Disappointing: Prize-money overshadows El Fabiolo v Jonbon showdown at Cheltenham

Editeur Du Gite received £52,280 for winning last year’s rescheduled Clarence House Chase at Cheltenham, a Grade 1 race. Il Ridoto received £56,270 for winning a handicap chase on the same card, while Ahoy Senor received £67,843.20 for winning the Cotswold Chase, a Grade 2 race. If Editeur Du Gite had won the original Clarence House Chase at Ascot a week earlier, he would have earned £98,473.

Despite there being a field of six horses at Cheltenham, compared to the three horses originally scheduled for Ascot, the winnings for connections were 47.5 percent less than the initial purse, which the author views as unfair. This situation is now preventing a highly anticipated pre-festival matchup from taking place. The lack of heavyweight races before the Cheltenham Festival is a common frustration, but this particular race had the potential to be a thrilling showdown. It is evident that preparations were already underway, with everything in place for the race to begin.