Latest from Horse & Hound in Cheltenham-festival

‘What a record’: farewell to superstar horse, loved by many, after long and happy retirement

Becky Murray — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:22:43 +0000

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls has paid tribute to the “truly special” racehorse Big Buck’s, who has died aged 23.

The Stewart family’s National Hunt superstar won the Cheltenham Festival World Hurdle (now the Stayers’ Hurdle) a record four times and had a huge following across the equestrian community.

“It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to the fantastic Big Buck’s at the grand old age of 23,” said Paul.

“A champion staying hurdler, he was a truly special horse who gave us some of the most incredible memories throughout his racing career. Four World Hurdle victories, four Liverpool Hurdles, three Long Walk Hurdles and 18 wins in a row — what a record.”

Big Buck’s started his career in France, trained by Mr Lecomte. In late 2007 he was sold by his owner Henri Poulat to Andy Stewart and he joined Paul Nicholl’s stable. Big Buck’s was paired with the legendary Ruby Walsh for most of his career, but enjoyed two victories under AP McCoy in 2010 when Ruby was sidelined.

Big Buck’s won 18 consecutive races from January 2009 to December 2012. He sustained an injury and spent a year out of action, then returned in January 2014 under Sam Twiston-Davies. In March that year Sam rode Big Buck’s in the World Hurdle, where they finished fifth. Immediately after the race Paul announced Big Buck’s retirement. He enjoyed a second career on the hunting field and made appearances at the Horse of the Year Show.

“He was a real character, and you never quite knew what he had left in the tank in a race. Somehow he always seemed to find that little bit extra when it mattered, a part of what made him so special,” said Paul.

“Big Buck’s was owned by the late Andy Stewart, who gave us the privilege of training such a wonderful horse. I’m delighted that Andy’s family continue to have horses in training in Ditcheat today, which makes that connection even more special.”

Paul added that the late Rose Loxton looked after Big Buck’s throughout his racing career alongside the rest of the team.

“He then enjoyed a long and happy retirement with Mike and Lucy Felton, who gave him a wonderful home and cared for him so well,” he said.

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‘He read the script’: racehorse who earned +£825,000 bows out with a win on final start

Lucy Elder — Tue, 05 May 2026 17:26:44 +0000

Five-time Grade One winner Bob Olinger has settled quickly into a happy retirement after bowing out on a high at Punchestown last week.

The 11-year-old gelding, who scored three of his top-level victories at the Cheltenham Festival with jockey Rachael Blackmore, retired after winning his fifth Grade One, the Ladbrookes Champion Stayers’ Hurdle at Punchestown on Thursday (30 April), piloted by Darragh O’Keeffe.

“Bob clearly read the script for that one,” said trainer Henry de Bromhead. “The most perfect ending for a truly incredible horse, who we’ve been lucky enough to have been associated with for the last six years.”

Mr de Bromhead thanked owners the Acheson family for trusting the yard “with their third child” and congratulated the horse’s connections.

“Thank you Bob and happy retirement,” he said.

He later shared a video of the new retiree lying down and relaxing in the sunshine with the caption: “Bob taking his first day of retirement very seriously”.

Bob Olinger won his first Grade One hurdle at Naas in January 2021, making it a brace two months later with the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle title at Cheltenham. The following year, he and Rachael won the Turners Novices Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, and also went on to win the 2025 Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle. In all, he won 11 of his 22 starts under Rules and bagged more than £825,000 in prize money.

Brian Acheson had indicated beforehand that Thursday’s race would be Bob Olinger’s final start.

Following his victory, he told Racing TV the horse “has been a rock star”.

“We made up our minds over the weekend; he was 11 years old, he’d done everything, it would be greedy of me to ask him to do more next year, even though he would probably have wanted to,” he said.

“He’s always been the third child and every parent wants their children at home! I just wanted him at home.”

The horse’s first Cheltenham Festival victory, during the Covid-restricted 2021 festival, was among Mr Acheson’s favourite memories. But the one that meant the most was the Relkeel Hurdle on New Year’s Day in 2024.

