2008 Cheltenham Festival Handicap Weights Released 

The latest news from the 2008 Cheltenham Festival is that the weights for this year’s handicap races have been released. The release of the handicaps usually results in a reshuffle of the favourites for the relevant races as the pre-handicap race favourites are allocated heavier weight.

One of the races that faced a shake-up was the William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase which saw ante-post favourite An Accordion loaded with a 10st 8lb weight. In contrast last year’s winner Joe’s Edge has seen his prospects boosted after having 4 lbs shed off the load he carried to victory at the 2007 William Hill Trophy Chase.

Meanwhile Paul Nicholls’ has suffered several setbacks in the handicap events, balancing out his dominance of the other Cheltenham Festival races. Ornais, his entry for the Jewson Novice’s Handicap Chase may have been weighted out of the race with 9st more to carry than any other runner in the field.

Another two of Nicholls’ horses, Sporazene and L'Antartique,  have been handed maximum weight of 11st 12lbs for the Racing Post Plate. With Paul Nicholls seemingly destined to take both the  Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Champion Hurdle, the release of the handicaps should be welcomed by trainers looking to make an impression on the 2008 Cheltenham Festival.