A memorable day with our first Grade 1 runner at the Cheltenham Festival

Last Friday's Gold Cup day at the Cheltenham Festival was not only the Jumps racing calendar's biggest day of the season, but it was the biggest yet in RaceShare history as we had our first ever Grade 1 (and Festival) runner, Gibbs Island, in the Triumph Hurdle!

With over 200 of Gibbs Island’s owners at Cheltenham to cheer him on, and many more gathered across the country to share the experience, the tension at Cheltenham was intense. It was an unforgettable experience for all his owners, but unfortunately on this occasion Gibbs Island simply over-raced, and failed to settle for the first four furlongs, ultimately leaving him unable to run to the level we saw when he won at Haydock.

On days like these, you often need everything to drop right to win, which is what you could say about the 100/1 winner, Poniros - the first 100/1 Festival winner since Norton's Coin won the 1990 Gold Cup! - who was unraced over hurdles before coming with a late surge to deny the top two in the betting, East India Dock and Lulamba!

Gibbs Island will be back and the Aintree Grand National meeting next month is a possibility, so we can't wait to see where he heads next and get him back to the form of that impressive Victor Ludorum victory at Haydock!

Later that evening, Robusto bounced right back to form to finish a half-length second at Wolverhampton on his fourth start of the year. That was his third runner-up finish this year from four runs, so hopefully another win is around the corner for him!