Day One - Katchit if you can! (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Day One - Katchit if you can!

6:25pm Tuesday 11th March 2008 in

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NOTHING changes at Cheltenham - the meeting's ability to defy the formbook but confirm rising reputations at the same time continues to amaze.
Champion Hurdle winner KATCHIT is in the Monksfield mould, a real battler and the easing ground had a big say on the fortunes of the fancied contenders. Harchibald was never travelling to be put in the race - though I thought they bulk of the field gave front-running Osana too much rope. The disappointment, of course, was favourite Sizing Europe, who came readily enough two out only to be pulled up. A real mystery that one. Katchit never knows when he is beaten and outbattled Osana, who paid for cutting out the pace, while Punjabi ran a cracker, confirming that his run in the Totesport Trophy was no fluke and enhancing the form.
The opening race was a JP McManus 1-2 but after seeing the owner's reaction after Binocular was beaten by CAPTAIN CEE BEE I'm not so sure his money was on the right one. The Irish form had looked a little behind the English but this cleared up matters and it would not be too surprising to see the other novices' hurdle, the Ballymore, on Wednesday go to the tricolour wavers.
TIDAL BAY won like a Trojan and put to bed fears about his jumping and the fact that Howard Johnson's stable had been out of form to the point of being shut down.
He was top-rated on most form figures but you had to trust Johnson's knack of getting horses ready for the Festival. Not many I suspect stuck with the Bishop Auckland wizard when the omens looked against him.
In retrospect, AN ACCORDIAN was a handicap snip, but once again I though trainer David Pipe actually felt that Abragante would win this one. Funny old game.
GARDE CHAMPETRE confirmed Enda Bolger's skill at turning out winners of the cross-country race. And for once the form held up pretty well. The Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle saw a bold bid by Ashkazar, who had won the Imperial Cup at Sandown at the weekend, but the winner CRACK AWAY JACK had been third to Binocular before beating a useful type in Squadron so could be fancied despite his long odds. All in all, a bit of a chastener for the punters, no Nicholls winner but he will have his day no doubt.