14 March 2024 , 14:04
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The Cheltenham Festival 2024 continued on Thursday with another damp day.
The racecourse was covered in green as St Patrick's Thursday arrived to create a noisy atmosphere on Day Three. Willie Mullins will arrive looking to add another winner after landing a sensational 100th race win at the Cheltenham on Wednesday.
Grey Dawning llanded the first cheers of the day with a win in the Turners Novice Chase converting his status as the pre-race joint favourite. Facile Vega was able to convert despite holding the same status and finished outside of the places, while Ginny's Destiny had to settle for second despite leading much of the contest.
In one of the major events of the day, Envoi Allen came up just short bidding for a fourth Cheltenham win to finish second in the Ryanair Chase. Protektorat pulled off an impressive win to see a second success on the day for Harry Skelton, and a second win for owner Sir Alex Ferguson too.
The former Manchester United boss was not the only football-related winner of the day. Harry Redknapp's Shakem Uparry won the TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase, while much-fancied Teahupoo Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle.
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13:30 Turners Novice Chase
1st - Grey Dawning (Harry Skelton) 5-2 Jt Fav
2nd - Ginny’s Destiny (Harry Cobden) 11-2
3rd - Djelo (Charlie Deutsch) 25-1
Winning trainer Dan Skelton said: "Grey Dawning is a beautiful horse to watch and hopefully he's got a long career ahead of him. It is great to have such a horse and see him put in a performance.
"Harry was great and Plan A worked. Sometimes with a great horse you only need a Plan A."
14:10 Pertemps Network Final (Handicap Hurdle)
1st - Monmiral (H Cobden) 25-1
2nd - Kyntara (Charlie Deutsch) 16-1
3rd - Cuthbert Dibble (Sam Twiston-Davies) 11-2 Fav
4th - Bold Endeavour (D A Jacob) 50-1
Owner Sir Alex Ferguson said: "That was fantastic, brilliant and what a jockey. I think it's my first winner here."
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14:50 Ryanair Chase
1st - Protektorat (Harry Skelton) (17/2)
2nd - Envoi Allen (Rachael Blackmore)9/4 Fav
3rd - Conflated (J W Kennedy)11/1
Dan Skelton, who was riding Protektorat, said: "He's brilliant, we've been trying to make it happen. We weren't hitting the Gold Cup standard, so we came to this, and it was the right thing to do. That stamina we've been filling in with. It’s a massive family thing, sometimes it comes together. I don’t know what the magic dust is.”
15:30 Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle
1st - Teahupoo (5/4) Fav
2nd - Flooring Porter (9/1)
3rd - Home by the Lee (18/1)
“He's an amazing horse, makes my job very easy. He jumps great, he's a pleasure to ride,” Jack Kennedy said to ITV Sport after claiming victory in the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle.
“I wasn’t too bad [after missing out so far this week], but I’m relieved to get off the mark.”
16:10 TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase
1st - Shakem Uparry (8/1)
2nd - Crebilly (7/2)
3rd - Straw Fan Jack (28/1)
Former Tottenham boss and Shakem Uparry owner Harry Redknapp said: “My nan got me into it, she used to be a bookie’s runner back when it was illegal! She ended up in Poplar police station every week! Me and Sir Alex both love the racing, love the football too. This means more than winning I’m A Celebrity … to have a winner at Cheltenham, it’s one of the greatest days of my life.”
16:50 Ryanair Mares Novices’ Hurdle
1st - Golden Ace (10/1)
2nd - Brighterdaysahead (5/6) Fav
3rd - Birdie Or Bust (10/1)
Golden Ace trainer Jeremy Scott said: "She was just travelling so great. Her jumping wasn’t great but she jumped the last one probably the best of the lot. She just travelled well and looked to have them covered well, didn’t she?"
17:30 Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup
1st - Inothewayurthinkin (13/8) Fav
2nd - Git Maker (28/1)
3rd - Whacker Clan (17/2)