Again this is one of the main reasons I dislike this race. The amateur jockey condition is daft given the distance at a track like Cheltenham. There is definitely a need for a 4 mile chase at the Festival but make it a professional race and then the quality of the race will naturally improve as more jockeys are available and owners & trainers will be more confident attempting this race. I think given the prize money and stature of the Grand National this could be the perfect prep race instead of the shitty other Nationals across the calendar or the Cross Country race. I appreciate you never asked any questions about this Q but it’s last orders in the front room Monday night drinkers club at Pimple Palace and I’ve finished off my box of Christmas wine well ahead of schedule. I still can’t understand why they have any amateur jockeys races at the Cheltenham Festival never mind over 4 mile inboard pretty inexperienced horses. If they want to keep the amateurs onboard why don’t they introduce a Veterans Chase and have ‘young on old’ like they do in the world of porn, it works well in that field as long as the amateur rides on the veteran professional, it looks wrong the other way, I think I need to go to bed but the porn aside I think I’ve made a very valid point??? Ditch the amateurs unless they are riding very experienced chasers, it would save all this nonsense of qualifying and save the small field and complicated antepost betting. The 2020 race was the worst race in terms of quality since I got into the festival. Take a look back at the field and what the horses have done since, it’s dismal
