Red Splash - March 2021

Red Splash - March 2021

RED SPLASH

MARCH 2021

WELCOME FROM CLAIRE As a new member of the team at Cheltenham Racecourse, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to The Festival™ Supporting WellChild 2021 edition of Red Splash. I have recently taken on the mantle of Head of Hospitality for the West region of The Jockey Club, expanding my previous remit in the North. I very much look forward to meeting you in the months to come. Having worked for The Jockey Club for four years, the 2020 Randox Grand National was my first experience of a festival behind closed doors and sadly was not my last. On behalf of my team and colleagues at Cheltenham Racecourse, we would like to thank you for your support, patience and understanding throughout these difficult times. I hope that you will be able to enjoy all of the action of The Festival™ Supporting WellChild 2021 from the comfort and safety of your homes. The Festival™ simply won’t be the same without each and every one of you, you will all be missed. We look forward with great anticipation to welcoming you back to Cheltenham Racecourse as soon as we are able, and in the meantime wish you the very best for The Festival™ 2021.

Claire Leonard Head of Hospitality – West

AT THE HEART OF THE FESTIVAL™ SUPPORTING WELLCHILD – WE CAUGHT UP WITH WELLCHILD’S CHIEF EXECUTIVE COLIN DYER

Lengthening days and the arrival of snowdrops usually signal the uninterrupted countdown to one of the greatest annual events in the British sporting calendar. Although this year’s countdown is virtually up and The Festival™ Supporting WellChild almost upon us, this spring, the nation looks beyond the 19th March in eager anticipation of something altogether different. The world has turned through a year of immense suffering. Very few have remained unaffected by the pandemic, but to families that have children with exceptional health needs, the last twelve months have been particularly cruel. As the country waits with bated breath for the end of its third, and hopefully final, lockdown, there are at least signs of new beginnings all around. One such new beginning is the burgeoning relationship between Cheltenham Racecourse and WellChild, the National Charity for Sick Children. Close to the heart of the Racing industry, due in large part to a longstanding friendship with Ambassador and ITV presenter, Ed Chamberlin, WellChild is also geographically close, with headquarters in Cheltenham Spa. WellChild has fought against mighty odds and significantly depleted funds to continue to provide comfort, practical and emotional support to members of its self-styled Family Tree

network throughout the pandemic. Operating as a voluntarily funded charity, unable to fall back on central or local government support, and with over 60% of funding delivered through events, the limitations of lockdown and social restrictions have hit WellChild particularly hard, yet when its members needed help, the Family Tree has been there, every time, as a lifeboat in even the roughest of waters. Cheltenham is honoured to become part of the WellChild family and looks forward with great anticipation to the future. For mothers like Dawn Lossau and her daughter, Maisie, who has complex medical needs resulting from a brain tumour five years ago, the pressures of the pandemic have been easier to bear because of WellChild and its Family Tree. “The WellChild Family Tree network is incredibly useful as there’s always someone with a similar situation to you on there who can help you. We struggled with Personal Protection Equipment for example and were sent some by WellChild. It’s great just knowing there is someone there who you can talk to that knows what you are going through. Everyday friends don’t really get it – as much as they want to help you. People on the Family Tree do get it, and that’s a really good thing.”

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WellChild’s dedicated nurses work tirelessly with children like Jessica, who was born with the rare and complex Jeunes syndrome, to enable them to be cared for at home with their families. Once there, the nurses continue to provide support and care, often becoming like family members themselves. Now aged 13, Jessica is able to enjoy swimming and cycling and loves going to secondary school. Her family are still active members of the Family Tree, offering support to other families in similar situations. WellChild nurses such as Jessica’s provide families with a single point of contact throughout their journey from hospital to home. Each with a particular role, tailored to the needs of the child, the provision of WellChild nurses is only possible because of funds raised directly by the charity. Unsurprisingly, the pressures of the last twelve months have meant that more families have needed the support of WellChild and its nurses. In a year where fundraising has been so badly impacted, the need for more nurses and other WellChild projects is greater than ever.

