Frustration, Frustration, Frustration.

Saturday was an enjoyable day. Although I won very little money, 4 winners was good for the confidence but more importantly, the return of the national hunt season was the highlight. Oh how I missed it! Its return rekindled that fire that is put on the back burner throughout the summer. Although I enjoy the flat racing season, jump racing is where the heart lies!

Jump Racing Returned To Chepstow Last Weekend

However the satisfied feeling I had on Saturday night, whilst sitting in the Chinese restaurant tucking into some aromatic duck pancakes was swiftly replaced with the overriding feeling of outright frustration on Sunday evening. I had written down two horses that I really wanted to back, but I could only justify backing one of them, so I only had the solitary bet. When some of you readers have asked me to single out one horse to follow this season, I have consistently responded : 'Teelin Star, with out a doubt.' So when I saw the horse entered at Limerick yesterday I couldn't help myself. I had to back him, even at 4/6. What would my readers think of me if I hadn't backed the one horse I had advised them to follow? Especially if it had won. Or even worse, it had won and they had backed it? So I backed him, I blame peer pressure. He was taking a fair tug on his way down to the first and clearly wasn't on a stride, so he belted it half way up unseating Barry Geraghty in the process. It was always on the cards. Bollocks!

You can guess what at happened next! The other horse I wrote down romped home, accelerating away from his rivals like a really good horse. Even more eye catching was his sublime leap at the first fence, reminiscent of a gazelle! Very unlike Teelin Star. The horse I'm talking about is Argocat from the Tom Taafe stable, he quickened up effortlessly in the testing ground to saunter past the highly rated Johannisberger to record a 7 length victory at 4-1. I had taken a liking to him when he was third on the 31st December 2011 at Punchestown, he ran a good race to finish 3rd behind quality horses Shadow Catcher and Darroun. I quietly fancied him for the Fred Winter at the Cheltenham Festival, the general trend is the highest rated flat horses normally come off best in the 2 mile 1 furlong contest. This lad was rated 88 on the flat and I heard a little rumour Taafe liked him for the race. Anyway, it wasn't to be as he finished 9th beaten 13 lengths. I swore to myself I would keep an eye on him though for the future, I clearly didn't! This horse looked something pretty special yesterday though so I would keep an eye out!

Argocat (Far Side) wins on the flat under Frankie Dettori in October 2010

That brought the curtain down on what was an up and down weekend. I can't complain though I selected 10 horses across the two days and 5 of them won. I will take a 50% win percentage for the rest of the season! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, roll on Cheltenham on Friday!!!

Any questions or comments? Contact me through Twitter: @JoshRWDown

A Capacity Reduction For The Better?

Cheltenham Racecourse has announced that there will be fewer tickets for sale for Gold Cup day 2013 in the interest of comfort for racegoers.

A record sell-out crowd of 70,458 attended Gold Cup day in 2012. A figure which the racecourse are trying to lower by reducing the amount of tickets available by 3.5% to 4% in 2013, this should equate roughly to 2500 tickets.

70,458 race goers watched the tragically ill fated Synchronised victory  in the 2012 Gold Cup

A statement from Andy Clifton, communications manager at Cheltenham, said: 'If there were any problems with the weather next year people would not have a comfortable experience.'

He continued: 'We feel it's the right thing to do in the long term interests of the business. It is not due to public outcry, It is just that having 72,000 people, given the current infrastructure, leaves it creaking at the seams.'

Clifton's opinion is that lost revenue from ticket sales will be made up for by increased revenue at bars and food outlets due to shorter queues.

I think there is a real opportunity for Cheltenham Racecourse currently. Although I am all for 'a day at the races' being a comfortable, enjoyable experience. While demand is high, I think Cheltenham should cash in on the potential profit to be made. Especially in the current recession, where a fall in demand is more common than a rise for the type of product horse racing offers. Stories have arisen about loyal Gold Cup day racegoers were dissatisfied with the experience they had in 2012 in comparison to other years, and have threatened to not return. At the end of the day there is only one Gold Cup day a year, so as a product it will be always be in demand. I understand a company should always value its customers, but the tickets these people may give up in 2013 are going to be in high demand. I feel Cheltenham Racecourse should only worry about their most loyal racegoers not attending if they didn't have anybody to replace them.

On the other hand, I understand the danger for Cheltenham if they do this is that they may lose their racegoers all together for the other 15 days of racing throughout the year. I also understand that Cheltenham has won its 'Racetrack Of The Year' award from The Racegoers Club from 2004-2011 by offering a brilliant quality product, with very high consumer satisfaction. I for one can vouch for Cheltenham Racecourse being the best racecourse I have attended.

The dilemma is, how can Cheltenham Racecourse make Gold Cup day 'revenue neutral' without jeopardising the comfort of the race goer through overcrowding?

The answer will be known in greater detail after the 2013 Festival. What I'm sure Cheltenham Racecourse will be aware of is that 'a day at the races' is a luxury product. So when money is tight within the economy, luxury products are the first thing on the list to be doing without.

However, with this not appearing to be an issue at the moment, I feel the time is right to grasp the opportunity with both hands and make the most of the profit potential the Festival creates.

An alternative option is for Cheltenham Racecourse to push through the planning process of a re-development to cater for any 70,000 plus crowds they may receive in the future, whilst also maintaining the level of consumer satisfaction.

The bumper crowd also witnessed Bellvano's emotional victory for trainer Nicky Henderson in the Grand Annual - A race named after his father Johnny.