A wide-open Gold Cup set to provide epic finale to a most unusual festival

Against the backdrop of a world in which confusion and uncertainty reigns, this most unusual Cheltenham Festival will culminate in a Gold Cup that, with perfect symmetry, has seldom seemed more baffling.

The mighty and much-missed Hugh McIlvanney once described sport as "our magnificent triviality". At a time when the world is seeking to contain a virus that has no cure, this sporting giant has become the very definition of trivial. In the grand scheme of things, with the world in the grip of a pandemic, this annual celebration of shared human and equine endeavour matters not one jot – and yet, at the same time, it matters more than we might realise.

It matters because the cancellation of this festival before scientific advice recommended the taking of such action could have triggered two unwanted consequences, first a fuelling of unwarranted panic and then a sense of dangerous complacency. Outside of those countries where the coronavirus has taken a fiercer hold, the whistle has still largely been blown at football matches, the curtain has continued to rise in theatres and shopping malls have been no less enthusiastic to welcome shoppers.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the most coveted prize in jump racingCredit: Edward Whitaker

All that is true but it cannot change the fact this Cheltenham Festival has felt different because it has been different. Hand sanitisers have been situated all around a racecourse whose attendances have unsurprisingly slipped. From this annual showdown between Britain and Ireland, some members of the Irish racing media have made an early exit and returned home. Many of those who stayed will be hoping to see Al Boum Photo become the first horse since Best Mate to claim consecutive runnings of the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup.

It was thanks to Al Boum Photo that Willie Mullins finally captured the race he had yearned to win for so long. Five of the horses he defeated in 2019 will be seeking their revenge, meaning this £625,000 dozen-player showpiece is a 50 per cent rerun of what happened 12 months ago. Despite that, it boasts an abundance of new questions.

But if one of the runners has no questions to answer it is the defending champion. He has been there and he has done it. From his first stride to his last, Al Boum Photo went through that Gold Cup in an exquisite rhythm. The most coveted prize in jump racing is littered with tales of woe and the stories of horses like Wayward Lad, One Man, Beef Or Salmon and Cue Card, who, for whatever reason, failed to click in this supreme test. A Gold Cup winner needs to be a Gold Cup horse. We know for sure Al Boum Photo is a Gold Cup horse.

Yet few and far between are the Gold Cup winners whose names appear more than once on its roll of honour. To do now what he did then, Paul Townend's mount must show he is cut from unusual cloth. He must accomplish what so many before him found impossible.

Al Boum Photo is one of six horses returning from last year's Gold CupCredit: Edward Whitaker

Stable companion Kemboy mastered Al Boum Photo in their Punchestown epilogue but needs to raise the bar on what he managed this past winter if he is to triumph for a group of syndicate owners now freed from the racing club that oversold shares in the horse. The Mullins pair's Gordon Elliott-trained compatriot Delta Work has claimed back-to-back Grade 1 victories at Leopardstown, but in last season's RSA Chase he finished behind Santini, the horse leading the British attack.

With Santini, a horse so big he could have his own postcode, we are entitled to wonder if there is enough speed. With dual King George hero Clan Des Obeaux, we are entitled to wonder if there is enough stamina. That same imponderable perhaps also applies to Lostintranslation, who looked so potent at Haydock in November only to perform miserably at Kempton on Boxing Day.

There are others with chances – and not one that has no chance – because this is a Gold Cup in which strong opinions are scarce and almost certainly misplaced. Surely nobody can be confident about who will win this magnificent horserace. Surely nobody can be confident this race should be happening.

The 2020 Cheltenham Festival has taken place against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemicCredit: Edward Whitaker

The reason why is nobody knows whether staging the Cheltenham Festival was the right thing to do. When the history of this pandemic is written, the decision to use the meeting's magnetic pull on its disciples could be branded irresponsible. Right now, the truth is we just do not know.

The Jockey Club and BHA have been absolutely right to follow the scientific advice passed on through the government, which on Thursday claimed a suspension of events like the festival would currently have little effect on the spread of the virus. Had they been told to stop, they would have stopped.

A temporary halt to proceedings may soon be imminent. In this treasured week we have been free to celebrate, congratulate and commiserate at a sporting home that is a place of racing worship. If mass gatherings are curtailed, we will be left to wonder, when shall we be free to meet again?

As we once more unite in thrall to the Gold Cup, that question hangs in the air.

More to read

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Joe Donnelly: who is the low-key owner behind Gold Cup hero Al Boum Photo?

Members' Club: What's it like to win the Gold Cup? Find out from those who know

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