The leak of Cheltenham Festival handicap weights is not fair to punters and must not happen again

It’s that time of the year when trainers and punters are as jittery as a turkey in the run-up to Christmas.

There are just 10 days to go until the Cheltenham Festival and there is no wiggle room left if a runner so much as thinks about tweaking a muscle.

I can only imagine how the owners of some of the big Festival favourites are feeling at the moment - they must be a bag of nerves every time the phone rings.

Ger O’Brien, co-owner of Supreme jolly Facile Vega, told me recently: “The last thing you want to see on a Tuesday or Thursday, when the horses do their serious work, is a call from Willie.”

The pressure is very much on, and even some of the game’s great veterans find this final fortnight a real sickener. 

You could see it in Nicky Henderson’s eyes when the press vultures circled around him after he galloped some of his Cheltenham runners at Kempton on Tuesday morning.

After all, he has the responsibility of keeping the most exciting jumper in training in Constitution Hill safe and sound until the Champion Hurdle.

It can’t help Hendo’s blood pressure when he has herberts like me phoning him up every other day, and I get the feeling he’ll be glad to see the back of us once Cheltenham is over.

Well, at least until the start of Aintree.

And we might be in the home straight but there has been more than enough time for a bit of pre-Fez controversy.

The final staging post in the build-up to Cheltenham is the release of the handicap weights, which took place during a swanky press conference on Wednesday.

Only the weights were leaked more than 24 hours beforehand - meaning a number of well-connected punters had a head-start on everyone else.

There was some noticeable action in the betting markets on Tuesday evening as they took advantage of some juicy odds before the weights were officially announced and the bookies could react.

Both the BHA and the Jockey Club say they know nothing about it - but I have seen the PDF document that was circulating early doors on Tuesday.

Someone is telling porky pies - a little transparency would go a long way in this game, so if you’ve made a mistake just own it.

It’s not fair to the vast majority of punters who weren't privy to the leak. It can’t happen again.

We are also knee-deep in Festival preview nights at the moment - we even have our own one coming up on Monday night with Matt Chapman heading-up a cracking panel.

So to get in the spirit, I thought I would make a few little predictions of my own.

First, I reckon Willie Mullins will have fewer winners this year than the 10 he had in 2022.

Every man and his dog are predicting that he will secure the 12 winners he needs to bring up his Festival century - but I think he will fall well short.

A number of his runners would prefer soft ground, which is looking unlikely, and you can now pick a few holes in several of his horses who looked like bankers a few months ago.

Second, I reckon the King will rock up on day three to see his horse Steal A March run in the Pertemps.

The Queen consort will definitely be there, but I think King Charles will want to put on a show of support for racing seven months after the death of the Queen.

And finally, Shark Hanlon will win the Gold Cup with Hewick and keep his promise to buy and re-open his favourite nightclub in Cheltenham. Bosh.

We are almost there, folks. One last push!

Remember to gamble responsibly

• Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
• Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
• Never chases their losses
• Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed