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Telegraph
14-03-2025
- Telegraph
John Hunt's Cheltenham Gold Cup commentary was finest act of sporting bravery this year
There is no template for navigating unfathomable loss, no manual for facing the desolation wrought by a crime so heinous as to defy comprehension. 'Do I really need,' John Hunt told Cambridge Crown Court, in a challenge to the coldly procedural concept of a victim impact statement, 'to detail the impact of having three-quarters of my family murdered?' Nobody can hope to understand how the BBC racing commentator feels about the savagery visited upon his Hertfordshire home eight months ago. What is universally relatable, though, is his courage: a quality expressed through his resolve to carry on living for the sake of his surviving daughter, to let their lives stand as a rebuke to Kyle Clifford's unspeakable cowardice, and to find sanctuary, ultimately, in a return to what he loves. John Hunt was in the radio booth 21 years ago to call home Best Mate's third consecutive Gold Cup triumph, and he was back here at Cheltenham once more to see if Galopin des Champs could repeat the feat. His Festival had begun amid desperate torment, as he read out a 1,900-word statement that reduced even hardened trial-watchers to tears, seeking to convey the experience of spending four hours with his wife and two daughters in a funeral parlour room so large that the partition had to be taken down. But he ended his week delivering a moment of pure, understated humanity, feeling the love of his racing family and channelling the old Atticus Finch credo of seeing life through 'no matter what'. His narration of Galopin des Champs' unexpected defeat to Inothewayurthinkin would be best described as consummate. But in the circumstances, it was colossal. Boisterous, passionate, with Just a Minute standards of never repeating, hesitating or deviating, Hunt articulated the three miles and two furlongs of drama to perfection, spotting the struggles of Willie Mullins' favourite at an early stage. He noticed that Galopin des Champs was not jumping as fluently as usual, that he lacked his customary rhythm, that the only time the two-time Gold Cup winner looked like his composed self was when hampered by the fall of Ahoy Senor. 'Just six or seven per cent off it,' Hunt said. It was the judgment of a true aficionado and eerily prescient, as Inothewayurthinkin surged clear to win by six lengths. Talk about putting things in perspective. The remarkable John Hunt commentating on the climax of the Cheltenham Gold Cup and victory for Inothewayurthinkin on BBC Radio. — Nick Metcalfe (@Nick_Metcalfe) March 14, 2025 Naturally, Hunt had offered the same measured expertise thousands of times before. It is a common trait among masters of the microphone: do it often enough, and broadcasting even a sport of this endless unpredictability becomes a form of muscle memory. But never had somebody tried to do so against a backdrop such as this. Barely 72 hours had elapsed since he gave his devastating account of the events of July 9, 2024, when Clifford, armed with a crossbow, walked into Hunt's house in Bushey and subjected his family to inconceivable horrors. 'Over a period of four hours you brutally killed Carol, waited over an hour until Louise came into the house,' he said. 'You incapacitated her, raped her and when you realised Hannah was coming home, you shot Louise in the back. I can't imagine a more cowardly act. You couldn't look her in the eye. You murdered Hannah minutes later.' The effect of reading that testimony is profound. The temptation is to ask how he could summon the strength to enunciate the words, especially when Clifford did not even attend the court to hear his sentence of life without parole. That is before you contemplate the infinitely fraught question of how you continue when almost everything precious to you has been destroyed. Hunt, though, is discovering a path. Just as he eased himself back into work on a quiet day at Brighton last September, his response to the anguish of the trial – a trial that would never have happened had Clifford confessed the rape of Louise, as he had to the triple murder – was to seek the solace and comfort of the racecourse, the place where he has refined his art. What does Hunt's story have to do with sport, you might ask. The answer is everything and nothing. Where sport can seem numbingly trivial in the context of an act so horrendous, it is also one of the surest forms of escapism that exists. 'Whilst I am so badly damaged, I am determined to see what my future is, surrounded by so many amazing people,' he has said. Admiration feels inadequate as a response. Indeed, the only appropriate reaction – as sports psychologist and racing devotee Michael Caulfield suggests, heralding Hunt as a 'shining example to us all' – is one of quiet awe. You will not find, re-listening to Hunt's Gold Cup commentary, a more stirring study in bravery in sport this year. In the shadow of absolute evil, Hunt has given an impeccable demonstration of what it means to live.