“Going to Cheltenham and hearing the roar on that New Year’s Day with 35,000 people there. When he went past Strong Leader, it gave me goose bumps and we thought, ‘Right, we have our horse back’,” said Mr Acheson.

“He loves Cheltenham, he and Rachael came alive in the place. He’s something special, he really is. When he’s at home on the farm, I go down and sit in the field with him. He’ll ignore me! But he’s just a cool dude. He’s a Hollywood superstar – he read the script and he performed.”

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‘You can’t expect 20-plus racehorses to come around a corner in a straight line’, says Davy Russell on the false starts at the Cheltenham Festival

Davy Russell — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 10:29:42 +0000

Retired three-time Irish champion jockey Davy Russell shares his views on Cheltenham’s star performer and the reason for the Festival’s frustrating false starts

This year’s Cheltenham Festival was an eventful week, as a big competition like that always is. The Festival’s leading jockey, Paul Townend, outshone everyone, he really is one of the all-time greats and certainly stamped his authority on the sport this year. He has a brilliant attitude, a marvellous way about him.

But the spread of winners really struck me this year, it was exceptional – different trainers, owners and jockeys, young and old, English, Welsh and Irish, all experienced the Cheltenham thrill. Even pedigree-wise, we had an array of different stallions siring winners.

We started the week with a Nicky Henderson-trained winner, Old Park Star, in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, and Seven Barrows once again had a brilliant week. Tom Bellamy rode his first Festival winner at the age of 31, while young Patrick O’Brien experienced Cheltenham success for the first time in the conditionals’ race and is a rising star.

Amateur jockey Shane Cotter is only 19, but he is already shining in the point-to-point field and his win in the Kim Muir was a real standout. He’s local to me, and his grandfather Dan Cotter bred a very good horse called Thyne Again who I rode. Similarly, Conor Stone-Walsh, who rode the cross-country winner for Gavin Cromwell, is a great talent.

Every day had its individual standout moment and in every race, there was a new story. This year, more than ever, told you just how open our sport is.

Cheltenham Festival starting woes

The high number of false starts was a frustration and the resulting spat between jockeys Nico de Boinville and Declan Queally in Wednesday’s opener received lots of media attention.

As a jockey, you’re under a lot of pressure to get the best position and after a false start, it’s incredibly difficult to get back in the box seat.

It’s not like a game of snooker, where you can go back to video analysis and say the red ball was here and the white ball was there, and you can start again.

That’s why they need to get the start right first time, so it’s fair and everyone is happy. If you’re not happy with your position, that’s your own fault, you have to take your medicine.

The argument came about because Nico wanted to be back down the inside, but Dec was there. Nobody is innocent of not getting a bit anxious at the start and it often gets verbal. Nico got very vocal about the situation and probably shouldn’t have, but then again Dec probably shouldn’t have aired his dirty laundry in public.

In the end, I suggested that the two jockeys shook hands to draw a line under the matter – the final outcome will be decided by the British Horseracing Authority investigation.

I can forgive them for what was said in the heat of the moment and I hope the stewards will be understanding of that too. I’d be adamant in saying that, contrary to how it was portrayed in the media, there was no malice in what Nico did or didn’t say and it wasn’t racially motivated.

So what’s the solution?

The problem is that for the rest of the year, there are very few issues with the starts – it only seems to affect these big, competitive festivals. So to go changing a whole system just for Punchestown or Cheltenham is ludicrous. Unfortunately, though, they are where the spotlight falls.

At Cheltenham, it’s not the starter’s fault nor that of the jockeys – the positioning of the starts coming off a tight bend seems to be the real cause. You can’t expect 20-plus runners to come around a corner in a straight line.

All week, the winners were the horses that got a good start and were immediately to the fore – very few came from behind.

I have a big thing about the use of the flag, too. Rather than being static – raised before the start, then dropped to indicate “go”, meaning for jockeys it’s all about the anticipation – I would like to see a more visual intermediate cue of a waving flag that says you can come forward, but you’re not starting.

