GLOUCESTERSHIRE -- There are just 4 days remaining until the 2011 Cheltenham Festival and once again Gloucestershire will play host to some of the most prestigious and competitive horse races run anywhere in the world.
Next Tuesday, helicopters will clatter in over Cleeve Hill, the first of 200,000 pints of Guinness will be sunk and spectators will roar off the start of the first race at the Festival. That now traditional roar is an outpouring of a range of emotions from the relief of the racing community that Cheltenham has finally come round again, to the exhilaration of the crowd at the thought of what lies ahead - four days of high drama, effort and excess that will test both wallets and livers.
The 2011 Festival is shaping up to be a classic, with particular interest in Tuesday's Champion Hurdle which looks to have the most competitive field in many years. Last years' winner, Binocular, had been ruled out of the race until days beforehand and yet officially put up the best performance by a two-mile hurdler since Istabraq (Champion Hurdle winner 1998, 1999 and 2000).
Binocular returns to defend his crown next week, but will face some stiff competition. His chief opponents are Irish Champion Hurdle winner Hurricane Fly and last years' two big Cheltenham Festival novice victors, Menorah and Peddlers Cross. Their novice wins proved they handled the track, but that is the unknown with Hurricane Fly who makes his first visit to Cheltenham.
Mille Chief, Oscar Whisky, Dunguib and Khyber Kim will have supporters too, in a fascinating contest for which bookmakers currently make Binocular 3/1 favourite.
In total there are 27 races that make up the Cheltenham Festival, which takes place this year from Tuesday 15th to Friday 18th March and the Cheltenham Gold Cup is the most prestigious race of the 4 days. Whilst it used to be considered little more than a trial for the Grand National, as the importance of the Festival has grown, so has the significance of this race. It is now the event that everyone wants to win.
This years' renewal has all the hallmarks of a very special Gold Cup. The field will include three previous winners in addition to the current King George and Hennessy heroes.
Imperial Commander will try to become the first horse to retain the crown since Best Mate, having scored a convincing seven-length win over Denman last year. However, now being a 10 year-old, Nigel Twiston-Davies' runner will need to overcome a trend that's seen every winner in the last decade being aged 9 years-old or younger.
What we can say for sure is that the staying championship arena is definitely going through a transition stage as the old boys, Imperial Commander, Kauto Star and Denman are probably just on the wrong side of their peaks, whilst the young pretenders such as Long Run and Pandorama have yet to show us their very best.
One thing is for sure, Kauto Star would raise the roof if he bounced back for a third Gold Cup triumph.
