After the second world war it took a while for racing at Cheltenham to bounce back to prominence, it was during this time that the Irish invasion really started – they had their first Cheltenham Gold Cup winner in the shape of Cottage Rake and the emergence of Vincent O’Brien through the training ranks really acted as a further catalyst. O’Brien’s influence became greater and greater over the ensuing years but he did not train the greatest Irish chaser of them all in Arkle, who famous landed the feature race of the Festival when 10/1 on in the Cheltenham Gold Cup betting.

Arkle more than any other horse bestrode the Cheltenham Festival in the post-war years winning three consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cups and his feats along with the renewed investment that came about from the purchase of the course by Racecourse Holdings Trust provided a new impetus for Cheltenham. As well as those two factors, the BBC started to broadcast the Festival live on TV and that brought its appeal to a whole new audience.

Since those Arkle and O’Brien times the Cheltenham Festival has grown and grown and is now right up there alongside all of the UK’s premier sporting events.

There have been many great memories throughout the years and the 1980s was a decade that provided some real Cheltenham highlights – Dawn Run landing the Champion Hurdle/Gold Cup and Yorkshire trainer Michael Dickinson landing a remarkable 1-2-3-4-5 in the Gold Cup. The decade ended with one of the most evocative images ever seen at Cheltenham when Desert Orchid out battled Yahoo up the Cheltenham hill in unsuitable soft conditions to land chasing’s Blue Riband the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Since then names like Istabraq, Best Mate and the head-to-head between Denman and Kauto Star have all kept the Cheltenham Festival in the sporting psyche and punters always have a sense of excitement when they cast their eyes over the Cheltenham ante post betting.

The continued support and growth of the Festival was finally confirmed in 2005 when a fourth day was added and such was its success that it looks sure to stay as the meeting continues to dominate the entire National Hunt season. Make no mistake that this is a top class meeting, with every race choc-full of top class horses that make for one of the most exciting and anticipated spectacles in the racing and sporting calendar.