By Friday, as soon as the starter saw the runners in a straight line, he’d let them go, even if they were still a long way back and I think that was the right thing to do because the closer you get to the starter, the more anxious the riders are going to be.

I just hope they can find a solution before next year.

● What were your Cheltenham Festival highlights? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your views published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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‘The family horse of a lifetime’: homebred star who made Aintree dreams come true retired sound and happy

Lucy Elder — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 20:14:37 +0000

Latenightpass, the family horse “in every sense” who made dreams come true, has retired sound and happy aged 13 following a final spin at the Cheltenham Festival.

The gelding, known at home as Bobby, was bred and owned by Pippa Ellis, trained by her son, Tom, and ridden predominantly by her daughter-in-law, record-breaking amateur jockey Gina Andrews.

His 2022 Aintree Foxhunters win was the crowning moment in his lengthy racing career. Two years later, he gave Gina her first spin in the Randox Grand National itself, cruising up among the leaders to the final fence and finishing 12th.

In total, he jumped 120 fences on the Grand National course during his six starts in various races at Aintree, ran at the Cheltenham Festival three times, and won 13 of his 38 races.

“The horse of a lifetime. Bob has run his final race and what a story he’s given us,” said Tom.

“A true family horse in every sense. A career defined by courage and consistency. 120 fences jumped on the Grand National course. A Randox Foxhunters’ Chase and a Glenfarclas Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase [at Cheltenham]. Toughness personified.

“Thank you Bob, for the memories and all at Heath Barn who have been part of your story.”

After success pointing and hunter chasing, Latenightpass spent time with Dan Skelton in the 2023/24 season to run under Rules. His cross-country win at Cheltenham in December opened up the possibility of contending the Grand National that season, so champion point-to-point handler Tom then brought forward plans to take out a professional training licence to saddle the little horse in the world’s most famous race.

“If he were human, he would be very eccentric, quite hyperactive, very happy to be out and would want to say ‘hi’ to everyone. He is just a lovely person. My niece is six years old and she can lead him round the yard after he has schooled, he’s a legend,” said Tom at the time.

Latenightpass, pictured closest to the left (red and white silks), in the 2024 Randox Grand National. (Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)

Gina rode him in 35 of his races, her sister Bridget won a hunter chase on him at Warwick and finished fourth in the 2021 Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham during Covid rules and their brother Jack also rode him in the Topham Chase at Aintree last year.

Gina said Latenightpass trained for eight consecutive seasons “without a single lame step”.

“He gave me the best day of my career winning the Aintree Foxhunters’. Made my dreams come true in the Grand National itself. Never failed to complete around Aintree or Cheltenham and only twice came home without me,” she said.

“No words will ever describe what this horse has done for me in my career. A truly special horse. He gave me moments I will cherish for ever. Retired most importantly safe and sound. Thank you Pippa Ellis for breeding him. Thank you my husband Tom for training him so perfectly. Most importantly thank you Bob.”

Latenightpass finished fifth in his final race, the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase (11 March) at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.

From the archives: ’A dream come true’

An extract from H&H’s interview with Gina Andrews in summer 2022, following her Foxhunters’ win with Latenightpass…

“The highlight of this season has been the highlight of my entire career, and that was Latenightpass winning the Foxhunters’ at Aintree. That was a dream come true. I used to think I’d rather win at the Cheltenham Festival,” says Gina, who rode Domesday Book to victory in the 2017 Kim Muir.

“But Dad always said to me, ‘Riding a winner at Aintree is better than Cheltenham’. I always thought that’s because he hadn’t ridden a winner at the Cheltenham Festival, and I had.

“If I’d had a Cheltenham Festival win on Latenightpass or one of our own horses, maybe it would have been even more special, but I think the fact that my mother-in-law bred him and we’ve trained him at home, it was just such a family affair.”

