JUMP-RACING hearts skip a beat at the mention of the Cheltenham Festival, although a meeting at the track on any day of the season is special enough. A horse that has competed and won over this left-handed, undulating, stamina-sapping course with its big fences and daunting uphill finish can be assumed to be a good one. The four-day March festival taking place in Gloucestershire this week is the showpiece; despite some valid concerns that Cheltenham has allowed its standards to become diluted, it remains the jump-racing championship.
Early racing at Cheltenham was on the
