision to make Minding Europe’s Horse of the Year at the Cartier Awards. The task of investing any semblance of relevance or credibility to these things along the lines of America’s Eclipse award won’t have been helped by ignoring the bleedin’ obvious - Almanzor is Europe’s top horse of 2016.

9.00AM

Mon 7th Nov 2016

If You Can't Beat 'Em - Join 'Em

Any lingering hope that racing’s disciplinary process isn’t destined to become a near-automatic exercise in reaching for the most expensive solicitor seems to have vanished since the Turf Club is reaching for its own full-time brief. The position of Head of Legal & Compliance at the integrity body has at least been advertised. But it is a dispiriting sign of how the imposition of even mildly debatable racing penalties has become a fraught juggle with burden of proof. And it isn’t going to stop there.

9.32AM

Mon 31st Oct 2016

Horse & Greyhound & Harness & Flapping Fund

Long ago when the Horse & Greyhound Fund first started I remember pointing out how Irish racing generated about 15 per cent of bookmaker turnover yet, along with the dogs, it got 100 per cent of the tax revenue. Might not other sports have something to say about such a gap, I wondered? And wasn’t the theoretical basis of it all fundamentally, and perhaps dangerously, dependant on political whim?

9.25AM

Mon 24th Oct 2016

Normal Service Will Be Resumed

Racing’s perspective can be remarkably short term so the idea that Willie Mullins might face a struggle to maintain his grip on Ireland’s trainer’s title is gaining quite a bit of traction. And it’s rubbish. Of course Gordon Elliott is banging in the winners, and there’s always the danger of a rogue bug invading any yard. But just because Mullins is relatively quiet right now doesn’t mean normal service won’t be resumed soon - and with a vengeance.

9.19AM

Mon 17th Oct 2016

Same As It Ever Was

Last week I argued racing couldn’t be seen to emerge unscathed from the controversy surrounding Brian Kavanagh’s reappointment as Horse Racing Ireland’s chief executive — WRONG. It was based on an assumption that the Dail’s Agriculture Committee might have more in their armoury than harrumphing — WRONG. And that receiving public money behoves transparency — WRONG. Instead racing has emerged with a few minor reputational scratches but also record funding and everyone still in situ; effectively, an invitation to carry on as normal.

9.21AM

Mon 10th Oct 2016

Time To Go Joe

It’s interesting to ponder just how solo Joe Keeling can have been in his endeavours to get Brian Kavanagh reappointed as chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland. It’s hard to credit the HRI chairman simply got a brainwave and ran with it. Maybe we’ll find out more when he faces the Dail’s Agriculture Committee on Thursday. What’s unarguable in this hive of political activity is that it is Keeling who is firmly in the firing line. So it’s hard not to conclude his credibility as chairman of Irish racing’s ruling body is a busted flush.

9.20AM

Mon 3rd Oct 2016

What Price Genius?

If the 2016 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe wasn’t a vintage renewal, Aidan O’Brien’s achievement in saddling the first three in Europe’s most prestigious all-aged race can be regarded as perhaps the greatest singular result in an epic career which continues to redefine racing’s statistical history. Along with the Derby at Epsom, the Arc defines European racing. Never before has it been so dominated. The likelihood of such a clean-sweep ever occurring again must be as remote as any one trainer having the resources to realistically consider trying.

8.55AM

Mon 26th Sep 2016

Racing's Bread Is Buttered On The Public Side

Racing is famously conservative. Throw in its sequestering instincts and you have a recipe for inertia. Certainly the reflex to keep things ‘in-house’ can make external examination an uncomfortable experience and the political spotlight which promises to shine on racing’s administration this week has the potential to stir things up. The rules of racing may be black and white but the primary rule of politics is that there are no rules, always a recipe for unease.

9.11AM

Mon 19th Sep 2016

Douvan The Sentimental Gold Cup Pick

It isn’t just the Autumn chill that’s making race fans shiver. Listowel traditionally refocuses attention towards the jumps, provoking familiar anticipation about the impeding return of National Hunt racing’s greatest stars. The flat has its qualities but the jumps always trump it for sentiment. And it’s that sentiment which makes the idea of Douvan not being targeted at the Gold Cup this winter so infuriating.

9.04AM

Mon 12th Sep 2016

Flip-Flopping Bullets

As is the way of such things there will be reviews of ‘Longines Irish Champions Weekend’ which will include microscopic examination of the little details we are always assured are vital to the make- up of every major sporting, and indeed corporate, event. No doubt there will be bullet-points aplenty. So while as a rule ‘Top Ten’ presentations really should be bulleted, here are some random shots at the weekend action.

