Race lost ...

... at the start . I'm not normally a bemoaning owner - lots of them around - especially at Cheltenham - but I thought Tom Scu had Geoffrey in the wrong position at the start . He then got 'pincered' out of it and jumped ( if that's the word to describe his first jump !) in last position . He might've well pulled him up at that point and gone again on Thursday . We know Geoff is 'quirky' and the Cheltenham 'charge to the first' does not suit - but that was disaster ! The same happened two years ago in the Martin Pipe - Geoffrey then came out and won The Fixed Brush Hurdle at Haydock - his biggest 'pot' to date - so I'm not too down - just frustrated .
And what a day for Willie Mullins and the Irish ! I did say that the 'bookies' would never allow his first four favourites to win - they would all be out of business - so no surprise to see Ruby and Annie Power make a terrible blunder at the last and come to grief with the race at their mercy . Still - the stable still won it with their other !
For me the best part of the day was watching George being paraded before racing - along with Big Bucks - Denman and Kauto Star amongst others . He did look fantastic - as they all did . Whether his Brother will be held in such high esteem in his retirement - remains rather doubtful !! CU
Ps - a big day for stable with Kings Palace in the RSA . Always a difficult race . Let's hope he does it .