Each promotion of the WellChild name through corporate partnerships and brand associations does more than just raise vital funds. With every event, the wider awareness of WellChild increases, and there is a resultant surge in memberships of the Family Tree. Not only do events such as the WellChild Awards and The Cheltenham Festival spread the word about the work of this incredible charity, but they have the practical role of uncovering hidden families who might need help. The network of families increases and strengthens, providing support for one another long into the future. At its heart, Cheltenham and the wider sport of racing is itself a family, with networks of individuals all supporting each other. It is fitting, therefore, that as spring brings new life and hope to the recovering nation, so two families can grow together to support our next generation. If you would like to learn more about WellChild and make a donation, please visit www.wellchild.org.uk/ cheltenhamfestival/ .

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MORE THAN BRANDING – A SPONSORSHIP INSIGHT WITH BOODLES MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CHELTENHAM COMMITTEE MEMBER, MICHAEL WAINWRIGHT

As with all good things, The Festival™ Supporting WellChild ends too soon, with everyone packing up and already counting down the 51 weeks until it can happen all over again. For many, four days simply isn’t enough time to do everything and see friends, colleagues and clients for what is often the unofficial annual catchup. For some, time at The Festival™ is stretched ever more thinly, with every precious moment accounted for. For The Cheltenham Festival Sponsor Boodles and its Cheltenham stalwart Managing Director, Michael Wainwright, each day passes in a whirlwind of activity. Michael has been attending The Festival™ in one way or another since the age of 18 and considers it one of his highlights of the year. A valued member of the Cheltenham Racecourse Committee, Michael now attends The Festival™ in an official capacity as well as a racegoer, owner, and Sponsor. It is no surprise that in running his own business, Michael has a tendency to gravitate to things that he likes, so Cheltenham is grateful that his lifelong love of Jump racing has resulted in a partnership with Boodles that has lasted for over eight years. Sponsoring the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle means that not only is Michael flat out on Tuesday each year, but the wider partnership benefits mean that he also

spends a full day hosting 30 guests, with clients both old and new on Gold Cup day, in addition to overseeing the increasingly popular Boodles shop in The Orchard™. The Orchard™ is fast becoming Mayfair in a Cheltenham Festival environs, with increasing numbers of West End brands represented and each new arrival strengthening the portfolio, making it a real destination venue for discerning Cheltenham Festival goers. It is therefore a natural home for one of Britain’s most iconic jewellery brands, with some longstanding clients even preferring to visit Boodles at The Festival™ rather than the high street, and new clients discovering their hidden gems for the first time, in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, where making new connections is easy. Combining hospitality with the opportunity for purchase supports Michael’s belief that sponsorship is the best way to invest a marketing budget. The association of brands through such partnerships is a careful balance of suitability and opportunity. Boodles focuses on a small number of events each year, which combine sport with culture. From the Royal Ballet to the Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace, each is chosen because of its iconic status and personal appeal to Boodles clients. In this regard, The Festival™ is no exception.

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Clients are entertained at The Festival™ year after year and The Orchard™ shop generates enough new names to keep Michael busy entertaining for years to come. Founded in the same century as The Jockey Club, the Boodles name is synonymous with elegance and luxury. The iconic designs of its most beautiful pieces are world famous. Celebrating its 21st year, the instantly recognisable, stunning Raindance ring has a permanent place in the V&A collection. Now looking to 2021 with renewed hope and excitement, Boodles has been delighted to launch both the Ribbons and The Secret Garden collections, each with pieces that promise to be just as timeless. Frustrated by the restrictions of lockdown and longingly dreaming of their father’s gemstone buying travels in 1962, Michael and his brother Nicholas have been inspired to create a new collection for later in 2021, showcasing the important exotic gemstones their father found, with 25 rings to represent each of the locations he visited almost 60 years ago. While the nation may not be able to travel, these pieces will bring all the colour and excitement of the four corners of the word to Boodles clients at home. THE FESTIVAL™ AT HOME HAMPER Everything you need to enjoy The Festival™ Supporting WellChild from home! We are extremely disappointed that this year’s event cannot have you, our loyal customers attending, and we’re doing everything we can to ensure you can still enjoy all the magic from home. Brought to you by British Fine Foods we want you to enjoy the luxury of The Festival™ at home with the choice of three exquisite hampers all of which include award-winning food from artisan producers across the British Isles. British Fine Foods makes locally produced, artisan food available across the UK, and creates hampers that champion the best of British. For every Hamper purchased, we will be donating 10% to our Festival charity WellChild. So even more reason to make the

