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Cheltenham Festival

Irish documentary Jump Girls to be shown on ITV4 after Opening Show

Chris Waller with Winx: 'What separates her from the best is when the pressure goes on'
Chris Waller: a self-confessed Altior fanCredit: Vince Caligiuri (Getty Images)

Jump Girls, a documentary following some of Ireland's key female racing participants, will be shown at 10.30am on ITV4 on Saturday immediately after The Opening Show.

Rachael Blackmore, Katie Walsh, Jessica Harrington and Lisa O'Neill are among those featured during the programme, which will look at the physical and mental lengths the women jockeys go to for their profession.

Winx trainer Waller's praise for Altior

Both before and after Altior's second success in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase Nicky Henderson was generous in his praise of the mighty Winx, whose 31-race winning streak handsomely exceeds the star two-miler's 18 consecutive victories.

Pleased to report, praise has come in the opposite direction as well.

Winx's trainer Chris Waller made clear his admiration for Altior and the Cheltenham Festival when responding to a tweet by trainer Charlie Fellowes, who recently asked "Mr Waller" to let his star three-year-old The Autumn Sun take on Winx. "I might even send Prince Of Arran down to make it a proper race . . ." tweeted Fellowes.

Charlie Duckworth, Waller's British racing manager, has clearly instilled a passion for jump racing in his boss, who tweeted overnight: "Dear Mr Fellowes, thank you for the interest with Prince of Arran. If I am honest, I would prefer to teach Winx and The Autumn Sun another discipline so they could take on Altior. Now that is a proper horse! Cheltenham – what a spectacle!"

End of an era as Inverdale hangs up microphone

The BBC's coverage of Cheltenham will have a different feel next year, with John Inverdale calling time on presenting from the meeting for 5 Live.

Inverdale has been ever present for 30 years and is looking forward to returning to the festival as a spectator. He said: "Sometimes you just sense it's time. Fast forward 12 months and I'm looking forward to being here with some friends and watching some amazing racing."

Desert Orchid's legendary 1989 Gold Cup triumph marked Inverdale's first time covering the meeting on his own, and the on-track spectacle more than made up for Inverdale's initial experience.

"I got out of the car and fell over," Inverdale explained. "My face and hair were caked in mud and I thought 'what a great start'.

"I didn't really know people then, so I went to the top of the stand and tried to wash my hair in a basin. But it's not easy as you can't get your head under the tap so I flushed a toilet on to my hair and then dried my hair, which took forever.

"After that I was thinking, this day had better be good and it was just amazing."

Monsieur Lecoq-up

Pride really did come before a fall for Lizzie Kelly, although she ended up with a smile on her face.

She hadn't even got past the walkway on her first ride since winning on Siruh Du Lac here on Thursday when she was summarily unseated from County Hurdle mount Monsieur Lecoq.

But she was quickly back on her feet with a smile, although the partnership could finish no closer than tenth behind Ch'Tibello.

Published on 15 March 2019inCheltenham Festival

Last updated 18:06, 15 March 2019

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