THE Cheltenham Festival starts tomorrow, although you may already know this as there's been the odd reference to it in certain quarters over the past few days. Months, more like it.
With each passing year, the build up to the meeting appears to begin ever earlier, and we've now reached the stage where the first mention of the Festival usually coincides with hoteliers urging us to 'Book Your Christmas Dinner Now!'
That's righ
t, about the middle of July.
In 24 hours though, all the talking stops, all the pontificating comes to an end, and all the perceived wise words that have been written and spoken about the greatest racing show on earth are put to the acid test.
There can only be 26 winners, dead-heats excepted, so disappointment awaits the vast majority of owners, trainers and jockeys, although it's to be hoped punters unearth enough of those 26 winners to emerge from the 2009 Festival still smiling.
The bookmaking industry estimate around half a billion pounds will be bet between now and Friday, a staggering sum that begs a couple of questions. Recession, what recession, and where will it all go?
As ever, the main focus will be on the four big events of the week, the Champion Hurdle, the Queen Mother Chase, the World Hurdle plus the Gold Cup and with the quartet all boasting pretty short-priced favourites, the idea of lumping all four together in a big money yankee is a tempting one.
History suggests, however, it might be a good idea not to give in to temptation as all four market leaders have never managed a clean sweep since the birth of what was the Lloyds Bank Hurdle and is now the World in 1972.
"They really would be a Fab Four for punters if they all won but we're offering 16-1 about it happening, or 2-1 they're all placed," said Paul Petrie of McBookie.com.
Binocular is the first of the jollies to put their reputation on the line tomorrow when Tony McCoy's mount bids to land the hurdling crown.
He's currently a best priced 6-4 shot but the early birds who hoovered up the 20-1 available on Nicky Henderson's charge after he'd finished second at the Festival last year will need major surgery to remove the ear-to-ear grin they'll be wearing should he do the business.
If Master Minded fails to do it in the Queen Mother, the pubs of Cheltenham won't have enough pints for punters to cry into with the current champion set to go off the second-shortest favourite in the history of the Queen Mum with only 1-5 shot Flyingbolt in 1966 dispatched at skimpier odds.
Unless any of his rivals have sprouted a pair of wings during their Festival preparations, he should be one of a start for Ruby Walsh, who is favourite to finish the meeting as top jockey.
A World Hurdle without Inglis Drever hardly bears thinking about but now he's retired, the record-breaking triple winner can afford himself the luxury of putting his feet up and watch the cream of the country's stayers battle it out to succeed him, Kasbah Bliss the one likeliest to wear his crown if the betting is to be believed.
As is only right, however, the main focus of the Festival will be on the Gold Cup, the most coveted prize in the National Hunt game and while the blue riband is always a riveting spectacle, this year's renewal promises to be something special for punters to savour.
Twelve months ago, the mighty Denman broke the hearts and spirits of his rivals as he galloped them into the ground for a stunning success, but having been restricted to just one run since because of health problems, just how much of the awesome power he displayed then remains intact?
If Denman isn't the force he was, he'll be found wanting against the likes of former Gold Cup hero Kauto Star, Exotic Dancer, another ex-champ War Of Attrition or young pretenders such as Madison du Berlais and the Queen's Barbers Shop.
Away from the championship events, the other twenty-two races are unlikely to be any less engrossing.
For example, What A Friend, part owned by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, sure to attract plenty of attention in the RSA Novices' Chase on Wednesday.
The same afternoon that Lucinda Russell's Mirage Dore will attempt to become the first Scottish trained winner at the Festival since 2002 when he lines up in the Coral Cup.
For the time being, it's all speculation and ifs, buts and maybes.
Is Master Minded the certainty his odds suggest? Is Denman a shadow of his former self? Can Kauto Star be the first horse ever to reclaim the Gold Cup. Will yours truly tip a winner?
Questions, questions, questions, and like everyone else, I can hardly wait to find out the answers.
Prospect of soft groundCHELTENHAM clerk of the course Simon Claisse has warned that the 2009 Festival could get under way on soft ground should the forecast rain arrive ahead of tomorrow's curtain-raiser, writes Martin Kelly.
With blustery and wintry showers currently invading the Prestbury Park circuit, conditions are described as good to soft, good in places.
However, with a weather front due to move through tonight, officials are expecting the going to ease, before drier and brighter weather takes hold at the end of the week for the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup. "We are experiencing a showery day today and it will be the same again tomorrow.
If we get five or six millimetres on Tuesday morning then that could swing the ground round to soft."
Claisse also played down any fears of reported strong winds for tonight, saying: "The met office website isn't forecasting any high winds for Cheltenham tomorrow night, and the worst we have forecast is gusts of 35mph today."
The second day of last year's meeting was lost after the course was battered by a storm.
