IN summing up the Thursday action from Cheltenham, Dan Barber on RacingTV said, “Is there any race that does not have a story to it?”

And that was how it felt for Cheltenham 2025. That Champion Hurdle, Marine Nationale, Jazzy Matty, Rachael’s double, a 100/1 Triumph Hurdle winner, Cromwell’s Gold Cup.

From the beginning of day one and two, the high quality novice hurdlers Kopek Des Bordes and The New Lion showed so much promise for the future.

There was the unexpected drama of two big novice chasers bombing out, both times jumping letting them down. Golden Ace proved who dares wins.

Sandwiched between the thrilling Arkle and the dramatic Champion Hurdle, was a race where the best horse won, won for the second time in a row, beating lesser rivals, at the biggest meeting of the year.

Lossiemouth shrugged off her fall last time to canter to victory in the Mares’ Hurdle for a second time. Yes, she got a good welcome back, but there has to be a bit of a hollow feeling. Talk about these being the Olympics?

“We did right by Rich,” Willie Mullins said. Right, but if events of the last months have shown us anything, it’s to take chances, take opportunities, because you never know what might happen. The great ones in the skies decide to play games in the Champion Hurdle.

Patrick Mullins may have said “don’t blame the player, blame the game”, but the problem is a lot more people have a need to enjoy the game and are players and they are rather vocally peed off by a top horse taking the easy options again and again.

You can’t go round all year saying this is the mecca, avoid each other ‘cos it’ll ruin Cheltenham and then cop out at the final stage.

Don’t give me the “we did what was best for the horse” line. The way Lossiemouth jumped in the Mares’ was perfectly likely to come to no harm in the Champion.

But perhaps Cheltenham’s loss is Punchestown’s gain, if the two fallers, Constitution Hill and State Man take each other on and the mare joins them. But, oh no, there’s the Mares’ Hurdle the next day there too.

Easier option

Fact To File also went for an easier option in winning the Ryanair impressively, but he had come up short against Galopin Des Champs and the longer distance was not needed. Plus J.P. had two superior stayers for the Gold Cup. We knew that by Friday!

But, on to better things. The wins of Marine Nationale and Jazzy Matty, with some of Michael O’Sullivan’s family in attendance, were simply the stuff of fiction. Michael’s shadow was laid over so many winners.

The magic continued on Thursday. John Hales had his biggest day here before Michael O’Sullivan was born, when his beloved One Man got his Cheltenham win in the Champion Chase in 1998. A few months after the leading owner’s death, here again we had a grey in his yellow colours, flying the final two fences for a Festival success.

Bob Olinger had been there, done that, but like many jump horses, had his ups and downs along the way, before his brilliant Stayers’ win. And a mention for Ballyadam and Envoi Allen for coming back again and again. Team de Bromhead and Blackmore rarely let you down.

There were great wins for the groups of owners involved in Kopek Des Bordes and Bambino Fever. Cian Collins was short odds to get on the roll of Festival honours.

Come Friday, it was Willie’s day, not Paddy’s day. But, of course, the beauty is you can take nothing for granted. Four of the five big championship race favourites were downed.

Gavin Cromwell was the man of the moment. And, if you doubted how much these moments mean, watch that Elliott interview again after the last race winner. As Charlie McCarthy said, it was a dream come true for so many. He said he wanted to promote the small man in National Hunt racing. In that line, honours were shared. Golden Ace cost £12,000, Caldwell Potter cost €740,000. The cost of a horse is really only worth what those involved see fit to pay for it. The memories remain priceless.