The Festival™ and Boodles will be delighted to throw open their doors in 2022, to welcome clients and friends to experience this stunning new collection first-hand, in Michael’s favourite place, during the highlight of his year.

SAVE THE DATE: THE NIGHTCAP BROUGHT TO YOU BY GLENFARCLAS FROM 7pm MONDAY 15th – FRIDAY 19th MARCH For the first time, Cheltenham Racecourse is pleased to present The Nightcap brought to you by Glenfarclas. Hosted by Chris Hughes, featuring highlights and discussion from the day’s racing and a look ahead to the following day. Tune in every night from Monday 15 March at 7pm across our social media channels.

most of The Festival week at home. To purchase your hamper click here.

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JOSH STACEY ( @THERACINGJOSH ) TIPS FOR THE FESTIVAL™

THE OFFICIAL CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL PREVIEW NIGHT LIVE FROM 8pm SUNDAY 14th MARCH Join Alice Plunkett as she hosts The Official Cheltenham Festival™ Supporting WellChild 2021 Preview Evening on Sunday 14 March at 8pm. Joined by three previous Cheltenham Gold Cup winning jockeys Sir Anthony McCoy, Ruby Walsh, and Festival ambassador Barry Geraghty as they share their top tips and ones to watch at this year’s Cheltenham Festival. You can watch live on our website, or via our Facebook or Youtube channel on the night.

Champ The WellChild Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase (Grade 1) (10/1) Winner of the RSA last year, he could be the one to take Al Boum Photo’s crown. The Bosses Oscar The Pertemps Network Final (Listed) (8/1) Unlucky 5th in last year’s Martin Pipe, the step up in trip will suit. Wide Receiver Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (8/1) Has been campaigned similarly to previous winners. Envoi Allen The Marsh Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) (EVENS) The Weatherbys Champion Bumper and Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle Race winner who looks certain to maintain his unbeaten record and make it three wins at The Festival™.

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BEHIND THE CAMERA WITH CHELTENHAM’S TELEVISION PRODUCER, DERMOT CUMISKEY

The experience of The Festival™ Supporting WellChild in 2021 from a comfortable chair, surrounded by voices raised barely above a whisper, with all eyes fixed on screens, will be extraordinary. It will be unique, remembered for a lifetime. It will feel alien to almost everyone. Almost. For some, this year is how The Cheltenham Festival ever was. There are a tiny handful of places where, even on the busiest racecourse, on days with the biggest crowds, an air of peaceful quiet can be found. From where the high stakes drama of the live action outside is watched in remote sterility, and adrenalin is not expressed in cheers but harnessed with a calm precision that only a lifetime in the game can bring. One such place is the dark inside of an unassuming truck, just outside the main gates, and is the domain of Cheltenham’s Television Producer, Dermot Cumiskey. On a typical, non-Covid, Festival day, Dermot can be found sitting with a pen moving constantly in his hand, behind a team of three, all facing a bank of twenty monitors. The Sound Engineer to his left, the Director in front and the Graphics Operator on his right. In his ear, a chorus of voices, awaiting instruction from positions across the course; from

