This is what racing is all about!
Tuesday marked the beginning of the highly anticipated Cheltenham Festival, with 41,000 spectators erupting into the traditional roar of excitement. However, a different kind of excitement was brewing within the Ursa Major ranks, as our beloved mare Candesence welcomed her second foal—this time sired by Triple Time. Both mother and foal are doing well, as evident from the photos and videos, and owners are already eager to choose a name for the newest addition. Before long, she will be joining her older brother, Harvey (Candesence x Rajasinghe), in the ranks.
Candesence & Foal 1
Cheltenham festival wrapped up
As the festival unfolded, Ursa Major’s in-house tipping competition saw early frontrunners emerge. By the end of Day One, Racing Manager Craig Talbot had taken the lead with a three-point advantage over Jonny England, thanks to three wins that set him up confidently for Day Two.
That confidence was only strengthened on the second day, as Craig secured another winner and Mark Walford got his first points on the board. By the close of play, the leaderboard had shifted—Craig extended his lead to an impressive 19 points, while Greg Lawson overtook Jonny to move into second place with 11 points.
Day Three brought a shake-up, with only Greg and Katie Scott managing to pick up points—Greg backing Caldwell Potter and Katie selecting Fact to File as the only winning tips of the day -
Gold Cup Day, the final opportunity for the panel to score, proved challenging, with long-shot winners making predictions difficult. However racing manager Craig managed to rack up another 2 wins in the day and by the end of the festival, the final standings were as follows:
Final Leaderboard
1. Craig Talbot – 28 points 🏆
2. Greg Lawson – 16 points
3. Katie Scott – 16 points
4. Jonny England – 14 points
5. Mark Walford – 11 points
Craig Talbot is officially crowned the Ursa Major Cheltenham Tipping Champion!
SP Competition Success!
Within the URSA ownership group, the SP competition added another layer of excitement. Owner and sponsor Lee Watson came remarkably close to the correct answer, missing by just 0.15—a truly impressive effort.
Massive thankyou to competition holder Lee Randall on this competiton it was fun for all involved to keep an eye on!
All Eyes on Chasingouttheblues
Looking ahead, attention now shifts to Chasingouttheblues, the URSA superstar set to compete for the club’s biggest-ever prize—a £100,000 race. At the time of writing, he sits as the third favorite, and anticipation is at an all-time high as the team prepares for this momentous challenge.
Stay tuned for a pre-race preview as the countdown to this high-stakes race begins!
Candesence & Foal 2