Aintree Festival Day 1 Preview With Niall "Slippers" Madden WE had an exciting Fairyhouse Festival over Easter culminating in an exciting Irish Grand National…
Rachael Blackmore on the gallops at Cheltenham Racecourse ahead of the Festival
Credit: PA
Presenting the Cheltenham Festival this year on terrestrial television is the biggest challenge and responsibility of my TV career. All eyes are on Cheltenham this week for a number of reasons.
The Jockey Club and the track have been in the Covid firing line ever since the meeting went ahead last year just a few days before the country went into lockdown.
More recently, the Gordon Elliott saga has cast a dark shadow over the sport. Damaging? Yes. Indefensible? Yes. Representative of the sport? 100 per cent no. My hope is that this week will restore some people’s faith in horse racing. On ITV we will showcase the magnificent animals and the grooms’ devotion to their horses.