Still plenty of the flat season to savour but one little bulletin last week brought The Festival that means so much back into focus.
All it took was the first pictures of Constitution Hill floating up the gallops at Seven Barrows to be published and, immediately, there were debates about when and where we could expect to see the former Champion Hurdler reappear and what his prospects were of regaining his crown.
Nicky Henderson’s considerate handling of Constitution Hill, who was sidelines when the action took place in March due to illness, gets some racing enthusiasts hot under the collar but it seems such a strange waste of energy when an issue remains that is worthy of genuine anger: hotel prices.
Treatment of fans is a topic that has snowballed in the last seven days, the pin pulled out of the grenade by the farce around the Oasis grand reunion – nobody who went through the ordeal of trying to get tickets on Saturday could say they were feeling Supersonic by the end.
Just as troubling as ‘dynamic pricing’ was the fact certain hotel chains were, according to many reports and accounts, cancelling rooms that had been booked at £90 and then resold at four times the cost. It’s fuelled by avarice, with no care or thought being given to customers.
The Cheltenham Festival will once again stage horse racing’s grandest event next year
Thousands of punters flock to the special Cheltenham racecourse for the festival every year
Paying punters will have to fork out thousands if they want to stay nearby for the duration of the festival
While this storm was raging, it felt timely to check in and see how much the going rate is for a room in Cheltenham town centre during Festival week next March. There is an old saying that at least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask – you will see why it remains relevant.
The Holiday Inn Express was highlighted on these pages by my colleague, Ed Chamberlin, before this year’s Festival. Ed was incredulous that this budget establishment was prepared to charge racegoers £650 for a night in a three-star, no frills building.
It gets worse. To check in on Tuesday, March 11 and check out on Friday, March 14, the nightly total through a web search was £825 PER NIGHT for a basic standard room. Surely that was wrong? A phone call to the establishment cleared things up.
‘No, sir,’ I was told. ‘It’s £808.33 per night, including VAT. So the total for your stay would be £2425. Do you want to proceed?’
To give further context, that price is £1980 more than it would cost you to spend three nights in the same establishment next week. Regrettably, the Holiday Inn are not alone. A call to the nearby Doubletree Hilton revealed they are charging £654 per night during Festival week.
Yes, there is a realisation that hotels – like any business – need to make the most of their busiest times of year but not for one minute can you say at a time when people’s finances are under pressure from all angles that this is fair. It isn’t. It’s an absolute disgrace.
Festival week in Cheltenham should have an atmosphere to reflect it but that wasn’t the case six months ago. Each morning you ventured onto track, you were greeted by stories of restaurants that were usually booked to the rafters had tables readily available and pubs being quieter than normal.
The executive team at the course knew coming out of those four days they had issues to address with the meeting – but how can you not have sympathy with them when their efforts to reignite the spark critics said was missing are being betrayed elsewhere?
Constitution Hill is set to be one of the main attractions next year after missing the last Festival
Some hotels in the area have raised their prices throughout the duration of the grand event
There will be hoteliers who think they are being clever trying to squeeze the pips out of those who want to travel to The Cotswolds but the only thing they – and the rail companies, who are also adept at charging an arm and a leg – are doing is making people resentful.
It cannot continue. Horse Power understands that Cheltenham are working on ways to find a solution where costs in hotels are reduced. There are more than six months to go before the Festival begins and there is a commitment to getting back to previous levels.
Constitution Hill’s return to work should not have brought cynicism, it should have let the mind begin to race about the wonderful possibility of him potentially locking horns with State Man, Lossiemouth and Ballyburn in the Champion Hurdle.
Be sure there will be fantasy once again on the track – and let the reality return for those in the town whose numbers currently don’t add up.
Owen’s horse racing pride
Michael Owen never hid the sense of pride he felt when winning the Ballon d’Or in 2001 but, if possible, his second ‘Balon d’Or’ 23 years later brought just as big a smile.
The horse Owen co-owns named after world’s football’s greatest individual prize prevailed in a photo-finish at Chester on Saturday and the roar that accompanied the gelding’s number being read out was akin to him scoring an important goal.
For good measure, Balon d’Or’s little sister – It’s Ain’t Two – obliged in the following race, making this a rare double. Owen, who never misses a Chester meeting, was understandably elated and the joy he gets from this sport is all natural
Michael Owen (right) celebrated as his co-owned horse ‘Balon d’Or’ won in Chester
Such is Owen’s standing in racing, he was asked to deliver the keynote speech, via video link, at the International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses in Japan last week, in which his love for the thoroughbred came shining through.
Football gave him fame and fortune. Racing gives something else entirely.
City Of Troy’s remarkable resurrection
Aidan O’Brien’s approach to handling City Of Troy this summer has been remarkable. He could quite easily have cut himself off from media duties and let the horse’s exploits speak for themselves but he’s found new colourful ways of describing this superstar at every turn. What about this latest gem.
‘He took York very well,’ said O’Brien at a press day ahead of Irish Champions Weekend. ‘He didn’t even blow. He’s a hardy customer. He’s not for kids. He will maul you. He’s very unusual and he’s not simple.’
O’Brien is an extraordinary trainer but he’s also an extraordinary ambassador for the sport. How could you not want to watch City Of Troy run now? If it’s for his gallop on the all-weather at Southwell later this or in the Breeders Cup Classic at Del Mar on November 2, tune in.
Like the man who has handled his career, he’s one of a kind.