the broadcast office with its finger on the pulse of the weighing room and stewards, to the raceday presenter on the ground. The Producer is in quiet, understated control of it all. Drawing on the expertise and generous provision of resources from both Racetech and ITV, the on-course Producer has access to industry leading equipment and resources. From slow motion cameras from ITV, available for screening on-course a matter of moments after a race has finished, to radio cameras from Racetech, capturing the action up close in the parade ring, the production of on-course television is a true team effort. Forming a large part of the team are the voices of Martin Kelly and Charlie Parkin; as much a part of The Festival™ as the taste of Guinness, or the smell of hoof oil. Every ear is tuned to the sound of “weighed in” or “stewards’ enquiry” at the end of each race, and the sonorous announcement of the arrival of each race’s winner into the parade ring. From inside the truck, the sound engineer balances the presenters’ voices with music throughout the day. Each atmospheric track is paired to a race, with The Cheltenham Gold Cup’s Heart of Courage being perhaps the most famous of all.

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It is the voices of Ian Bartlett and Stewart Machin that call the races themselves. Applying years of experience, in-depth knowledge of the runners and riders, and hawk-like attention to detail, the commentators tell the story of each race as it unfolds, second to second. The team hidden inside the truck must tell the same story, with the same lightening reactions and pinpoint accuracy. The Graphics Operator provides in-race placings, while the Director reads the race and selects the right camera, at the right time, so that the audience misses nothing. Hours of homework, planning and preparation are brought together in an immaculate running order for the day, delivered each morning over breakfast. With enough structure to support a slick delivery and enough flexibility to adapt to a dynamic day of highs and lows. The role of the on-course Producer at The Festival™, as Dermot sees it, is to capture beauty and excitement and enhance what is already an incredible day. The production, both visual and sound, must never interfere with any of the live action and must evolve and adapt to the feedback of the racegoers and racecourse. The majority of footage is played out live, with decisions made in an instant. Which camera to use, which shot to take and when, how long to run before switching to another angle. The why of the matter is something that even Dermot himself can’t quite identify; similarly, perhaps to a conductor EXCLUSIVE MORNING TIPPING JUST FOR YOU FROM 11am TUESDAY 16th – FRIDAY 19th MARCH Keep an eye on your emails each morning of The Festival™ Supporting WellChild for your exclusive tipping session, available only to our key hospitality clients. Host Josh Stacey will be taking you through the card each morning with a range of special guests throughout the week. Make sure you tune in to get your top tips!

knowing when to bring in an instrument, a DJ mixing a track or a painter adjusting the hue. He just feels it. It is this Producer’s job to see a moment before it happens and hit record. It is for Cheltenham’s uniquely live, in-venue replays that all eyes search after a stewards’ enquiry, or an early race incident. Most importantly, to ascertain who has won after a close finish. In this, racegoers, connections, and TV Producers are united. The race is king. In that moment, nothing is more important. Every eye, in every bar, box, restaurant and inch of the steppings will be turned to the screens to see which horse has won. The big screen experience at Cheltenham is unique. Not just because the parade ring screen is one of the biggest freestanding screens in Europe but because of the simplicity of its televisual content. Nothing is played on speaker or screen that doesn’t add value. Nothing disrupts. The presenters do not become background noise and the screens do not show talking heads, but each delivers the information that a racegoer needs, to know exactly what is going on, regardless of where they are on course. These careful and intentional nuances are born of a deep and personal desire to let the action speak for itself. The heroes of the piece will forever be the horses, jockeys, owners, and trainers. Yet it is from the unassuming team in the quiet darkness of a studio truck that their stories are writ large. WE’RE BRINGING THE SHOPPING VILLAGE TO YOU The shopping experience at The Festival™ offers an ideal opportunity to explore a diverse range of goods with something to suit every taste and budget. As we aren’t on course this year, we thought we’d bring the Shopping Village to you! Browse our tradestands here, and take a look at their fantastic offers.

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CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE Cheltenham Racecourse, Evesham Road, Gloucestershire, GL50 4SH Telephone: 01242 513 014 Ticket hotline: 0344 579 3003 Email: [email protected] THEJOCKEYCLUB.CO.UK/CHELTENHAM