Family is the golden thread that weaves through both the horses and humans’ lives at Heath Barn. Gina’s dad, Simon Andrews, won the 1988 Foxhunters’ on Newnham, and Latenightpass was the result of falling into breeding almost “by accident”.

His dam, Latenightdip, won three times with Tom in the saddle. In 2011, she sustained a career-ending injury, so the family decided to put her in foal to Passing Glance. The result was Bobby.

“He’s hilarious – he is very vocal and he likes to go out first. He shouts until he is ridden in the morning,” says Gina, adding that he has a particularly special relationship with Kim Hopley, who does everything with him.

“We keep saying, ‘When did he get so good?’ because he took ages to win a maiden. I think when you’ve bred them, you just sort of don’t let yourself believe that they are going to be as good as he is.”

Bobby was more a Harry Kane – famously released from Arsenal for lack of height and pace – than a youth academy star; and it took six attempts before he finally crossed the line in front.

“Once he started winning, he got his confidence up and he’s turned out to be such a good little horse. I say little, because he is – there isn’t a lot of him. I rode him out the morning of the Foxhunters’ and managed to get an interview on ITV with Luke Harvey, he nearly got me off in the process – he was absolutely wild. I had a good feeling from then on,” said Gina.

“I walked the course quietly with my best friend Charity, she came with me the first year I ever rode there. The race itself just all went to plan. I like to have a bit of daylight on him as he is only little, so you wouldn’t want to get bumped by anything bigger. As soon as we got to the Melling Road, I thought ‘I’m probably going to win now’. It was so surreal. You spend your whole career dreaming of winning a race like that. I don’t think it’s even sunk in now, really.

“An hour after the race I couldn’t even remember my interview with Alice Plunkett on TV. I had no idea what I’d said as there were just so many emotions.”

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‘It was just a matter of not falling off’: Cheltenham Gold Cup winner is a class apart, in a race tinged with sadness

Jennifer Donald — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 19:32:01 +0000

Rarely does one horse make winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup look quite so easy, but Gaelic Warrior and Paul Townend powered home to win jump racing’s blue riband contest by a breathtaking eight lengths on Friday (13 March).

This was a record-equalling fifth Gold Cup success for legendary trainer Willie Mullins and he now joins Arkle’s trainer Tom Dreaper in the Gold Cup history books. Gaelic Warrior’s Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup victory also completed a rare hat-trick for the Paul Townend-Willie Mullins partnership as they’d also landed Tuesday’s Unibet Champion Hurdle with mega mare Lossiemouth and Wednesday’s Bet MGM Queen Mother Champion Chase with Il Etait Temps.

Gaelic Warrior: Cheltenham Gold Cup winner is a class apart

This year’s blue riband race at Cheltenham racecourse had been one of the most talked about sporting events of recent times, with an extra tier of excitement building in a seemingly wide open contest.

But Gaelic Warrior was always travelling ominously well and he and Paul Townend – looking like they were out for an afternoon hack rather than racing in the Cheltenham Gold Cup – hit the front turning for home and the race was all but over. Their closest challengers were co-favourite Jango Baie (Nico de Boinville) and last year’s Gold Cup winner Inothewayurthinkin another two lengths further back in third.

“Winning the Gold Cup just gets better and better – I’m speechless,” said Paul Townend, who becomes the first jockey to ride five Cheltenham Gold Cup winners. “I’m so lucky to be on board Gaelic Warrior. I wasn’t going to slow him down any more at the third last but I wasn’t going to commit him either. After that, it was just a matter of not falling off down the home straight. But winning Gold Cups isn’t easy, I promise you.”

An extraordinary perfomance

Willie Mullins described Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Gaelic Warrior’s performance as “extraordinary”.

“The way he did it was just spectacular,” he said. “He got everything right and just put in a tremendous round of jumping.”

On the morning of the Gold Cup, I had watched Gaelic Warrior out on the gallops and not only is he an absolute beast of a horse up close, but he absolutely bursts with exuberance. Townend said, “He pulled a bit early on in the race, but that was well-behaved for Gaelic Warrior!”

