Congratulations to Marten: Cheltenham Anniversary

I would like to say congratulations to Marten

I bet when Marten started his business nearly 50 years ago and decided in 1979 to publish his first Cheltenham Bulletin Book he didn’t think he would still be self-publishing it 40 years later! I have not yet met anyone else with such a strong work ethic and dedication to his clients.

Despite having never been to the meeting I have always felt very close to Cheltenham and I now suspect that is because Marten, my father, published his first Bulletin Book the year I was born. Even my non-racing friends joke that come mid-February I fall into my Cheltenham hibernation.

To celebrate this occasion we have added a couple of touches. We asked Marten what his most memorable Cheltenham horses were and in case you are keen to know he told us Detroit City’s Triumph Hurdle (2006), Alverton winning the Gold Cup in 1979 and Ikdam, at 66/1, also in the 1989 Triumph Hurdle.

I am pleased to say we managed to acquire some pictures from the Racing Post archive and have used them in our promotional literature as well as on this year’s cover.

I am currently designing a little memento to send to everyone who buys a Cheltenham Service from us this year.

We are a little delayed advertising this year due to recent events but we’d love it if you’d join us and experience Cheltenham through our services. If you have bought from us before you will already know that we are more about the journey and the experience rather than being statistic, results or form based. As a team we consider the whole picture. We work by studying, watching and being part of the horse’s story. All our writers will happily admit to becoming fond of a lot of the horses we follow.

With this in mind, our Cheltenham services aren’t over with the conclusion of the Festival. Our Postscript Service follows things up; it looks back at the meeting, the horses and what we wrote. It also includes horses that caught our eye!

Above all, we want to provide you with something you will enjoy reading. I know that some long-standing clients leave the weekend before the Festival free to read the book and focus on the meeting. I love hearing people’s Cheltenham stories.

Our book comes out later than all other Cheltenham books but it always has done and always will. We want it to be as up-to-date as possible. We complete our writing on 3 March and then Steve, our designer, does the layout and index in just one day! It goes to print on Monday morning and we post them all First Class on 7 March. If we get some back on the 6 March we work hard to get as many out as possible. They are posted in the order in which orders are received. Cheltenham Package subscribers can download the book on 5 March.

If you adore Cheltenham and want to know everything we do even in the approach to the Festival then we offer our Cheltenham Package. Marten has released the first part of that service this week. I know Jodie has some thoughts she wants me to send out soon too.

I would also like to assure you that before and during Cheltenham we are here to help with queries relating to your book, download or anything else. I personally work every day and evening to ensure that problems are resolved quickly.

I am working all day today, Saturday 16 February, if you have any queries. If you prefer email I can be contacted on rebecca@martenjulian.com We also offer live chat through our website in office hours.

I hope to hear from you soon and thank you for taking the time to read this very long blog!

Kindest regards

Rebecca Julian-Dixon

Cheltenham, Cheltenham Festival