Ed Chamberlin: Cheltenham Festival was a magical week


Ed Chamberlin looks back on a busy week's work heading the ITV racing team at Cheltenham, but says he knows who "the real stars" were at the Festival.

"What is the Cheltenham Festival all about?" I asked. "Winning" was the response. Text book Sir Anthony McCoy.

For the ITV team it felt like a huge responsibility presenting four days in the sporting calendar that mean so much and so many different things to so many different people.

It was a real thrill to be involved in the production and I hope people at home enjoyed watching it. In contrast to the reaction to our first day on January 1, when I wrote on these pages about my surprise at the negativity, the response on social media has been incredible. Thank you for all the hundreds and hundreds of kind messages on my Twitter timeline. It's been overwhelming. Not something that I'm used to!

I've only been able to reply to a small fraction of the messages but I've read them all and appreciate it enormously. It's important to remember that we are only 11 weeks in to a four-year contract. We have already had team meetings on how we can improve the coverage for Aintree and beyond. This is just the start.

In truth, the real stars at Cheltenham were the stable staff, horses, jockeys, trainers and owners that make it all possible. We made sure the ITV team knew the name of every groom in every race as they are such a big part of the narrative.

It was a brilliant meeting, as it always is, packed full of intriguing stories. The first two days were summed up by the finish to the OLBG Mares' Hurdle on day one. It was a script writers' dream as Willie Mullins' two star mares, Vroum Vroum Mag and Limini jumped the last either side of the ex-Mullins Apple's Jade. The latter came out on top in a thriller.

Not much went right for Mullins and Ruby Walsh over the first two days but you can't keep great men down. What happened on Thursday summed up what champions are made of. It was a superb response and a major statement. Ruby's four winners were a riding masterclass.

He made it look so easy on Yorkhill, who the boys described as a spoilt child. It was pure genius and I have little doubt that this is a horse who can go right to the top. As Rubytold Oli Bell in one of a number of their entertaining exchanges during the week on track and on The Opening Show, Yorkhill "has Gold Cup written all over him".

Now they've got him to settle, Graham Wylie has a serious horse on his hands. Graham is one of the nicest men in racing and I'm thrilled for him.

Top Notch was heroic in defeat in the JLT and would have gone very close without a bad error two out. He'll be back.

The 1-2-3 in the Neptune are all horses to follow over fences next season - Willoughby Court, Neon Wolf and Messire des Obeaux renewing rivalry in the 2018 RSA is quite a prospect.

The race of the week was Might Bite snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in this year's RSA. I've never seen a race like that before at the Festival.

Likewise I've never seen a horse put in a performance like Un De Sceaux, who refused to settle, yet was so exuberant over his fences and somehow had enough energy left to fly up the hill. He has a phenomenal engine. A record of 18 wins from 23 starts is extraordinary and he's not given the credit he deserves.

Jessica Harrington was arguably the star of the week and lit up Gold Cup day. As I said at the end of the show on Friday, it was a day that belonged to "Jessie and John". Her late husband would have been smiling down as Sizing John stormed up the Cheltenham hill, in the process making Jessie the most successful female trainer in Cheltenham Festival history.

Presenting the action on ITV provided so many highlights. Racing is lucky to have Gabriel Clarke now working on the sport. His tribute to the late, great JT McNamara was haunting, emotional and incredible television.

It was a particularly hard watch for AP, who we showed the feature the night before at the team hotel in order to prepare him. He was understandably in floods of tears by the end. What a talented horseman JT was and his wife Caroline is an incredibly brave lady.

JP McManus taking one of JT's children into the winner's enclosure after the Champion Hurdle success with Buveur d'Air is an image that will live with me for a long time.

ITV always promised to take you to the heart of the action and our presentation position in the paddock certainly enabled us to do that. JP McManus coming to our position in the moments after winning a sixth Champion Hurdle and a 50th Cheltenham Festival success was special. The hug with AP and then the discussion between the two felt like TV gold. Sir Anthony's face when JP explained that if Mister Donovan hadn't won for him in 1982 none of the others may have happened, was an absolute picture.

AP interviewing Ruby Walsh, asking Willie Mullins if he enjoyed taking money off Michael O'Leary and Ryanair, and then asking Robbie Power if he was responsible for Sizing John stepping up in trip was also pretty special.

My other favourite features were the brilliantly bonkers Matt Chapman in the betting ring and the stunning shots of the horses down at the start. Matt the cameraman did an amazing job and it was fun seeing the jockeys having a laugh with Mick Fitzgerald and Luke Harvey.

Then the contrast between the to the silence and 'game faces' before the Gold Cup was fascinating. All in all it was a magical week and privilege to be part of. The man making it all happen was my director Paul McNamara. He's a BAFTA award-winning director and I'm very lucky to work with an absolute master of his trade. He, like the rest of us, is determined to bring this great sport to wider audience.

It was therefore brilliant to see the Randox Health Grand National promo play out to a huge audience during half time of the Ireland v England match in the Six Nations. Roll on Aintree!  

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