The eight-year-old’s owner Rich Ricci, winning his first Gold Cup, revealed he began crying after the second-last fence.

“I’ve been trying to win this race for 21 years,” he said.

A very sad postscript to this year’s Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup was the fatal collapse of chasing legend Envoi Allen after the race. The multiple-Grade One and Cheltenham Festival-winning 12-year-old, trained by Henry de Bromhead, had been due to retire after Friday’s contest.

A spokesperson for the racecourse said: “Envoi Allen was a supremely talented horse and our heartfelt condolences are with all his connections.”

You can read the full report including insight, interviews and analysis from Gold Cup-winning jockey Davy Russell in next week’s H&H magazine, in the shops Thursday 19 March.

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Cheltenham Gold Cup confirmed runners and riders for 2026 after a late withdrawal

Jennifer Donald — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 11:17:05 +0000

The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup is a historic jumps race and the highlight of the annual Cheltenham Festival (10-13 March 2026).

The £625,000 contest boasts an illustrious role of honour, with chasing legends including Golden Miller, Arkle, Best Mate and Desert Orchid all having triumphed over the past 101 years.

So who are the Cheltenham Gold Cup runners and riders for 2026 and who is tipped to win on day 4? With final declarations revealed on Wednesday 11 March, the following information has been updated to reflect the final entries for this year’s race. One of the most popular runners was set to be the Jimmy Mangan-trained Spillane’s Tower, but he was ruled out of the Gold Cup on Friday morning (13 March) as connections believe the ground isn’t soft enough for him.

Cheltenham Gold Cup runners 2026

A longlist of 33 potential Cheltenham runners for the 2026 Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup was released in early January. The horses have been whittled down until this final list of declared runners and riders was announced two days before the big race on Friday 13 March. With Spillane’s Tower’s late withdrawal, we are now down to 10 runners.

Headlining this year’s Cheltenham entries is reigning champion Inothewayurthinkin, who is trained in Ireland by Gavin Cromwell and who was ridden to victory in the 2025 Cheltenham Gold Cup by jockey Mark Walsh. Another past winner, dual champion Galopin Des Champs from the all-conquering Willie Mullins stable, was withdrawn last week. Winning jockey Paul Townend now rides stablemate Gaelic Warrior.

Five of the 11 Cheltenham Gold Cup entries represent Ireland, but some high-calibre British contenders are also among those entered. The leading hopes for Great Britain look set to be the Ben Pauling-trained The Jukebox Man (jockey: Ben Jones), who was the hero of Kempton on Boxing Day when winning the King George VI Chase for owner Harry Redknapp, and seven-year-old Jango Baie, who finished a close fourth to The Jukebox Man that day. He is trained at Seven Barrows by Nicky Henderson, who will be bidding for a third win in the Cheltenham Gold Cup after Long Run in 2011 and Bobs Worth two years later.

Dan Skelton will be hoping to etch his name on the Gold Cup for the first time with key hope Grey Dawning, already a Grade One winner with his brother Harry Skelton riding. Flying the flag for Wales will be the Irish and Welsh Grand National victor Haiti Couleurs, trained by Rebecca Curtis and ridden by Sean Bowen.

Willie Mullins always sends over a rich assortment of Cheltenham entries and his sole hope for Friday’s Blue Riband race is Gaelic Warrior, ridden by Paul Townend.

Further down the entries, there’s a sole entry from France in the form of Gold Tweet.

Odds for the Cheltenham Gold Cup entries

On Friday morning, three horses are now vying for favouritism in the betting market for the 2026 Cheltenham Gold Cup – the ever popular The Jukebox Man, Jango Baie and Gaelic Warrior.

Inothewayurthinkin and Haiti Couleurs are also among the shorter priced horses in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The longest-priced winner of the race was Norton’s Coin, who was sent off at odds of 100/1 to win in 1990, and Gold Tweet is currently priced at around 150/1.

