T H E W O R L D ’ S F I N E S T B O O K M A K E R : TA K I N G B E T S S I N C E 1 8 8 2
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F I T Z D A R E S. C O M • T E N T H E D I T I O N, S U M M E R 2 0 1 9 • N O U N D E R 2 1 s
RWC DIARY How to gobble up Tokyo in a single day
SPLIT DECISION Racing is waking up to the data revolution
GOLDEN HELLOS Under the covers in the Olympic village
BLUE BLOOD Which Tory will upset the odds?
BY S. DRUMMOND
BY GEOFFREY RIDDLE
BY FRED SCARLETT
BY HARRY COLE
JUMPING FOR JOY A crazy 24 hours in Cheltenham racing history was steeped in pure sentiment. By Rory Fairfax OMETHING EXTRAORDINARY happened between 3:30pm on Wednesday 13 March and 3:35pm on Thursday 14 March. Sport has a habit of excelling itself, and the past six months have set stratospheric standards in suspense and impact. Sweep aside the astonishing Champions League comebacks in May or Ruby Walsh’s farewell wave at Punchestown, Tiger’s triumph at the Masters or Tyson Fury defying heavyweight precedent to get up from the canvas not once, but twice. These remarkable 24 hours at Cheltenham in March had everything. With plots and sub-plots, they captured all the beautiful elements of why we love racing. In a stretch of eight races, seven favourites won, joined by one well-backed second favourite. By the time it was over, the bookmakers, us included, were praying for divine intervention. This all came after a torrid few weeks in which equine flu
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had threatened the very existence of this year’s Festival. It is no exaggeration to say this was one of the finest days in Cheltenham punting history. Millions were won and, well, millions were lost. Our competitors, who shall not be named, were so badly winded that another merger or two is not out of the question. For our part, we survived and here we are to tell the story. To examine why this was such a special occasion, you must scratch beneath the surface. This wonderland has a far deeper rabbit hole than you could imagine. Among the wild euphoria stood three protagonists who have won racing fans’ hearts: Bryony Frost, Patricia Pugh and Andrew Gemmell. It is likely you may have only heard of Frost, the swashbuckling and hearty young jockey who has stamped her mark on jump racing. She has gradually floated into racing’s consciousness, highlighting what
hard work can achieve while exposing some home truths about gender inequality in the sport. Here stands a woman who rejects the injustices she faces through her passion and enthusiasm. She chews up the narrative and jumps all her obstacles with grit and
Frost chews up the narrative and jumps all her obstacles with grit and charisma. Her story is inspirational. charisma. Her story is inspirational, and yet she is so plainly unaware of her profound impact, that it is thus even more enhanced. There have been plenty of female jockeys before her, not least Lizzie Kelly and Rachael Blackmore, who both won at the Festival this year. To dismiss them would be unfair and yet, for some reason, Frost has
galvanised racing. On the Thursday of Cheltenham, astride the wings of Frodon, she took a flying leap forward for equality by becoming the first woman to win a Grade One. It was exemplary by every metric: this big win won’t be her last. Horse ownership, unlike jockeyship, does not suffer from the same inequalities. There are no social or physical barriers to buying a horse, except through currency, of course. Patricia Pugh first decided to buy a horse in the early 2000s, but sadly it went the way it does on most occasions. After that brief foray, it was a decade before she delved back into the market, picking Altior among a team of hopeful horses. When Pugh bought Altior, little did she know of the victories she would carry for dreamers and small owners. Although this is a horse that has just won a recordequalling 18th race on the trot, his wins have been hard-fought, his challengers →