9.25AM

Mon 5th Sep 2016

Hate To Put A Dampener On Things

Racing gets flak for failing to ‘bill’ its biggest races. But the reason is simple — too many variables. For instance if Minding, Harzand, Fascinating Rock, Almanzor, New Bay and Hawkbill do indeed all line up in Saturday’s QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes, then ‘Irish Champions Weekend’ will have Europe’s ‘Race of the Season.’ But hanging the centrepiece to Irish racing’s €4.25 million shop-window on that is to be a hostage to fortune. Variables take over, illness, injury, loss of form and unquestionably the greatest of them all — Ireland’s weather.

9.07AM

Mon 29th Aug 2016

Rouget Raid Will Reward Champions Weekend

Internationalisation has been an ambition for ‘Irish Champions Weekend’ from the start and in the third year of Irish flat racing’s shop-window event it is the unlikely figure of top French trainer Jean-Claude Rouget who promises to deliver that vital element. Rouget’s ambition to run his Prix Du Jockey Club winner Almanzor in the Champion Stakes, and his star fillies Qemah and Ervedya in the Matron, indicate how this €4.5 million concept has already carved out a niche for itself. Reward for Rouget now could significantly reward the event in the long term.

9.18AM

Mon 22nd Aug 2016

Playing Peek-A-Boo

Whatever else can be said about Tony Martin — and it seems many like to say plenty - no one can deny he has stood the test of time. Neither has there ever been doubt about Martin’s resilience or capacity to produce winners. However after a tumultuous year Heartbreak City’s Ebor success might just represent the most satisfying moment of his career. It was certainly timely and in the circumstances Martin could have been forgiven for giving two-fingers to his detractors.

9.12AM

Mon 15th Aug 2016

No Exit For Entry System

Arguing against the economic bottom line is usually an uneconomic use of time and energy so Richard Hannon’s complaint about Ireland’s “farcical” early entry system is likely to wind up lodged in a ‘like it or lump it’ account. Whether it should be is a different matter. The English trainer’s comments about how it is unrealistic to know in April whether or not to enter for the Phoenix Stakes in August reflect the view of many others. But the bottom line is that the Irish system is a cash generator: so good luck changing it.

9.31AM

Mon 8th Aug 2016

Bad Will Beat Worse

The story about that Charles Byrnes treble at Roscommon has contained plenty to get stuck into for the last week even including it seems an interesting insight into racing linguistics. There were those relishing a good old-fashioned betting ‘coup’ while others less impressed employed words like ‘plot’ instead. It all depends on which angle you’re coming from and as with most gambling stories the real angle is whether or not you’ve been in on it.

9.31AM

Mon 1st Aug 2016

Time To Dream It Up Again

To paraphrase Bono racing has to go away and dream its disciplinary process up again because it isn’t working. Pyromaniac’s Galway Hurdle appearance was a slap in the face to the authority of the integrity services here. If the Turf Club was spared the indignity of a horse technically suspended winning Ireland’s richest jumps race it didn’t prevent the ever increasing perception that racing can’t make its penalties stick. And credibility wise, that is unsustainable.

12.52PM

Mon 25th Jul 2016

Will The Empire Strike Back?

For those of us lucky enough to see it an abiding memory of the 2015 Galway festival was the look on Willie Mullins’ face when informed that the leading trainer award isn’t judged on winners alone but a system based on points for first, second and third. It’s what ultimately allowed Dermot Weld secure the prize for a 30th time - by a single point - despite having had five winners in comparison to Mullins’ eight. Weld always looms over the festival but, for many, this week’s major Galway question is will the Rosewell empire strike back?

8.47AM

Mon 18th Jul 2016

Mares Are From Mars

Plenty are ready and willing to squeeze the sexism trigger but Seamus Heffernan’s post Darley Irish Oaks comments after Seventh Heaven surprised some shorter-priced opposition were undeniably interesting - “They’re fillies: some of them turn up on the day and some of them don’t.” It suggests an element of Russian-Roulette when it comes to form which from a punting point of view has obvious implications.

8.47AM

Mon 11th Jul 2016

No One's Bullet Proof

The thing with surveys is that the questions are often as important as the answers. But no matter which way you look at it, the Turf Club’s questionnaire which threw up a result of 49 per cent of surveyed jockeys exhibiting symptoms of depression is startling. That’s twice the national average and almost twice the rate among elite athletes in other sports. So there’s an obvious question here for racing about the demands put on riders and how reasonable or otherwise they are.