Gaelic Warrior, The Jukebox Man, Banbridge and Jango Baie are involved in a pulsating finish for Kempton’s King George VI Chase. The quartet could cross paths again in the 2026 Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Cheltenham Gold Cup entries 2026

Here is the final list of 10 – updated to reflect the late withdrawal of Spillane’s Tower on Friday – Cheltenham Gold Cup runners for this year’s Grade One showpiece, the most valuable jumps race in Great Britain and Ireland after the Grand National. The full Cheltenham racecards are now available. The 2026 Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup takes place at 4pm on Friday 13 March.

Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup runners

Envoi Allen (Trainer: Henry de Bromhead, jockey: Darragh O’Keeffe)
Firefox (Gordon Elliott, jockey Jack Kennedy)
Gaelic Warrior (Willie Mullins, Paul Townend)
Gold Tweet (Gabriel Leenders, Clement Lefebvre)
Grey Dawning (Dan Skelton, Harry Skelton)
Haiti Couleurs (Rebecca Curtis, Sean Bowen)
Inothewayurthinkin (Gavin Cromwell, jockey Mark Walsh)
Jango Baie (Nicky Henderson, Nico de Boinville)
L’Homme Presse (Venetia Williams, Charlie Deutsch)
The Jukebox Man (Ben Pauling, Ben Jones)

Cheltenham Gold Cup past winners

Making history as the first ever winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1924 was Red Splash, who earned his owner £685 in prize money. Golden Miller is the most successful horse in the race with five victories to his name and Paul Townend jointly holds the record as the most successful jockey with Pat Taaffe, with four Gold Cup wins apiece.

Other legendary Cheltenham racehorses to have triumphed in the feature race include Cottage Rake, Arkle, L’Escargot, Desert Orchid, Best Mate and Kauto Star. Rachael Blackmore made history in 2022 when she became the first female jockey to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup; she rode the Henry de Bromhead-trained A Plus Tard.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major events this year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

How to watch Cheltenham Festival 2026 live from anywhere in the world on Gold Cup Day

georgia.guerin@futurenet.com (Georgia Guerin) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 09:25:09 +0000

Join the nation in watching Cheltenham Festival on TV today to witness “the greatest show on turf” with the added bonus of excellent angles, exciting commentary and expert punditry.

Today is the final day of Cheltenham Festival, which began on Tuesday, and the famous Cheltenham Gold Cup starts at 4pm.

At a glance

Cheltenham Festival dates: 10–13 March 2026
TV coverage: ITV (UK, FREE) or Racing TV
Watch Cheltenham from anywhere: Use this NordVPN deal (73% off)

How to watch the Cheltenham Festival

ITV will screen most of the action live and for free, while Racing TV (Sky channel 424/Virgin Media 536) will broadcast via its subscription-based service.

You don’t an ITVX subscription to watch live racing – just an email address and a valid TV license. You can register for a free account or download the app to your mobile device.

If you’re away from home, you can use NordVPN to unlock your ITVX stream of this week’s Cheltenham action from anywhere in the world.

Free ITV coverage

ITV Racing will broadcast racing from Cheltenham Racecourse on 10–13 March from 12:30pm–5pm. You can watch on TV or online via ITVX.

The first six races on each day of the Cheltenham Festival are broadcast live on ITV1 (and can be streamed on ITVX). The ITV coverage is limited, however, to the first six races as it will only run between 12:45pm and 5pm. This means that the final race of each day (starting at 5:20pm) will not be available on ITV.

There is also “The Opening Show” each morning (9–10am) where they will preview the day’s racing. This is shown on ITV4 and ITVX. Finally, there is also a Cheltenham Festival Highlights show available on ITVX, which is a round up of each day after the event.

Who’s presenting ITV racing at Cheltenham?

The ITV racing coverage will, once again, be hosted by Ed Chamberlin, who has been the ITV Racing presenter since 2017. Richard Hoiles will be the lead commentator.

Analysis will be provided by former Cheltenham Gold Cup winner AP McCoy, extremely successful retired jockeys Ruby Walsh and Mick Fitzgerald, and jockey turned presenter Megan Nicholls.

