Cheltenham Festival Draws Record Crowds

The 2019 Cheltenham Festival is in the books and drew record crowds. (Photo credit: Cheltenham Racdecourse).

The Festival™ 2019, which seemed to break new ground for the number of heart-warming and captivating stories, reached a conclusion at Cheltenham on Friday.

It had thrilled fans of Jump racing, attracted record crowds on each day, received superb television and media coverage and delighted the Cheltenham team, headed by Ian Renton, The Jockey Club’s Regional Director, Cheltenham and South West Racecourses.

Renton said: “It’s been absolutely wonderful, and the most extraordinary four days of Jump racing. The Thursday, in particular, will live long in the memory of everyone that was here to witness it.

“It has been a challenging Festival – in the lead-up we had equine flu, which caused a bit of a stop-start for a few days, and internally we were a little concerned about the forecast for windy Wednesday, which we had been aware of some way in advance. That forced us to spend quite a bit of time thinking of contingency plans. Fortunately, they weren’t needed.

“In terms of stories surrounding the winners I cannot remember a better Festival. Tiger Roll’s win in the Glenfarclas Cross-Country Chase, his fourth at the meeting, was wonderful, and Altior’s victory in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase was a great illustration of an outstanding steeplechaser. For Gavin Cromwell’s first Festival win to come in the Unibet Champion Hurdle [with Espoir D’Allen] was quite a rarity.

“We have all been waiting for Willie Mullins to win the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup, so the victory today by Al Boum Photo, who he trains, was a delight for everyone who follows Jump racing.

“Finding a personal highlight is not easy, but to see Bryony [Frost] presenting Frodon at the fences in the Ryanair Chase, and watching her proving to be such an accomplished jockey is hard to beat. The way she portrayed herself after the race and her obvious love for that horse was wonderful to watch. Similarly, from Thursday afternoon, the win for Paisley Park in the Sun Racing Stayers’ Hurdle, and the dignified way his [blind] owner, Andrew Gemmell, showed his delight, was great for the sport.

“The team here at Cheltenham have worked tirelessly throughout, and I hope everyone who has attended has thoroughly enjoyed their visit. I’m looking forward to the 2020 Festival already.”