"I don't know what I'm doing here". Those were the words of Patrice Evra as he approached the end of an afternoon with West Ham United teammates Mark Noble, Joe Hart and James Collins. Given the Hammers' form in recent weeks, you could be forgiven for thinking that Evra was speaking about his choice to join the Premier League club during the January transfer window, but the French defender was infact describing his experience of horse-racing commentary ahead of the Cheltenham Festival later this month.
Fans of one of the sport's most famous events should not be worried, however. None of the West Ham quartet's voices will be heard on the television or radio when the festival takes place between Tuesday, March 13 and Friday, March 16 but in association with Betway, they were all given an opportunity to learn the ropes under the guidance of ITV Sport's Richard Hoiles and it is fair to say that each of the stars were not naturals.
They are probably no strangers to having a flutter on the horses - Collins suggested that he was far more knowledgeable than the other three - but even the long-serving defender found out that ticking all of the necessary boxes was not an easy task as they viewed some of the most famous moments in Cheltenham history.
In total, 28 races will be staged by Cheltenham but the main focus is on the Gold Cup on the concluding day, with Nicky Henderson's Might Bite currently regarded as the favourite to prevail in a race which has been running since 1924. Last year's winner Sizing John has not been in the best of form in the lead-up to the showcase contest but like with the drama which is currently happening in the lower half of the Premier League standings, anything can happen when the stakes are high.
