THE EVENT

The competition is an annual event for family and friends.

The challenge is to select one horse in each 12 championship races at the Cheltenham Festival. Points are awarded for first, second and third in each of the 12 races, with bonus points for winners starting at longer odds.

This year's Festival takes place from Tuesday 10th to Friday 13th March.

 

THE CONTESTANTS

Taking part this year (we hope) are:

Catherine Mulcahy    (Philip's mum - winner in 2009: time for another triumph!)

Katy Mulcahy    (equine expert - winner in 2016 and second last year)

Philip Mulcahy    (won a record third title in 2017: down the field last year)

Alice Reeves    (champion in 2010 but - er - not so good since)

Scott Reeves    (close second in 2014 - third last year)

Mary White    (placed three times - but no luck in recent years)

Katy Rose    (winner in 2012, third in 2016 but not so good last year)

Dominic Hill   (took a while to warm up, but equal fourth last year)

Daniel Rose    (champion in 2014 - but last year - er - oops!)

Janet Mayne   (gallant second in 2017 - equal fourth last year)

Jenny Bell    (second in 2010 - nearer last than first last year)

Peter Bell      (equalled Philip's record of three wins last year)

 

THE RULES

Each contestant chooses one horse in each of the 12 championship races listed below.

Entries must be emailed to The Adjudicator by 7th March, the Saturday before the Festival.

Likely runners in each race are listed on this website with an indication of their form and likely betting odds. (The details will be updated frequently. Not all the horses currently listed will actually run - so it's best to wait until 6th or 7th March and have a look at the website again before making final selections.)

 

Points are awarded as follows:

For each winner: 25 points

For each second-placed horse: 10 points

For each third-placed horse: 5 points

Bonus points (for winners only) are awarded according to starting price:

- up to 4/1 = no bonus points

- over 4/1 and up to 7/1 = 5 bonus points

- over 7/1 up to 10/1 = 10 bonus points

- over 10/1 = 15 bonus points

 

THE RACES (all covered live on ITV)

On Tuesday 10th March:

Race 1: Supreme Novice Hurdle

Race 2: Arkle Novices Chase

Race 3: Champion Hurdle

On Wednesday 11th March

Race 4: Ballymore Novice Hurdle

Race 5: RSA Novice Chase

Race 6: Queen Mother Champion Chase

On Thursday 12th March

Race 7: JLT Novices Chase

Race 8: Ryanair Chase

Race 9: Stayers Hurdle

On Friday 13th March

Race 10: Triumph Hurdle

Race 11: Gold Cup

Race 12: Foxhunters Chase

 

HOW TO ENTER

1) In the website menu (top left of the home page), click on the name of each race in turn.

     Check out the runners, betting and form. 

2) Make two selections per race and jot them down. (Including a back-up selection is a good idea in case your first is a non-runner)

3) Email your selections to The Adjudicator (peterbell@steeple.plus.com) by 7th March.

 

POINTS TO NOTE ON THE RACECARDS

Ratings

The figures that appear under the heading "Rating" represent the Offical Handicapper's opinion of the relative merits of the horses, judged on their best form. If there are two figures, the first relates to this season's form and the second to last season's. They're a useful guide, but they're not infallible.

Doubtful runners

Question marks after a horse's name mean there may be some doubt whether the horse will actually run in a particular race. Sometimes trainers don't finally make up their minds until the day before.

 

? - one question mark means a horse is most likely to run in this race, but is also entered in another.

?? - two question marks means that a horse is more likely to run in another race

??? - three question marks means the horse is highly unlikely to run in this race and/or may not appear at the Festival at all.

 

If you're interested in choosing a horse that has one or more question marks against its name,

consult the Form Guide below each list of runners. You may find clues there as to the likelihood of the horse's participation.

 

NON-RUNNERS/LATE CHANGES TO SELECTIONS

If both your selections turn out to be non-runners for any reason, The Adjudicator will let you know and you can choose another horse up to the day before the race. If a horse is withdrawn on the day of the race, that's just bad luck!

 

SCOREBOARD

During the Festival, a daily scoreboard will be published on the 'Entries & Scoreboard' page of this website every evening after racing.

 

AND REMEMBER....

The Adjudicator's word is Law.