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Cheltenham 2021 - Review

The week belongs to Henry De Bromhead, Rachael Blackmore and Jack Kennedy. Minella Indo won the Gold Cup having lost the RSA on the line this time last year. Everyone loves a comeback story and this is one because following that defeat there was a fall at Leopardstown at Christmas and a very ordinary run in February. I thought he was very overrated and even though he fit the age range  (the last 3 winners of the race were 7 or 8 years old), I over looked him for Al Boum Photo. Funnily enough it had the feel of when Al Boum Photo won in 2019 because there wasn't a lot of talk about him. I still expected him to be beaten even when he flew the last but A Plus Tard couldn't run him down. He proved me and the doubters wrong today by adding the top prize in National Hunt racing to that narrow second last year and the Albert Bartlett two years ago. What a Cheltenham record! Fantastic for Jack Kennedy as well. He's had some week too - Black Tears beating the hot favourite Concertis
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Cornakill Rose at Leopardstown

Jack Kennedy was on board Cornakill Rose in the first race of the Monday meeting at Leopardstown. After the longest Autumn in history the weather has turned cold again and there had been snow the day before. The going was supposed to be good to yielding but it was downgraded to soft, heavy in places by the time they went to post.

Jack had Cornakill Rose in mid division for this 2m 4f hurdle. It was a long run to the first and she leapt over it like a steeplechaser but spent a bit too much time in the air, I thought. The jump at the second wasn't great either as she turned her head right going into it then went over it a bit sideways like a bucking bronco before Jack quickly straightened her up. In between the jumping she was travelling well until she went very left at the third and lost a bit of momentum. There was a long way to the next, the first of a line of 4 in quick succession down the back straight. By the time they got there she had improved into fourth place but her jumping let her down once more and she lost a place again. She jumped the next two well but was starting to feel the pressure approaching the last one down the back and then jumped left again at that one with Jack giving her a few reminders when she landed. She rallied though and was disputing fourth in a breakaway group of five rounding the final bend but couldn't keep up with them and was soon out of the running to come home in fifth, well behind the eventual winners Kilbarry Lilly and Davy Russell who beat the favourite, Sunrise Lady. It wasn't a bad run from Rose but her jumping was very sketchy. She took home a couple of hundred Euro for her trouble. Alex reported Rose was fine afterwards and was enjoying a day off in the paddock. Jack was happy with how she ran and I was a little surprised to hear he thought she jumped well and it was just the ground went against her.



Smiling Eliza didn't get the entry for the Fred Winter at Cheltenham so it doesn't look like we'll have a club horse there this year unless we can get one to guest for us. This might be the start of a long stretch of softer ground so it probably wouldn't have suited her anyway. Maybe she'll get to return to Aintree in April!

Photos by David Betts @davidbetts3213












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