8.49AM

Mon 4th Jul 2016

Footfall Freestyle

The Irish Derby’s dramatic attendance dip has produced quite a lot of twisting and turning which ordinarily could be categorised as little more than movement for its own sake. After all, when the real racecourse money is in telly, the gate becomes mostly superfluous. Except there’s €65 million going into redeveloping the Curragh, largely on the ‘Field Of Dreams’ hope that if you build it, they will come. And the evidence rather starkly suggests that they won’t.

9.27AM

Mon 27th Jun 2016

Success Is Slutty

Harzand proved himself a worthy champion by completing the Epsom-Curragh Derby double. There’s nothing flamboyant about him, nothing flash, but after looking Idaho in the eye inside the final furlong Harzand was well on top at the line. This is a colt full of substance and with the priceless ability of being able to rise to the occasion. His partnership with Pat Smullen looks a marriage made in heaven.

9.07AM

Mon 20th Jun 2016

Times Passes & Things Change - Or Do They?

Never thought I’d quote Eminem but time does indeed pass and things do usually change. A couple of years after dire predictions of Irish Derby doom on the back of another Aidan O’Brien clean-sweep led by Australia at 1-8 comes a potentially enthralling and competitive renewal of Ireland’s premier classic. And there’s a notably boosted €1.5 million prize-fund too, which indicates how time does pass but some things don’t change, such as racing’s ferocious focus on prizemoney.

9.18AM

Mon 13th Jun 2016

The Psychedelic Cleric

Aidan O’Brien needs only two more winners to achieve a haul of 50 Royal Ascot victories, a notable tally in every sense, even more so for a trainer based in Ireland, and especially so considering the first of them, Harbour Master’s Coventry Stakes, came in 1997. At this rate even Sir Henry Cecil’s record of 75 winners will be under threat. O’Brien’s 2016 Royal Ascot story however is going to be inextricably linked with his son. Plenty believe it will be the start of a much longer-term narrative.

9.23AM

Mon 6th Jun 2016

Weld Joins Derby Elite

Prior to Saturday’s Epsom Derby, 18 horses trained in Ireland had won racing’s greatest classic. The 1907 hero Orby apart, the others had been produced by just half a dozen trainers, an elite comprised of figures ranging from legendary to enigmatic, even mysterious, all of whom however possessed of that priceless capacity to make top-class racehorses run fast. No one can argue Dermot Weld isn’t worthy of inclusion in such an elite.

9.06AM

Mon 30th May 2016

Any Chance Of A Start?

Paddy Payne got into hot water when suggesting his injured Melbourne Cup winning sister, Michelle, might jack in being a jockey in order to go and have babies. Much of the indignant response neglected to factor in frayed familial nerves contributing to an unfortunately blunt quote. But if the bare words were regrettable they did kick off more debate about female jockeys. And that got me thinking of another successful female jockey down under.

8.58AM

Mon 23rd May 2016

Open All Hours

Has it come to this, that flat racing, populated by Sheikhs, royalty and billionaires, is actually more of an open shop than the salt-of-the-earth National Hunt game? Can it be true? An awful lot of egalitarian notions will have to be binned if it is. But ponder this — could a trio of top-flight prizes have been spread around over jumps to the extent, and the manner, in which the Curragh’s Guineas weekend features were?

8.36AM

Mon 16th May 2016

Derby Twistin'

If the 2,000 Guineas is famously the last two year old race then the Derby’s problem is being the first major three year old race. Not that it’s much of a problem for those in thrall to the sport. But since the Derby is racing’s ultimate classic prize, it’s position so soon in the season makes it a hard narrative sell to a public used to its sporting highlights presented in terms of a cumulative climax.

9.02AM

Mon 9th May 2016

Girl Power

There are obvious commercial reasons for Minding not to run in the Epsom Derby. But there’s no actual racing reason why she couldn’t become the first filly in a century to win racing’s ‘blue riband.’ From a purely racing point of view all that’s required is a willingness to stray from the beaten path, one of the game’s many ‘Cosan Deargs,’ which in this case suggests a filly taking on colts in a classic to be a bridge too far. It isn’t.

8.50AM

Mon 2nd May 2016

Sunday Silence

There was a record-breaking 114,438 attendance for Punchestown last week and with 30,035 on Saturday’s ‘Family Day’ and a 29,419 ‘Ladies Day’ crowd on Friday there appears to be a trend towards people congregating at Ireland’s National Hunt festival towards the weekend. That begs the question as to whether or not a trick is being missed in not maximising that trend and finishing the festival on a Sunday.

