Racing: Bacchanal's death turns trial into wake

There is a view that, as far as the feature races in the calendar are concerned, there is undue emphasis on their relevance as trials for the season's be-all and end-all, the Cheltenham Festival, at the expense of the spectacle provided on the day. Well, the Gold Cup dress rehearsal here yesterday, the Pillar Property Chase, was a failure in both cases. The best horse in the race, the fine and gallant staying hurdler and chaser Bacchanal, was killed; the second best one, Cyfor Malta, unseated Tony McCoy with a peck after a huge stand-off leap. And the winner, Behrajan, was immediately described by his trainer as slow.

Bacchanal's death, the price the individual in this sometimes gut-wrenching sport has to pay for the existence of the thoroughbred species, overshadowed the last gathering of the faithful below Cleeve Hill before the big one opens six weeks on Tuesday. There was a grim irony involved, for blinkers had been applied to the nine-year-old's chestnut head for the first time in an attempt to correct his alarming tendency to dive right as he jumped. And until he clipped the top of the seventh fence and shattered a hind leg, he had leapt straight and true.

Henry Daly, Behrajan's trainer, was perfectly aware that the heart had been ripped from the race. And in truth, his demeanour was hardly that of a man whose skills had put his charge back on track after a distinct blip in form, to the extent that the gelding is now around 12-1 fourth favourite in the Gold Cup betting lists.

"I suppose we'll have to come back here in March," he said, grudgingly. "But all he is is a slow, relentless galloper. He has never been a quick horse in his life and I had assumed the Grand National would be his race, but we can't do both."

Behrajan took his chance in last year's Gold Cup, when he blundered his way round in the rear before being pulled up. His jumping has improved markedly since a course of tuition with the three-day-eventing guru Yogi Breisner, and yesterday he exhibited a certain joie de vivre over his fences as he was allowed to bowl along in front by Richard Johnson.

Behrajan came in 14 lengths clear of Foly Pleasant, with Gingembre a distance third and Valley Henry the only other finisher, miles behind. Cyfor Malta returned unscathed after depositing the hapless McCoy seven from home before he had been asked any sort of question.

The sun may have been out, but the springlike air was deceptive, for the ground was sticky and provided a severe test, which two of McCoy's other Martin Pipe-trained, David Johnston-owned rides came through well to give the champion some compensation for his lapse on Cyfor Malta.

Classified, a candidate for the Stayers' Hurdle, showed great resolution to catch his trailblazing stablemate, Mr Cool, in the day's Grade One contest, the Cleeve Hurdle, after the last flight to win by a length. "The ground was horrible, no help at all," said McCoy, "and there was a moment when I wondered if I'd catch the other one. I left it as late as possible to get stuck into mine, but once I did he showed how tough he is and what a good attitude he has."

Lady Cricket was winning her third race at Cheltenham when she successfully shouldered top weight in the Ladbroke Trophy Chase, but she had to survive a stewards' inquiry after crossing Shamawan in the closing stages before a hard-fought, and generously given, neck victory.

Despite the reverses suffered by Cyfor Malta and Don Fernando, caught in the closing strides by the German-trained 25-1 shot Moneytrain in the Finesse Juvenile Hurdle, it was a good day for the Nicholashayne squad. At Doncaster, Barryscourt Lad won the Great Yorkshire Chase by a head from Ryalux after Rodi Greene conjured a remarkable last-stride rally.

The road to Cheltenham carries on through Leopardstown this afternoon, when Limestone Lad, going for his 36th win in 60 races, faces a brace of live Champion Hurdle contenders in the Irish version of the title race. For once, the BBC is doing the sport a favour by showing the encounter live on Sunday Grandstand.

Jump racing's winning machine, who is on a seven-race streak, will face a tough task in the Grade One contest, taking on classy two-mile specialists at their own distance. The field may now lack Davenport Milenium, who was ruled out for the season with a tendon injury yesterday, but two of the top three Irish-trained horses in the Champion Hurdle betting, Like-A- Butterfly and Scottish Memories, will be there.

Limestone Lad has won over the minimum trip, but these days he is better over longer distances and the Stayers' Hurdle is his Festival target. After the death of Bacchanal, the Stayers' winner three years ago, the marathon championship is now regarded by bookmakers as a straight fight between Ireland's darling and the reigning king, Baracouda.

At Lingfield yesterday, no SPs were returned on the first race after a protest by racecourse bookmakers over plans by the British Horseracing Board to replace a fixed fee for data rights with a levy of 10 per cent of gross profits in April.

The bookmaker and media pundit, Barry Dennis, who took part in the action, said: "Last year I paid £132 for the data list which is supplied to bookmakers, but with these new proposals it would mean my bill would rise to £36,000."