The Independent
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Galopin Des Champs' shot at history slips away with agonising Gold Cup defeat
Head through the gates at Cheltenham Racecourse and look to the left. There you'll find a bronze statue of the legendary AP McCoy, a 20-time champion jockey and two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner. Behind him there is another statue, this one is of a horse. Just as legendary as McCoy but arguably even more successful. It is Best Mate, a triple Gold Cup winner who triumphed in three successive races between 2002 and 2004 to write his name in the history books and get his likeness sculpted in bronze. Walk past Best Mate and head up the stairs to the viewing balcony adjacent to the Princess Royal Grandstand. Here you'll find Golden Miller. The statue is smaller but the honours greater. He is the most successful racehorse to grace the Cheltenham Festival. The only horse to win five successive Gold Cups, which he did almost a century ago between 1932 and 1936. Turn to the right and look out over the concourse. Watching over the winners enclosure and parade ring is Arkle. He was the third horse to win three consecutive Gold Cups and, at 212, his Timeform rating was the highest ever awarded to a steeplechaser. Only four horses have won the Gold Cup three times in a row. Three of them have statues at Cheltenham, the fourth, Cottage Rake, has a bar named after him. The feats of these legends permeate and adorn the very structures of the racecourse. They are lasting reminders of the unbelievable deeds of these special horses and a permanent celebration of their accomplishments. The rarity of their triumphs is what makes them unique and why they will be forever linked with Cheltenham. To emulate them is a near impossible task… enter Galopin Des Champs. A French-bred, Irish-trained thoroughbred with a shimmering black coat, plaited mane and a distinguished tuft of white fur on his forehead. A champion racehorse whose date with destiny has bubbled away in the background of a fascinating week at Cheltenham. Brought here for the first time as a five-year-old by trainer Willie Mullins, he won the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle in 2021. Major victories in Ireland followed but his return to Cheltenham a year later saw him fall in the Golden Miller Novices Chase and proved he wasn't infallible. Back-to-back Gold Cup victories came next though. Partnered with jockey Paul Townend, then already a two-time Gold Cup winner, Galopin Des Champs earned a seven-length victory over Bravemansgame in his first Gold Cup outing and a three-and-a-half-length win over Gerri Colombe in his second. Those triumphs placed him on the brink of superstardom. Today's race would have catapulted him into legend. Seeking to join the elite group of horses to win this race three times in a row, Galopin Des Champs entered the race as the 8/13 favourite. He is an eternally popular horse with the watching crowds who cheered as he paraded, applauded as he passed the grandstand and grieved when he lost. The race seemingly shaped up perfectly for him. Ahoy Senor, the experienced old hand, led through the first circuit with the two-time champion sitting deep avoiding trouble. He jumped well, legs tucked in and cleared the fences with fluid grace. When the leader fell and tumbled into his path, Galopin Des Champs swept to the side and powered down the hill. He took to the front with two fences to jump on the final stretch. His every move was tracked and matched by one of his main rivals. Inothewayurthinkin was a late addition to this race. Beaten twice by Galopin Des Champs in his last two outings he was ably handled by jockey Mark Walsh, racing in the colours of owner JP McManus. The decibel levels ramped up as Galopin Des Champs thundered to the final fence before a collective intake of breath as Inothewayurthinkin went past him on the landing. Gavin Cromwell's charge is two years younger and a fine runner at this distance. Throughout the race, Walsh hadn't asked too much of him and it showed. He flew up the straight, distancing Galopin Des Champs with every stride. He ran past the finishing post clear in first place. Galopin Des Champs next across in second. His pursuit of history, of a legacy sure to be sculpted in bronze, was over. There were other fine winners on the day; Poniros shocking in the Triumph Hurdle at 100/1, Kargese taking the County Hurdle, favourite Dinoblue winning the Mares Chase and Jasmin De Vaux giving the Mullins-Townend duo another winner in the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle. Wonderwall