9.18AM

Mon 25th Apr 2016

Kill Or Cure

Racing justice is essentially cosmetic, an exercise that racing’s stakeholders choose to buy into. History shows us the real justice system is turned to when it really counts. Even if it doesn’t get to the High Court, its spectre looms, always the elephant in the steward’s room. Trying to make racing justice more than merely cosmetic requires a lot more than more cosmetics. But it should be done because the current system isn’t fit for purpose.

9.14AM

Mon 18th Apr 2016

The New Tone In Town

Distinguishing a ‘no-try’ from a ‘not able to try’ is a requirement of any competent race-reader, not to mention the different degrees of ‘easy’ in between. Even so, much of it comes down to individual interpretation, which is just a fancy way of saying hunch. But when it comes to horse’s weight, often an important element to when a horse is ‘off’ or not, there is an opportunity for hard statistical fact to be employed. Yet there appears to be no urgency about employing it.

9.08AM

Mon 11th Apr 2016

The Burden Of Judgement

Lots of legal ‘brass’ are reportedly girding their loins for next week’s Referrals Committee appeal into the Noble Emperor affair. That is simultaneously both their clients’ entitlement and a weakness in racing’s integrity system. If High Court burdens of proof are required to nail down what are essentially judgement calls, it leaves ample room for sharp legal minds to manoeuvre in. It can also mean the spectre of the High Court itself in the background.

8.58AM

Mon 4th Apr 2016

The Ripple Effect

It’s an old racing cliché that they — and by ‘they,’ read stewards — only go after the little guy. But no one can accuse Limerick’s officials of having one rule book for minnows and another for big fish. Suspending Barry Geraghty, one of the finest jockeys ever produced by this country, for 30 days and banning a horse owned by JP McManus, unquestionably the country’s most powerful and influential owner, for 60 days qualifies as big guy stuff in any vernacular. So we’ve had the big splash: what everyone’s waiting on now are the ripples.

9.37AM

Mon 28th Mar 2016

Cool Heads Required

The Easter Sunday Grade 1 features at Fairyhouse provided a timely reminder that the sun does actually come up the day after Cheltenham. Jer's Girl and Kylemore Lough secured top-flight honours in style, providing connections with lucrative dividends for not succumbing to the festival's overarching charms. That neither is likely to head their respective championship divisions come the end of the season won't impact in the slightest on their newly acquired Grade 1 status.

8.56AM

Mon 21st Mar 2016

Cooper Delivered When It Counted

Potential is fine but fulfilling it requires delivery. After replacing Davy Russell as Gigginstown’s No. 1 jockey, Bryan Cooper had been the ‘next-big-thing’ for some time. Many weren’t convinced, doubting his age and inexperience for such a high-profile job, for delivering when it counted. But when it counted most of all, Cooper’s judgement, nerve and skill delivered in style with Don Cossack’s Gold Cup success. The phrase ‘next-big-thing’ needs to lose a word, and it isn’t ‘big’ or ‘thing.’

9.22AM

Mon 14th Mar 2016

Tired & Trusted

The hottest Cheltenham favourite this week is likely to be Douvan: maybe odds should be similarly short about the whip debate again dominating the aftermath of one of the championship events. Paddy Brennan got fined €5,600, and banned for 11 days, after landing the King George with what the Kempton stewards described as a ‘win at all costs’ ride. It doesn’t get more ‘at-all-costs’ than at Cheltenham so we may well be heading for some tired and trusted arguments.

8.36AM

Mon 7th Mar 2016

Keep On Truckin'

Willie Mullins sometimes uses pre-Cheltenham media invasions to outline broader concerns than just running plans. Last year he talked about inadequate prizemoney levels at the festival. In 2014 it was racecourse security. This time the champion gloomily forecast problems a couple of generations down the line, and how jump racing could disappear should greater internationalisation of the sport not take place. He is confident this can happen. His confidence looks misplaced.

9.29AM

Mon 29th Feb 2016

The Mushroom Approach

Bellyaching about Cheltenham getting diluted by too many days and too many races is a futile exercise on the back of continuing commercial success which nevertheless can’t disguise, in purely racing terms, some negative impacts. The festival is billed as National Hunt’s championships where the various strands of form through the season come together. But does that necessarily hold true anymore?

8.52AM

Mon 22nd Feb 2016

Babysitting The Cottage

There is nothing more vital to racing’s credibility, image, reputation and self-interest than the quick implementation of the Drugs Task Force recommendation for protocols to be put in place between breeders and the Turf Club regarding Out Of Competition Testing and how it is carried out. And yet nothing has happened. There hasn’t been a meeting yet between the regulatory body and the Breeders Association. Since there’s no greater priority if the Task Force report really is as significant as everyone insists it is the obvious question is why not?

