The National Hunt season finds its true starting point this week as Cheltenham Racecourse prepares to host its prestigious November meeting, a three-day spectacle that firmly signals the beginning of the winter jump racing campaign.
A Precious Resource in the Jumping Calendar
With the Cheltenham Festival still four months away, the home of National Hunt racing welcomes enthusiasts for what many consider the spiritual commencement of the season. The meeting, running from Friday through Sunday, has attracted a remarkable nearly 400 entries, with numerous connections hoping their charges will earn a return ticket for the main event in March.
The scarcity of racing days at Cheltenham—just nine each season before the festival—is precisely what makes each visit so special. As the sport's most valuable asset, an increase in fixtures would risk devaluing the unique appeal of racing at this iconic venue. The limited supply only heightens anticipation for meetings like this one, which serves as both a standalone highlight and a crucial stepping stone to festival glory.
Strong Attendance and Festival Preparation
The November gathering demonstrates robust health on both sides of the running rail. While the festival itself has experienced a documented attendance decline, this secondary meeting has shown resilience. After a post-pandemic surge in 2021-22 followed by a dip, crowd numbers have steadily improved over the past two years, offering encouragement to track management as they address challenges facing their flagship event.
For owners and trainers, these pre-festival contests provide invaluable experience on Cheltenham's uniquely demanding track, where 28 horses will ultimately become festival winners next spring. The form book supports this approach: three of last season's festival winners—Wodhooh, Jagwar and Stumptown—had all won on their previous outing at Cheltenham, while five others had run there shortly before their festival successes.
Key Contenders and Feature Races
The action begins in earnest on Friday when the ever-popular Jonbon lines up for the Shloer Chase. While no Grade One events feature at this meeting, past and future top-level winners regularly compete.
Saturday's card promises particular excitement, with trainer James Owen—whose rising prominence represents one of 2024's notable stories—attempting to win the opening juvenile hurdle for the third consecutive season. His previous winners in this race, Burdett Road and East India Dock, both went on to perform with distinction at the festival.
The weekend's feature event, the Paddy Power Gold Cup, holds a special place in racing tradition. As the first major handicap chase of the winter campaign, it captures the imagination of punters like few other races. Having maintained its status through various sponsorship changes since the long-standing Mackeson era ended in 1995, this year's renewal will dominate conversations on Saturday morning.
From a practical and spiritual perspective, the 2024-25 jumps season truly begins when the field sets off for the conditional jockeys' handicap hurdle at 1.10pm on Friday. Each rare afternoon of racing beneath Cleeve Hill represents an occasion to both anticipate and cherish in the National Hunt calendar.