won the St. James' Place Hunters Chase and the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle closed out the festival but today belonged to Inothewayurthinkin. Trainer Cromwell was full of praise, saying: "I'm speechless. It is unbelievable. We have had great faith in this horse.' As Galopin Des Champs' quest for glory ended, his is just beginning. An outing at Aintree for the Grand National is to come next month and he will surely be among the favourites. He can match Golden Miller in a different way by becoming only the second horse to win both the Gold Cup and Grand National in the same year. It would be a monumental feat and, if he achieves it, his own story may well end with a permanent statue at Cheltenham.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
John Hunt returns to airwaves at Cheltenham to shame gutless crossbow killer
As he returned to the BBC airwaves without a crackle of emotion in his voice, John Hunt did not hint at the unimaginable horrors he has faced of late. Yet the esteemed broadcaster's appearance in Cheltenham's commentary box above the winning post on Wednesday was nevertheless an emphatic message to Kyle Clifford. Hunt had been delivering on a pledge he sent just 72 hours earlier to Clifford, the crossbow killer. 'I want you to see what real courage is,' Hunt had told Clifford, who was gutlessly absent from Cambridge Crown Court as a judge handed down three whole-life sentences. In contrast to Clifford's cowardice, Hunt vowed on Tuesday to carry on 'no matter what' to honour his murdered wife and two daughters. 'You failed,' he had told Clifford. Returning to the Radio Five Live airwaves at 1pm on Wednesday, and simply exchanging a friendly discussion with presenter Mark Chapman, Hunt gave another example of his pure class. Introducing him to listeners, Chapman said: 'John is in his usual commentary position yet again.' Hunt responded by saying: 'Yeah, absolutely. I am just thinking about the individuals who illuminate this sport. Nothing else matters Mark. Galopin des Champs is the Antoine Dupont of horse racing. He has looked magnificent. His form is rock solid.' Chapman then said: 'This is your 30th Festival, John. Your first Gold Cup was Best Mate.' Hunt responded: 'It really does take me back. Everything about Best Mate was geared to Cheltenham. I think Galopin is even better than Best Mate. The weight of history can prove too heavy a toll. Strange things can happen – he's still got 22 fences ahead. If he's cherry ripe he will bring this home.' And Chapman added: 'And John will call them home as only John can.' Clifford's failure to face up to what he had done this week could not have felt more stark as Hunt returned to the day job in unthinkably difficult circumstances. Colleagues knew the consummate professional would not want a fuss. There was barely a whisper in the Alastair Down press room as he pulled the headphones back on and with minimal fanfare returned to the airwaves ahead of the first race of the day, the JCB Triumph Hurdle. 'I am lucky,' Hunt had insisted on Tuesday, a barely conceivable sentence after three-quarters of his family – wife Carol along with daughters Louise and Hannah – were murdered by Clifford at the family home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, in July last year. However, his moving 1,900-word courtroom statement – after sitting through horrifying details of the case last week – made plain that life must go on, beginning with Cheltenham's famous Gold Cup day. 'As you are consigned to a fate far greater than death, I can draw on the love and strength that I still feel from the girls in every moment of every day,' he had said. His statement on Tuesday had moved a courtroom to tears, but Hunt has now said his piece. Friends, BBC colleagues and contemporaries in the press box at Cheltenham described Friday as a chance for him to start turning the page. There was little surprise too that Hunt, as he had done after initially returning to call races last autumn, made no reference on air to the horrors he had endured. Tributes flowed at the racecourse for Hunt's refusal to let Clifford break him. Those to express admiration include Cornelius Lysaght, the former BBC racing correspondent who had recommended him to corporation bosses in the early 2000s. Hunt, who worked for the police before beginning his broadcasting career with Ladbrokes in the 1980s, 'just loves' Cheltenham and will have felt a duty to listeners, Lysaght explained. 