We all know how big the Cheltenham Festival is, but just to make the point it ranks second in prize money terms behind the Grand National. It’s the best known National Hunt gathering and Cheltenham has been its almost permanent home for more than one hundred years. It features a number of races whose names have become familiar even to those who limit their gambling to one or two occasions a year. Who hasn’t heard of the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Champion Hurdle and the big one – the Cheltenham Gold Cup?

It’s traditionally a particularly British and Irish affair for those few days in Cheltenham. Around 10,000 make their way across the Irish Sea and aid in the consumption of approximately 200,000 pints of Guinness. The prize money is around £4 million but that number is dwarfed by the more than £150 million gambled on the event. You’d have to Play online Roulette an awful lot to rake in that sort of money.

So who won the big events this year? On day one the big race was arguably the Stan James Champion Hurdle. My money was on the favourite Hurricane Fly but Rock on Ruby and Overturn beat him into third place.

Day two brought us the Queen Mother Champion Chase which was won by Finian’s Rainbow, pushing Sizing Europe and Big Zeb into second and third.

On day three my pick of the races was the Ladbrokes World Hurdle which was won by the clear favourite Big Buck’s (of the strangely placed apostrophe). Voler La Vedette and Smad Place were second and third.

There was no doubt about the big event of the final day; the legendary Cheltenham Gold Cup had some notable participants including Tony McCoy and Tony Scudamore and it was McCoy who triumphed on the line riding Synchronised, beating Scudamore’s The Giant Bolster into second and Long Run into third.

That’s the festival over for a year, now back to reading up on Roulette Infos.

Last year’s winner was the surprise japanese horse the four year old Victoire Pisa trained by Katsuhiko Sumii. The owner of last year’s Dubai Cup winner Yoshimi Ichikawa took home the record purse for any horse race – a staggering $10 million

This year a few Australian horses are worth looking at including BLACK Caviar, Sepoy, Helmet and So You Think could all race at the Dubai World Cup meeting ahead of England’s Royal Ascot.

Trainer Peter Moody has opened the door for Black Caviar to compete in Dubai after nominating her for two races, the Golden Shaheen and Al Quoz Sprint, at Meydan on March 30.

If unbeaten Black Caviar tackles the Golden Shaheen, the mare will finally clash with Peter Snowden’s champion colt Sepoy.

The Luxury of Dubai

So if you’re going out to eh World Cup in Dubai you better dust down your favourite Super Yacht. Oh and make sure it is your biggest as the Sheiks and Crowned Princes are sure to impress with their mega yachts and sea faring vessels. We look forward to sending in some photos of the mega rich as well as some horses too.

A Brief outline to the rules of  racing horse naming:

• All horse owners who wish their horse to compete must register their names with Weatherbys, the official administrator of the horse racing.
• The Weatherbys register has about 250,000 names which consists of horses that are currently training or raced during the last 20 years.
• Famous racehorse names are not allowed to be used twice so there will never be another Shergar, Red Rum or Arkle even though they are all deceased.
• No name can contain more than 18 letters including spaces, names aren’t allowed whose pronunciation or spelling is obscene or insulting including spoonerisms or rude foreign words.

Love The Races has just published a list of banned Horse names. It’s a shame in a way that they didn’t make it.

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NAMES WHICH WERE BANNED

Chit Hot
Chocolate Starfish
Choke the Chicken
Curl One Off
Dick Face
Harry Azzol
Harry Balls
Harry Monk
Hugh G Dildeaux
Hugh G Rection
Hugh Gass Kisser
Hugh Gorgy
Hugh Janus
Ima Hoare
Ima Goodlay
Ima P Ness
Ima Rapist
Ivanna Humpalot
Ivanna Threesome
Ivanna Tinkle
Major B Oner
Norfolk Enchants
OilBeefHooked
Pee Nesenvy
Spank The Monkey
The Fokker
The Gobbler
Jack Schitt
Amanda Mount
Anita B Jaynow
Anita Bath
Anita Longerman
Anita Mandelay
Anna Reksik
Annie Position
Annie Rection
Are Soles to You
Arfur Foulkesaycke
Ben Derhover
Ben Timover
Betty Swallocks

HERE’S A LIST OF SOME THAT DID:

Slippery Dick
Fuchu
Little Knickers
Noble Locks
Big Tits
Finmental
Who Gives A Donald
Passing Wind
Hoof Hearted
Geespot
Dirty Sanchez
Foxy Fanny
Muff Diver
Peony’s Envy
Wear The Fox Hat
Sofa Can Fast

Royal Ascot winner Rakti, who also won the Champion Stakes and Lockinge Stakes, was one of Jarvis’ horses.

“I have had a good innings and I suppose Rakti would possibly be the most talented horse I have trained but we have had some good ones,” Jarvis said to the Racing Post.

Varian, who has been assistant to Jarvis for 10 years, said he had been left in a privileged position.

“Obviously it is in sad circumstances that I’m taking the reins and I wish things were different in that sense, but this is something I’ve always wanted to do and it’s been an ambition for a long time,” he said.

The Best Horses Online

At Go Horse we will give you reviews and news about the best young horses around. Be they in Stud, Gelding, Mares or Stallions. The best market prices on horses, and some heritage on bloodstock across the UK, Ireland and France. There will also be a look at Happy Valley in Hong Kong and a view on how Asia is adapting to recent changes in the markets and the rules in horse racing and the transportation of the animals for races. And of course we will look at the big money that has been put into horse development in Dubai and the middle east, as well as the stables in Dubai which are producing horses that can compete with the very best of the UK, Ireland, France and the United States.