THE 2003 Cheltenham Festival will long be remembered as a vintage year.
Pride of place must go to Best Mate who created one of the racing stories of the century by winning the Gold Cup for the second year running.
However local punters will have been delighted by the performance of local trainer Henry Daly and his team from Downton Hall who saddled two winners at the home of National Hunt racing.
Having seen Haut Cercy pipped in the William Hill Chase, the Ludlow trainer bounced back with Young Spartacus and Palarshan in the Mildmay of Flete Chase and Grand Annual respectively.
The performance of jockey Mark Bradburne, the rider of Palarshan, was particularly heroic as he had suffered a heavy fall at Ludlow less than a fortnight ago and only proved his fitness at the start of the festival.
Daly's skill as a trainer was superbly illustrated as he trained Young Spartacus to perfection to win on his comeback after a lengthy lay-off.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article