'Because so many people listen to the radio who don't necessarily switch on a racing TV programme, his voice has become absolutely synonymous with some of the great Cheltenham events of the last 20 years or so,' Lysaght said as he welcomed Hunt back. 'People love his voice at Cheltenham, and he so obviously loves Cheltenham. The timing of everything at the moment is just unimaginable, but he loves this place – he knows the importance of this place to so many people, and I think that he will want to be part of it yet again, and people who listen to the radio will want him to be part of it, but all the time, thinking of the absolutely unimaginable things that he's going through at the moment.' Hunt had confirmed with BBC colleagues in midweek that he was ready to return. Darren Owen, who had been deputising for Hunt as lead commentator on the opening three days, described how the racing 'family' had rallied behind him. 'All of us are behind him 100 per cent of the way,' he said. 'You can't put into words what actually happened. He is the most lovely, lovely individual.' Such sentiments are shared by Rupert Bell, the Talksport commentator who has also been in text message contact with Hunt in recent weeks. 'He is a remarkable human being,' said Bell. 'I know how desperate it's been but it's great that he's been able to get back, even in keeping a low profile on racecourses. It's just wonderful to hear him out doing his job. He's so good at it. 'There's no one who would remotely have a bad word to say about him. Everyone just always enjoys him being around. He always seems to have a charming smile on his face.' Admiration and messages of support for Hunt are not just reserved for racing. Chapman had paid a tearful on-air tribute last summer on the day the horror unfolded. Mark Pougatch, Dan Walker, Jacqui Oatley and former England striker Michael Owen, a keen horse-racing enthusiast, also sent messages of support. Those at the course on Friday point out the wave of well-wishers was not just out of sympathy, but out of genuine admiration for a commentator at the top of the trade. Months before the murders, clips of Hunt's thrilling calling of the Grand National had gone viral. A BBC Instagram post described it as 'racing commentary at its finest'. Bell said the entire broadcast world is in admiration of his professionalism. 'Even to hear him now on commentary, you wouldn't think anything had gone on. He is an outstanding commentator, not just in racing. His swimming commentaries are as good as anyone in the past. I just hope Cheltenham is a great opportunity for him to go out and do his day job and be able to feel the love and appreciation of everyone around him, because it's obviously been a wretched year. I have nothing but admiration for him and always have.' Nick Luck, the former Channel 4 Racing presenter who now hosts the Nick Luck Daily podcast, added: 'John's not only the most exemplary professional, brilliant at his job, but he has always been someone that everyone in the press room has looked up to. Old and young alike and from every walk of life – he would treat everybody in exactly the same way. He is somebody that you'd always feel that if you had something on your mind, you could go and speak to. The strength of feeling for him over the last few months has been immense.' It came as little surprise to those who admire his work that his witness statement in court on Tuesday was so well crafted. To put Clifford in his place, the commentator had quoted Harper Lee. 'Louise's favourite novel from her schooldays was Harper Lee's classic, To Kill a Mockingbird,' he had told the court. 'She was captivated by the goodness of Atticus Finch both as a father and a lawyer. She would often quote lines from the novel to match life's challenges... All their lives Carol, Hannah and Louise similarly spent their time bringing joy and colour and happiness to other people's lives. You killed three beautiful Mockingbirds, Kyle.' Hunt again cited the book while giving an insight into his own determination to carry on. 'Even though the days are difficult and feel on many occasions, impossible, I will channel my inner Atticus Finch at all times. He said, 'I want you to see what real courage is. Instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you are licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what'.' That courage was evident in bucket loads at Cheltenham. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Galopin Des Champs primed to join the immortals at the Cheltenham Festival
