Cheltenham Festival blog: The stuff dreams are made of
However carefully you write the script, it’s worth remembering horses can’t read.
No one told Imperial Commander today wasn’t supposed to be about him.
No one thought Kauto Star would hit the deck — I know he’s made the odd jumping mistake in the past, but he hasn’t fallen for exactly four years, when he crashed out in the Champion Chase as a novice.
No one thought Nigel Twiston-Davies’ day could actually get better, but there’s no doubt it will beat his two National wins now, as his son Sam won the Foxhunter on a horse he trained in the very next race after the Gold Cup. And then to win the last, with a horse who was a maiden over fences… Weird. What a night they are going to have in the Hollow Bottom pub, Twiston-Davies’ local.
No one thought Katie Walsh would ride a second winner of the meeting; it’s all very well beating a bunch of amateurs in the National Hunt Chase, but defeating the pros in the County Hurdle is quite another thing.
No one thought Paul Nicholls would finish the week with all three of his best chasers — Master Minded, Kauto Star and Denman — beaten.
I wonder what they will do with Kauto Star now. At 10, he’s not an old horse, but he’s had plenty of racing, nearly all of it at the most demanding level. He can’t improve, he can only go backwards as his younger, more lightly raced rivals (Imperial Commander has run 17 races, Kauto Star 34) accelerate.
Paul Nicholls and Clive Smith won’t make a snap decision — and maybe I’m being melodramatic, as I adore the horse and hated seeing him fall — but I think, if he were mine, I’d put him away, and try to win a fifth King George with him next Christmas before retiring him.
But I’m beginning to let my heart rule my head here. Ruby Walsh said after the race: “He’s alright, I’m alright, there will be another day. It’s disappointing, but it is not the end of the world.”
2009 Los Angeles Auto Show
If the North American auto show season has an official kickoff party, the Los Angeles Auto Show is it. In addition to world debuts of the 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe, 2011 Toyota Sienna and VW Up! Lite Concept, the 2009 LA Auto Show again played host to the Green Car of the Year announcement, which went to a diesel car for the second year in a row. The LA Auto Show is also a first chance to see and touch the cars unveiled around the world in the eight months since the New York Auto Show, which this year included jaw-droppers like the 2011 Lexus LFA and 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
