Cheltenham...all sweetness and light?

Once again the biggest four days in the racing calendar,some might argue in the sporting calendar,will soon be on us and like many i relish these days more and more as time goes by,the elite of our sport joining battle in the green fields of Gloucestershire but does the Festival just by being what it is have a stranglehold over the whole NH sport in general? The Festival seems to get bigger,better,more eagerly anticipated year on year,talk of a five day meeting is afoot but is it becoming too big,too much of a be all and end all? In times gone by trainers would keep their horses off the track in the four to six weeks before the Festival,in these modern times some trainers keep their charges off the track in the four to six months before the big showdown!Has Cheltenham become that much of a gargantuan,all consuming monster of a meeting that it in effect casts its shadow over the whole programme of NH racing? The fixture book after the Christmas period has plenty of graded events and i must go on record as saying that some of these grade 2 and grade 3 prizes are being contested by some of the weakest fields i can remember,all bacause trainers are "saving them for Cheltenham".The two graded hurdles and the graded Racing Plus Chase at Kempton were average,the graded National Spirit today at Fontwell was a travesty,a field of failed novice chasers and makeweights,the winner gets black type...joke.Good quality races are being passed over by too many of the so called big guns,races that in years gone by would have seen the cream locking horns are now being won by glorified handicappers.As an owner i wanted to see my fellas race,i dont mean run them every week until they break but running on a regular basis,a modern day owner of a horse deemed good enough might get two days out before Christmas and one day out after...scant return on training fees of £2000+ per month.Trainers and owners bemoan the lack of opportunites and money but many dont help their own cause,come on racing people lets get away from Cheltenhamitis,theres a boat load of top quality racing out there thats passing you by.Just because a horse doesnt win at the Festival,that doesnt detract from its ability,some absolute superstars didnt act around Prestbury but that didnt make them any the worse.Stop making it the barometer by which a stables year is judged,its one race in a horses programme.
I love the Festival but its ending up as Cheltenham vs.The rest of the season and Cheltenham is winning.

I agree with a lot of your points but don't really consider it a bad thing or see the alternative.

The festival definitely has a stranglehold over the NH Calender. Any races before are considered trials and those after viewed as consolation prizes for those who either lost at or didn't make it to Cheltenham. I think most racing fans give races like the King George or meetings like Aintree and Punchestown the attention and respect they deserve but they're obviously going to pale in comparison to the greatest meet of them all. There are casual fans in all sports who'll only follow the big events, the world cup, wimbledon the majors etc and racings no different. I think it makes sense that a season be geared towards a main event so to speak and that there are bigger problems in racing than the popularity of Cheltenham.

You say as an owner you'd like horses to run more frequently but surely you'd swap 6 or 7 runs a season for a winner at Cheltenham? At the end of the day how can something so good be bad???

Ive had Festival runners(one winner) but that was at a time when Cheltenham wasnt considered the be all and end all that it is now.It has always carried a panache but its more than that these days,it does devour the season,it does by its sheer magnitude put other quality racing in the shade and it certainly plays too much on the minds and beliefs of many trainers.Dont get me wrong i absolutely adore it but it has just become too big for its own boots.