By James Toney at Cheltenham A short walk from Cheltenham's winners' enclosure is Golden Miller Road, just around the corner from Arkle Close and Cottage Rake Avenue. You can even toast your successes, or drown your sorrows, in the Best Mate Inn. If Galopin Des Champs joins those immortals as a three-time winner of the Gold Cup, the Festival's most storied race, they'll need to start redrawing the map, as well as redrafting history. Trained by Willie Mullins, ridden by Paul Townend, and owned by a still-disbelieving Audrey Turley, this horse of a generation is equally loved by a legion of fans. And victory on Friday will further cement his status as the 'people's horse' — and, aged just nine and relatively lightly raced, who'd bet against him coming back for more in 12 months' time? However, before we start focusing too much on the future, let's live in the moment. A thrilling crack at a third Gold Cup is something that needs to be savoured and enjoyed. Galopin Des Champs is odds-on for a reason, but this is a week that has seen not one, not two, but three red-hot favourites left just red-faced. It's worth remembering his only fall in 22 starts came at this meeting three years ago too. Mullins, though, knows what it's like to fall short in the quest for three consecutive wins — Al Boum Photo, a two-time winner, finished a distant third in his bid four years ago. "To have a horse in the same sort of conversation as Arkle or Best Mate — that's something that is just unbelievable for us," said Mullins. "These things don't happen very often in our sport, which underlines just how special it is. I'm not even daring to dream about it. If you spend too much time thinking about it, then it probably won't happen, so I'm going in the opposite direction. "It's just a huge honour really, being associated with him and trusted to have a part of his story. Hopefully, the dream stays alive. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime job, isn't it? Arkle, Best Mate, hopefully this horse — if he can do that. There were many years between the first two — 1966 to 2004 — so maybe we're a generation too soon. "He has his own piece of history already, but hopefully there will be more to come." Mullins has long been the undisputed King of the Cotswolds and will almost certainly lift the top trainer title for the 11th time in 14 years. His domination of jumps racing is so total that he was the top handler in both Ireland and Great Britain last season — an unprecedented achievement. He is famously not superstitious and unfailingly polite, though alongside his close-knit team, he takes nothing for granted each springtime in Gloucestershire. "My theory in life is that if you're not going up, then you're going down, and I try and learn lessons from other sports, from other trainers over the years," he adds. "I'm always amazed how some trainers get to a pitch and then it goes wrong. Why do they reach a plateau and then go down? I look at that and then try to put that into our game and try to get around that, which I think has been working so far. That's why we are where we are. The same options are open to everyone else, but we just happen to be the team on top at the moment — though I'm sure that'll change." Townend admits he is not the most animated, but his raw reaction after a recent historic third Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown underlined why this one simply means more. He'll be out on the gallops with his charge shortly after eight on Friday morning and then back eight hours later in front of heaving and expectant grandstands, the pressure gauge of the moment blinking on maximum. "He is everything you want in a racehorse, and to find one like him means so much. Hopefully, we let no one down on Friday," he said. "The public are right behind him, and that adds a little bit of extra pressure, so when you win you just feel relief. He gives you an amazing feel, and I've a special rapport with him." Turley speaks about her horse like he's a pet Labrador and is more than happy to share him with the expectant hordes too. The late Jim Lewis, the last owner of a three-time Gold Cup winner, said he got the most pleasure from watching people cheer on the legendary Best Mate — the last horse to do the treble 21 years ago — and feeling he was theirs too. "We adore this horse and always have. He has the most beautiful personality; he is brave, strong, and so kind," said Turley. "He loves to play with his ball in the stable, but he comes out as a hero and legend when he's racing, and he just adores his fans. He stands in front of thousands of people and just soaks up the admiration — he loves it. The people have taken him to their hearts and enjoy him as much as we do. We just feel unbelievably lucky to be living these moments along with everyone else."
