The Cheltenham November meeting, which begins on Friday, has attracted nearly 400 entries as the National Hunt season gets under way in earnest. Three days of racing will be staged at the course, with many of the horses hoping to return for the festival in March.
Cheltenham hosts only nine days of racing before its festival meeting, and by next week five of those will have been completed. The scarcity of fixtures is deliberate: the track is seen as the sport's most precious resource, and over-racing would debase its currency. The November meeting is also notable for its robust health, with attendances having edged back up over the past two years even as festival numbers have declined.
For owners and trainers, the pre-festival meetings offer a vital opportunity to give leading prospects experience on a uniquely demanding course. Three of last season's festival winners – Wodhooh, Jagwar and Stumptown – had been last-time-out winners at Cheltenham, while a further five ran on their penultimate start before the festival, including Haiti Couleurs and Jango Baie.
While no Grade One events are staged this week, past and potential future top-level winners will be in action. Jonbon is set to feature in Friday's Shloer Chase, while James Owen, who has won the opening juvenile hurdle on Saturday for the past two seasons, has three entries as he seeks a third successive victory. His previous winners, Burdett Road and East India Dock, both went on to run prominently at the festival.
Saturday's feature is the Paddy Power Gold Cup, one of the season's most anticipated handicap chases. Formerly sponsored by Mackeson for 35 years until 1995, it has long held a place in punters' affections. Although the jumps campaign officially began in May, the true start arrives with Friday's conditional jockeys' handicap hurdle at 1.10pm.