9.18AM

Mon 15th Feb 2016

The Bottom Line Trudge

As a rule it’s best to be wary of ‘Is It Just Me’ blogs. But is it just me or is this persistent whinge about Ireland’s National Hunt game getting really old? Yes the game is dominated by an ownership and training elite but that’s nothing new. And yes some winter racing is uncompetitive as a result. But it’s remarkable how so many who previously prided themselves on being economically hard-nosed when things were flying now seem oblivious to the idea that they’re in business and have no divine right to financial survival.

8.57AM

Mon 8th Feb 2016

A Process Undermined By Procedure

The argument for stewards relying on camera pictures at a central HQ has been made more than once in recent years and its credibility was boosted by the glacial progress of the Leopardstown enquiry following Who’s That’s handicap victory at the weekend. Everyone at the track could see there was a relatively straight-forward decision to be made. Official confirmation the placing remained unaltered though came just seconds before the off of the following Grade 1 race. Maybe some enjoyed the drama. More felt it looked amateurish.

8.48AM

Mon 1st Feb 2016

Who's Going To Walk The Walk?

Reports by their nature are often ends in themselves, an exercise in replacing action with movement, so there is some scepticism about any impact the Anti-Doping Task Force document about to be rubber-stamped by the Horse Racing Ireland board might have. Sceptics will believe it has already served its function, in being seen to do something: only time will tell if they’re right, but substantial leadership will be required to prove them wrong.

9.13AM

Mon 25th Jan 2016

The Secret Jockey - Vol 1

Is there is a gaping editorial hole for some insider straight-talking? Not the cod-blunt crap that so many of racing’s supposed straight-shooters indulge in, rather more along the Guardian’s notorious ‘Secret Footballer’ Diary. Anonymity famously allowed one player a licence to tell it as it really is, and with authority. A ‘Secret Jockey’ Diary could go far beyond mere “he’s a nice horse” cliché? It would be a service. People would pay to read it. So here’s an un-authoritative prototype.

8.57AM

Mon 18th Jan 2016

Don't Spend It All In One Place

It is two months exactly until Don Poli wins the Gold Cup - just the sort of speculative rubbish his owner publicly scorns but which Michael O’Leary must also privately realise is the stuff that keeps the whole shooting match going. So with everyone else getting their ante-post tuppence in, and the Cheltenham countdown gathering pace all the time, here’s why Don Poli and the others will win the festival’s championship contests - theoretically.

8.46AM

Mon 11th Jan 2016

Stomping Over The Line

Just because a line in the sand is invisible doesn’t mean people can’t recognise it, a tough reality to explain but a racing reality none the less. It’s a line the unrealistic believe shouldn’t exist at all since they expect every runner to be trying for its life every time. Given intangible factors such as human nature, and rather more tangible factors like the programme book, that’s pie-in-the-sky. What those with lower expectations resent is when the line gets crossed with impunity.

9.21AM

Mon 4th Jan 2016

Punters Of The World Unite

The following observations on handicaps were made to the renowned sportswriter Hugh McIlvanney whose collection of work on horseracing I’ve been re-reading recently in an attempt to brush up on how the job is done properly. They are over 20 years old but I challenge anyone to dispute their relevance because they still point out the systemic basis for so much of what goes on.

9.34AM

Mon 28th Dec 2015

Annus Horribilis

Queen Elizabeth II’s famous ‘Annus Horribilis’ was 1992: history could decide 2015 to have been the Turf Club’s. History will be dismissed as bunk by those eagerly eyeing their brave new recession-free future but 225 years of the stuff is difficult to wave away entirely. The Turf Club of 2016 will be very different to that of even a decade ago. The current consensus is that that is inevitable given racing’s financial realities and future consensus may be that the inevitable was rubber-stamped this year.

8.51AM

Mon 21st Dec 2015

Get Out Of Jail Card

Last week’s successful appeals to the Turf Club’s Referrals Committee against the ‘non-trier’ penalties imposed on Shantou Ed, Bobbie’s Diamond and their connections at Fairyhouse were notable for a few reasons but perhaps most of all the bases on which they were made — veterinary evidence unavailable to the raceday stewards. Which begs the rather obvious question as to why it was unavailable?

9.13AM

Mon 14th Dec 2015

Task Force Slow Ahead

On the back of last year’s steroids controversy, a Drugs Task Force was set up to examine and report on the extent of any potential doping problem within the racing and bloodstock industries. Some of the great and the good were appointed to represent the various sectors under the chairmanship of the soon to be installed Turf Club senior steward Meta Osborne. That was a year ago and yet we’ve heard little or nothing about it since.

9.18AM

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