RacingBetter News
	Tuesday 3rd December 2024

A Recap of the Major Talking Points from the Cheltenham November Meeting

The Cheltenham November Meeting is the second meeting of the National Hunt racing season to take place at the iconic Prestbury Park, following on from the curtain-raising Showcase Meeting in October. However, the intensity is ramped up a notch, and the interest in online horse racing betting grows. 

With this year’s November Meeting recently taking place at Cheltenham, which saw tens of thousands of excited punters flock to Prestbury Park, now seems like the perfect time to take a look back at some of the major talking points from the three-day jumps racing extravaganza in picturesque Gloucestershire.

Punters bash the bookies

First and foremost, the 2024 renewal of the November Meeting was one to forget for the bookmakers.

11 favourites won over the course of the festival, with the middle of the days proving particularly costly for the onsite traders and online operators.

Market leaders East India Dock, Transmission, L’Eau du Sud, Doyen Quest, and Hamsiyann prevailed in five of the seven races on the Saturday.

Start of the new jockey initiative

The November Meeting also launched the start of the new David Power Jockeys’ Cup (DPJC), an initiative to bolster racing’s audience engagement and attract new fans to the sport.

With £500,000 up for grabs for the winner, some top jockeys in the sport have already claimed that they’d rather win the new trophy than the traditional Champion Jockeys’ title.

Sean Bowen and Harry Skelton currently top the standings with 46 points apiece, followed by Nico de Boinville and Sam Twiston-Davies with 38.
Burdett Road stuns in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle

Dual-purpose Burdett Road was tipped to be a stable star for James Owen, and he proved that with a stunning victory in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle on the final day of the November Meeting.

The four-year-old had a busy campaign on the flat over the summer, including winning a Listed contest at Newmarket in September.

However, he showed no signs of fatigue on his return to hurdles when beating the Dan Skelton-trained Be Aware and looks set for a tilt at the prestigious Champion Hurdle in March.

Winning return for Jonbon

Jonbon was the star attraction on the opening day of the November Meeting, making his seasonal reappearance in the Grade 2 Cheltenham Chase for Nicky Henderson.

Set off as the 1/3 favourite, the eight-year-old didn’t disappoint when always doing enough to hold off Boothill and Edwardstone.

The victory took the JP McManus-owned horse’s record to a respectable 15 wins in 18 under rules, 12 of which are at the Graded level.   

Sir Alex Ferguson lands another treble

While Sir Alex Ferguson’s success in football ended more than a decade ago when he retired as Manchester United manager, he’s continued to win in the racing world.

Reminiscent of his historic treble with the Red Devils in 1999, the Scot and his group of fellow owners enjoyed a memorable three-peat over the weekend of the November Meeting.

Potter’s Charm and Il Ridotto both scored in high-profile races at Cheltenham, while Spirit Dancer won the £500,000 Bahrain International Trophy for the second year running.