The festival got off to a late start this, with a 35 minute delay before the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle on day one, and the Cross Country Chase had to be moved to Thursday due to unsuitable conditions.
Nothing could dampen the spirits of the 230,000 racegoers who turned up to experience Cheltenham Festival in 2013 though, and they would witness a historic event on day one.
Towards the end of the day, Quevega won the Mares’ Hurdle an incredible 5th time in a row, and if she wasn’t already a legend, she certainly was after that win. Of course, with Mullins and Walsh pulling the strings, Quevega was always going to be a solid contender.
Willie Mullins took the top trainer spot back from Nicky Henderson this year, and Ruby Walsh similarly regained his long standing position as top jockey from Barry Geraghty, beginning a festival reign that would last for many years.
Another of theirs, Hurricane Fly, became the first horse to win the Champion Hurdle twice since 2005, and elsewhere, Jim Culloty became one of the very few people to have won at Cheltenham both as a jockey and a trainer, when his horse, Lord Windemere, won the RSA Chase.
Nicky Henderson had a good festival too, taking the Arkle with Simonsig on day 1, before Sprinter Sacre put in an incredible shift to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase in real style and by 19 lengths. At 1/4, the horse began as the shortest priced runner at Cheltenham since Arkle himself won the Gold Cup in 1966, at odds of 1/10.
Speaking of the Gold Cup, Henderson won that one too, with Bobs Worth, although it looked unlikely at one point. The horse was still 8 lengths behind the leader at the final turn, but took the lead at the last and kept it. He became the first horse since 1964-66 to win 3 different trophies in consecutive years at the festival.
There was, however, a real tragedy at this year’s festival, when JT McNamara was paralysed after a horrific fall in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup. It occurred at the first fence, with JT’s horse, Galaxy Rock, falling on top of him and fracturing 2 vertebrae in his neck.
12th March 2013 – Day One (Champion Day)
| Time | Race | Winner | Odds | Jockey / Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13:30 | Supreme Novices' Hurdle | Champagne Fever | 5/1 |
J: Ruby Walsh
T: W P Mullins
|
| 14:05 | Arkle Challenge Trophy | Simonsig | 8/15 F |
J: Barry Geraghty
T: N J Henderson
|
| 14:40 | Festival Trophy Handicap Chase | Golden Chieftain | 28/1 |
J: Brendan Powell
T: C Tizzard
|
| 15:20 | The Champion Hurdle | Hurricane Fly | 13/8 F |
J: Ruby Walsh
T: W P Mullins
|
| 16:40 | Mares' Hurdle | Quevega | 8/1 F |
J: Ruby Walsh
T: W P Mullins
|
| 17:15 | Novices' Handicap Chase | Rajdhani Express | 16/1 |
J: Mr Sam Waley-Cohen
T: N J Henderson
|
| 17:15 | Cross Country Chase | Big Shu | 14/1 |
J: B M Cash
T: Peter Maher
|
13th March 2013 – Day Two (Ladies’ Day)
| Time | Race | Winner | Odds | Jockey / Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13:30 | National Hunt Chase | Back in Focus | 9/4 F |
J: Mr P W Mullins
T: W P Mullins
|
| 14:05 | Ballymore Novices' Hurdle | The New One | 7/2 |
J: Sam Twiston-Davies
T: N Twiston-Davies
|
| 14:40 | Brown Advisory Novices' Chase | Lord Windermere | 8/1 |
J: Davy Russell
T: J H Culloty
|
| 15:20 | Queen Mother Champion Chase | Sprinter Sacre | 1/4 F |
J: Barry Geraghty
T: N J Henderson
|
| 16:00 | BetMGM Cup | Medinas | 33/1 |
J: Wayne Hutchinson
T: A King
|
| 16:40 | Juvenile Novices' Hurdle | Flaxen Flare | 25/1 |
J: Davy Condon
T: G Elliott
|
| 17:15 | Champion Bumper | Briar Hill | 25/1 |
J: Ruby Walsh
T: W P Mullins
|
14th March 2013 – Day Three (St. Patrick’s Day)
| Time | Race | Winner | Odds | Jockey / Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13:30 | Golden Miller Novices' Chase | Benefficient | 20/1 |
J: B J Cooper
T: A J Martin
|
| 14:05 | Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle | Holywell | 25/1 |
J: Richie McLernon
T: Jonjo O'Neill
|
| 14:40 | Ryanair Chase | Cue Card | 7/2 |
J: Joe Tizzard
T: C Tizzard
|
| 15:20 | The Stayers' Hurdle | Solwhit | 17/2 |
J: Ms N Carberry
T: C Byrnes
|
| 16:00 | Plate Handicap Chase | Carrickboy | 50/1 |
J: Liam Treadwell
T: V Williams
|
| 16:40 | Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup | Same Difference | 16/1 |
J: Ryan Hatch
T: N Twiston-Davies
|
15th March 2013 – Day Four (Gold Cup Day)
| Time | Race | Winner | Odds | Jockey / Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13:30 | JCB Triumph Hurdle | Our Conor | 4/1 |
J: B J Cooper
T: D T Hughes
|
| 14:05 | County Handicap Hurdle | Ted Veale | 10/1 |
J: B J Cooper
T: A J Martin
|
| 14:40 | Spa Novices' Hurdle | At Fishers Cross | 11/8 F |
J: A P McCoy
T: Rebecca Curtis
|
| 15:20 | The Cheltenham Gold Cup | Bobs Worth | 11/4 F |
J: Barry Geraghty
T: N J Henderson
|
| 16:00 | Foxhunter Challenge Cup | Salsify | 2/1 F |
J: Mr C J Sweeney
T: Rodger Sweeney
|
| 16:40 | Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle | Salubrious | 16/1 |
J: Harry Derham
T: P F Nicholls
|
| 17:15 | Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase | Alderwood | 3/1 F |
J: A P McCoy
T: W P Mullins
|