10 Great Handicaps In Prospect

Following last week's announcement of outstanding entries for the three new handicaps at The 2005 Festival, an equally impressive list of possible contenders was revealedyesterday for the seven established handicaps that form such an integral part of jump racing's biggest meeting.
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The William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase
The Sporting Index Handicap Chase
The Fred Winter Juvenile Novices´ Handicap Hurdle
The Coral Cup (Handicap Hurdle)
Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup H´cap Chase
The Jewson Novices´ Handicap Chase
The Mildmay Of Flete Handicap Chase
The Pertemps Final (Handicap Hurdle)
The Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase Challenge Cup
The Vincent O´Brien County Handicap Hurdle

Several championship race contenders have been given handicap alternatives including among the 88 entries for the WILLIAM HILL TROPHY HANDICAP CHASE on Tuesday, March 15. These include totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup contenders Therealbandit, Irish Hussar and Keen Leader while 2002 Royal & SunAlliance Chase winner Hussard Collonges, who has been off the course for 14 months, is another engaged.

With 130 entries, the CORAL CUP on Wednesday, March 16, promises to be ultra-competitive event with last year's winner Monkerhostin, his stablemate Supreme Serenade, Al Eile, one of 27 Irish-trained entries, and the Francois Doumen-trained Blue Canyon among the possibles.

Champion trainer Martin Pipe, who has won three of the last five runnings of the MILDMAY OF FLETE HANDICAP CHASE, has 10 of the 87 entries in this year's race, while Paul Nicholls has nine engaged. Last year's winner Tikram, Ladbrokes Trophy Chase scorer Buckby Lane and the eye-catching third Palarshan are other notable entries.

The PERTEMPS FINAL (HANDICAP HURDLE), for which there are a record 77 entries including 14 from Ireland and 15 from Pipe's stable, has been moved this year to bring down the curtain on Thursday, March 17. Pipe's team includes Liberman, the 2003 Weatherbys Champion Bumper hero, while last year's shock winner Creon and totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup candidate Strong Flow are other interesting entries.

The JOHNNY HENDERSON GRAND ANNUAL CHASE, run on Friday, March 18, has 77 high-class entries including seven from Paul Nicholls, such as Armaturk, Cenkos, Great Travel and Kadarann, while the Mark Rimell-trained Oneway and Almaydan, from Richard Lee's stable, are among those with good recent form.

There are few more hotly-contested prizes at the Festival than the VINCENT O'BRIEN COUNTY HANDICAP HURDLE, which brings the curtain down on proceedings on Friday, March 18, and the 2m 1f event has a record 134 entries this year, of which Pipe accounts for 14. The 2003 Smurfit Champion Hurdle hero Rooster Booster, recent totesport Gold Trophy winner Essex and the Noel Meade-trained Power Elite are some of the eye-catching entries.

Edward Gillespie, Cheltenham's Managing Director, commented: 'We were delighted to see such strong entries for the three new Festival handicaps and the seven existing contests continue to go from strength to strength, perfectly complementing Cheltenham's championship programme'