The Cheltenham Festival

A Centenary History

Nonfiction, Sports, Horse Sports, Horse Racing
Cover of the book The Cheltenham Festival by Robin Oakley, Aurum Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robin Oakley ISBN: 9781781313909
Publisher: Aurum Press Publication: March 3, 2014
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Robin Oakley
ISBN: 9781781313909
Publisher: Aurum Press
Publication: March 3, 2014
Imprint:
Language: English

The Cheltenham Festival is nowadays the biggest event in the racing year – in visitor numbers eclipsing Royal Ascot, the Grand National or the Derby. In 2011 it is a hundred years since the 1911 running of the National Hunt Chase marked the birth of the Festival, providing the perfect occasion for Robin Oakley’ s new history.

This is a work of both history and celebration – telling the story of how three days of jump racing beneath Cleeve Hill in Cheltenham became a vast sporting event attracting an average of 50,000 spectators per day. Before the War it saw legendary horses like Golden Miller; after the War the Irish invasion began – both horses and spectators; in the Sixties, Arkle, the greatest jumps horse of all time duelling with Mill House in the Gold Cup. In recent years there have been Cheltenham favourites like Desert Orchid, winning a gruelling Gold Cup in the mud, Dawn Run, Best Mate (2 Gold Cups), hurdlers like Istabraq and Persian War, and the grey hero One Man.

But also it is a story of the craic and the characters, like the Irishman who won enough on Istabraq to pay off his mortgage, then lost it again on the Champion Chase, and reflected, “ Ach, it was only a small house anyway… ” This is a book for both the committed Festival-goer, Guinness in hand, and every armchair racing fan.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Cheltenham Festival is nowadays the biggest event in the racing year – in visitor numbers eclipsing Royal Ascot, the Grand National or the Derby. In 2011 it is a hundred years since the 1911 running of the National Hunt Chase marked the birth of the Festival, providing the perfect occasion for Robin Oakley’ s new history.

This is a work of both history and celebration – telling the story of how three days of jump racing beneath Cleeve Hill in Cheltenham became a vast sporting event attracting an average of 50,000 spectators per day. Before the War it saw legendary horses like Golden Miller; after the War the Irish invasion began – both horses and spectators; in the Sixties, Arkle, the greatest jumps horse of all time duelling with Mill House in the Gold Cup. In recent years there have been Cheltenham favourites like Desert Orchid, winning a gruelling Gold Cup in the mud, Dawn Run, Best Mate (2 Gold Cups), hurdlers like Istabraq and Persian War, and the grey hero One Man.

But also it is a story of the craic and the characters, like the Irishman who won enough on Istabraq to pay off his mortgage, then lost it again on the Champion Chase, and reflected, “ Ach, it was only a small house anyway… ” This is a book for both the committed Festival-goer, Guinness in hand, and every armchair racing fan.

More books from Aurum Press

Cover of the book Douglas Haig by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book Fedegraphica by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book Life of Pee by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book Being Creative: Be inspired. Unlock your originality by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book The Telegraph Book of the Olympics by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book Tunnelling to Freedom by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book The Secret Listeners by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book Thinker, Failure, Soldier, Jailer by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book Pretend You're In A War by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book Chris Brasher by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book Telling Tails by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book Journey of a Thousand Miles by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book A Bird in the Bush by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book Squeaky Bum Time by Robin Oakley
Cover of the book From Last to First by Robin Oakley
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy