1 month ago 14th Mar 15:17
Turn on and tune in to the Cheltenham Festival
The Derby and the Grand National might tempt housewives into a 50p each way punt, but the REAL meeting where the racing world holds its breath is the equine Olympics - Cheltenham Festival.
For jockeys, winning at the four-day Festival that started on Tuesday is the ultimate achievement. And, to win the Gold Cup on Friday is like breaking the tape in the Olympics 100m sprint final.
This year promises to be one of the most exciting Festivals in years with two Somerset stable mates - Kauto Star and Denman - currently joint favourite in Friday's Gold Cup. Can the relentless galloper Denman conquer the agile and reigning champion, Kauto Star? A significant share of the £600million likely to be staked on the outcome of the 25 Festival races; will centre on the Gold Cup showdown. And, with the equine heroes unavailable for comment, lucky listeners can tackle Sam Thomas - Denman's jockey - for his thoughts.
If you can't make it to the meeting for real, then race fans can still experience the thrill of the track from the comfort of their armchair with Channel 4 Racing screening 20 live races over the four-days. This year's coverage promises to be the "best ever" - bringing viewers even closer to the action with the employment of new technology that guarantees unusual and impressive shots never before seen on TV.
Jockey Andrew Thornton comments: "There is so much hype in the two weeks before Cheltenham and as a jockey you get involved in it. It's quite nice that you get to learn all about the other horses and what the other trainers think about their chances. But from a jockey's point of view whether you can enjoy it or not is very much open to debate, if you have a winner on the first day it take off an awful lot of pressure but then you can probably enjoy the week as any jockey is not looking for two or three winners, if you can get one you are very, very lucky."
CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS: each evening and there will be a Gold Cup re-run at 7.30pm, incorporated within Channel 4 News.
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