CHELTENHAM, England (Reuters) – Al Boum Photo, ridden by Paul Townend, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday to give trainer Willie Mullins his first victory inside the flagship race. The 12-1 shot beat Annibale Fly and Bristol De Mai as a favorite; Presenting Percy had a disappointing run. “It feels amazing,” Mullins, who had educated six runners-up within the race, told ITV Sport. “It’s excellent to get the Gold Cup finally; 3 of my other four runners were out before the circuit finished. But Al Boum Photo seemed so comfortable, and I knew he ought to leap.
“I come right here every yr and begin again. However, I didn’t think I might have a good Cheltenham with how the wintry weather had long past.” Victory become bittersweet for Mullins as one of his different runners in the Gold Cup, Invitation Only, suffered a severe fall and needed to be euthanised. It followed Triumph Hurdle’s favorite Sir Erec’s demise, who turned into put down following an injury sustained after going over a fence in the race gained using 20-1 shot Pentland Hills.
“There was no cause we ought to have anticipated that damage (to Sir Erec),” David Sykes, the director of Equine Health and Welfare at the British Horseracing Authority, instructed ITV.
“Beforehand, while he turned into checked, the vets suggested he moved well and had no indication of lameness or injuries. We are never going to prevent those forms of catastrophic injuries.” Three horses have died at the four-day pageant after Tuesday’s deadly injury to Mullins-educated Ballyward.
Kentucky Lottery To Test Out New Horse Racing-Themed Game
(LEX 18) – The Kentucky Lottery has released a restricted pilot application of the game Win Place Show, the first-ever daily lottery recreation primarily based on the effects of stay horse racing. Players can purchase the $2 Quick Pick tickets at one of the forty-five outlets now presenting the game on a limited foundation. Each card lists three numbers with corresponding horse names, alongside the exact race time and vital other racetrack statistics. Prizes are paid based on the outcome of the race. For a complete listing of outlets, click here.
Since the tickets are Quick Picks and players can’t select their numbers, there may be no handicapping talent concerned. Final prices are determined after race consequences are official and are predicted to variety from $10 to $1800 (depending on discipline size, quantity wagered, and other elements).
The sport will become characteristic each day race from one in every of 21 tracks in 14 states. These tracks stretch from California to Florida, with the first week of the pilot proposing Lexington’s Keeneland Race Course.
The Win Place Show recreation become developed and applied with the aid of Kentucky-primarily based EquiLottery Games. “We’re pleased to be running with the Kentucky Lottery on this confined trial of Kentucky’s Win Place Show,” said EquiLottery Games CEO Brad Cummings. “We sit up for seeing how this sport plays for our partners at the Kentucky Lottery as we intend to boom education funding within the nation and proportion the excitement of live horse racing with people all 12 months spherical.”
The Win Place Show mobile app is now available inside the App Store and Google Play and permits players to watch races stay or thru replay through their phones. They can also watch races thru any tool by visiting WinPlaceShowLotto.Com. The internet site and cellular app have a searchable list of the 45 stores promoting the sport during this trial duration.