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I don't think Paul Barber would have stood for that. KS and Denman are very different horses, and only met in the Gold Cup (and Cheltenham suits Denman better). Doesn't make him a better horse, mind: and Denman had that tricky time with his heart murmur. However, John Hales thought Nicholls ma...

I was a bit put off at the time by the Dessie hype - it was good for publicity - but as time goes on, his achievements are really standing up in the pantheon and, personally, I'm baffled how Timeform have put Kauto so high on the basis of one level-weights race when their ratings of DO, Arkle, Ca...

well... not wanting to start an argument but R&R had won a few good races less than that distance, including the Irish Grand National. He simply didn't jump as well as Playschool on the day.

@greggles1902 good point. Pipe changed the rules of the game; so many of his horses went off, made all, won. Previously it was thought better to stay off the pace, come late, etc; but MP's horses (and jockeys) just took them all out of the comfort zone. I'd forgotten that Mark Perrett (and oth...

Blimey! This was my first visit to Cheltenham! The 3 mile 3 furlong chase had only 3 runners, which was a bit dull. I wanted to back Kathies Lad because he was a favourite, but didn't want to jinx him; so I think I bottled it and put a few quid on Half Free. Serves me right. But a beautif...

great stuff, thank you There haven't been many poor renewals of this over the years - lots of top class chasers in there. It's nearly always good jumping ground, also, whereas Cheltenham in March has sometimes been a bit too quick for the real chasing types.

BlueManc. I hope you're not fed up with me thanking you for all these. Heresy I know, but sometimes I think Newbury is a better test of a proper chaser than Cheltenham, and the Hennessey, when it's got some seriously good horses in it, is the best race of the year. And a superb ride from Franco...

Lockinge; Prince of Wales or Eclipse (both’d be nice but…..) and York (sponsored by Juddmonte, you can’t see him not being there): and Prince Khaled has some unfinished business at Santa Anita from 25 years back. That's my dream, anyhow....

probably shouldn't even get involved, but the races he's run this season have been anything BUT laid out for him. He's generally had to do his own (and everyone's) donkey work out front. Pacemaker went nuts in this one which is why Queally pressed the button marked 'overdrive' without realisin...

thank you for this. I remember this very well. Like probably quite a few people, I've appreciated (if not enjoyed) struggling with Beckett - at school, as a troubled 20-something, lost interest in my 30s, remembered it in my 40s - and now that I'm nearly 50 it all makes so much more sense.... Pat...

@theviewtoakill Well said. He really was a trainer out of the top drawer, well spoken of by all.

well, I don't know if this makes it any straighter, but by then your logic Theatrical is also a better horse than Dancing Brave. Which ain't necessarily so, wouldn't you say?

Well, I dropped my bacon sandwich (metaphorically) when they threw Sagace out. British racing was famed for disqualifying winners if they'd as much as sneezed on the horse that came last, but the French were far less likely to: and to a Wildenstein horse too! Oddly enough, these days it's gone ...

delighted for Dream Ahead, but if Hoof It had just managed to get his nose in front of Bated Breath and finish second, he would have been awarded the race. But because he finished third, he wasn't. I'm not objecting to the rules and the way they're interpreted now - usually common sense gets th...

@MrWANSANSHOO ah, you poor, poor JD casualty.... get over it, won't you? The original owes very little to Joy Division themselves - it was Martin Hannett who made it so resonant and wonderful (mind you, that was true of quite a lot of their stuff so for you to suggest that a new production adu...

@grincher2006 actually, if the mares' allowance had been introduced in 1987 rather than 1986, he would have won the race. For a horse that supposedly didn't stay, he stayed better than a lot of others! And he ran far more good races than bad at Cheltenham.

now, you'll get people saying that...

@stevetriplecrown I can tell you what she did, Steve - she beat Pebbles at Royal Ascot!!!

It wasn't quite the shock as that might seem now: Pebbles' Guineas win was a little unexpected so it wasn't clear if she was really all that good, and she proved to be better over further than a mile. I...

ahem! I think you'll find it's the other way round - So You Think looks like Chief Singer. Probably the most handsome, imposing horse I've seen, and that wonderful near-black colour marked him out. Almost seemed lazy in his early paces, but when he got his head down he was some racehorse.

I t...

wow wow wow. Steve, thank you. And the commentary - is that from the old Extel betting shop service? Sounds as dispassionate as I remember them being!

@GBeret83 interesting to look at this in light of yesterday. Obviously not a straightforward horse on or off the course, and Simcock wouldn't want to make any glaring errors with what is his flagship horse so early in his career. It may be that he's been overcautious but he possibly didn't quit...

@87RAF91 or her mind and soul.