Saturday 1 March 2014 11:23, UK
This weekend feels like the start of the run-in.
Cheltenham Festival The countdown to the Cheltenham Festival is in full swing and the raft of preview evenings have begun. These events continue to swell in number and have their critics but they are great fun and good for the sport. Anything that gets sports fans talking about racing and Cheltenham has to be good for the game. I highly recommend you try and attend the Sportinglife.com/Sky Bet Preview Evening at Elland Road on March 5. Jason Maguire will be on the panel alongside Racing UK analysts Niall Hannity and Mark Howard, as well as Irish correspondent Donn McClean and Sky Bet's racing guru Michael "Winners" Shinners all chaired by the mighty Dave Ord. They should come up with plenty of winners and entertainment will be guaranteed. These are the five races I'm most looking forward to at the 2014 Cheltenham Festival. 5. Sky Bet Supreme Novices Hurdle Not just because of its new sponsors but because it's the most open Festival curtain-raiser I can remember. The race is shaping up as the perfect opening skirmish between the English and Irish and also the training giants of Mullins, Nicholls and Henderson, who all have leading contenders in the race. The roar that greets the tapes going up and the launch of four brilliant days of racing is one of my favourite moments of the sporting year. 4. Neptune Novices Hurdle This is always a good race and this year looks no different. I'm looking forward to seeing whether Faugheen can live up to all the hype. 3. Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Another novice hurdle which looks to be a better quality and more interesting than the novice chases at this stage. David Pipe looks to have a really strong team for the Festival. My nap of the meeting, Kings Palace, runs in this contest. 2. World Hurdle This race should throw up the best story of the week, potentially getting racing on the back and front pages. A Big Bucks win would be a roof-off-the-stand job and an "I was there" moment. A win for the mare Annie Power would be a great story, too. The latter is far more likely. 1. The Champion Hurdle Tuesday will be THE day to be at this year's Festival. The Supreme, Arkle, Quevega and the best Champion Hurdle I can remember. All year it's promised to be an epic and with all the lead protagonists so far standing their ground, we are set for the race of the season. Jezki remains a decent each-way price at 10/1. The sensational four days at Prestbury Park will also be key and decisive days in the prestigious Sky Sports Ten-to-Follow competition. I'm pleased to say I still lead the way at the head of the 21-strong field including the great and good from Sky Sports, Sporting Life and Sky Bet. However, having been cantering with a double handful a few weeks ago, I've been sending out a few distress signals and could soon be rousted along. That's because Sky Bet's PR guru Dale Tempest, Sky Sports News supremo Andy Cairns and my colleague Alex Hammond loom large in the mirrors. I feel like I'm crossing the Melling Road for the second time out in front, with three big guns taking aim in behind. Encouragingly for me, none of them have ever stayed the trip and won the National Hunt version of the competition in its 10 year history and are highly likely to crack under pressure. All three would probably have a Timeform squiggle by their name. My editor, David Ord, presenter Rachel Wyse, and leading columnist Richard Fahey, remain tailed off.