Matt Chapman, Alice Plunkett, Rishi Persad and Luke Harvey will be roving reporters bringing you the biggest stories from around Prestbury Park.

Oli Bell presents the The Opening Show each morning.

How to watch the Cheltenham Festival live from anywhere

Coverage on ITVX is geo-blocked outside the UK. A VPN, though, will get you your usual coverage from anywhere in the world.

There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. We’d suggest using a paid-for service such as NordVPN, where you can get 73% off, which offers a 100% risk-free money back guarantee. If you’re not happy with the service any time within the first 30-days, then you can cancel with no penalties at all.

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Today’s race times at Cheltenham

Day 4: Gold Cup Day (Friday, 13 March)

1.20pm | The JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1)
2.00pm | The William Hill County Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)
2.40pm | The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Grade 2)
3.20pm | The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
4.00pm | The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1)
4.40pm | The Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase
5.20pm | The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle

Have you made a bet? Here are our Cheltenham Day 4 tips

What are today’s highlights at Cheltenham?

Today’s highlights are the Grade One Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle, which is run over three miles, and the Grade One Ryanair Chase, which is a shorter 2m4½f. The Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle is considered the ultimate test of stamina for long-distance hurdlers, while the Ryanair Chase is ideal for horses that are too fast for the Gold Cup but need more stamina than the Champion Chase provides, and the fences are higher, which leaves less room for error.

Cheltenham Festival 2026 race times

All these races will be broadcast on ITVX. Races at 5.20pm (shown in italics) are available on Racing TV, while the feature races of each day are shown in bold.

Day 1: Champion day – Tuesday, 10 March

1.20pm | The Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
2.00pm | The Singer Arkle Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)
2.40pm | The Hallgarten and Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)
3.20pm | The Ultima Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap)
4.00pm | The Unibet Champion Hurdle (Grade 1)
4.40pm | The TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap)
5.20pm | The Princess Royal National Hunt Novices’ Handicap Chase

Read our Cheltenham Day 1 report.

Day 2: Ladies Day – Wednesday, 11 March

1.20pm | The Turners Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
2.00pm | The Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)
2.40pm | The Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)
3.20pm | The Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase
4.00pm | The BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1)
4.40pm | The Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap)
5.20pm | The Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade 1)

Read our Cheltenham Day 2 report.

Today – Day 3: St Patrick’s Thursday – Thursday, 12 March

1.20pm | The Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2)
2.00pm | The Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (Grade 2)
2.40pm | The Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
3.20pm | The Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
4.00pm | The Ryanair Chase (Grade 1)
4.40pm | The Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)
5.20pm | The Rosconn Group Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase

Read our Cheltenham Day 3 report.

Day 4: Gold Cup Day – Friday, 13 March

1.20pm | The JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1)
2.00pm | The William Hill County Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)
2.40pm | The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Grade 2)
3.20pm | The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
4.00pm | The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1)
4.40pm | The Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase
5.20pm | The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle

Have you made a bet? Here are our Cheltenham Day 4 tips

How to watch the 5.20pm race at Cheltenham

As the ITV coverage ends at 5pm, to watch the 5.20pm races each day you will need to sign up to Racing TV (Sky channel 424/Virgin Media 536).

What time is the Cheltenham Gold Cup?

The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup will start at 4pm today, Friday 13 March, which is Gold Cup Day at the Cheltenham Festival. Following the final declarations on Wednesday, 11 March, the Cheltenham Gold Cup runners have now been confirmed.

When is the big race at Cheltenham Festival?

Racing fans are treated to a “championship” race every day of the Cheltenham Festival, beginning on Tuesday with the Unibet Champion Hurdle, Wednesday features the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase, on Thursday it’s the Ryanair Chase and it all culminates on Friday with the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Each showpiece race runs as the fourth race and will start at 4pm. However, each of the 28 races over the four days offers something to savour with 12 Grade One (top level) races in total.

What is the Cheltenham Gold Cup?

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt race run at Cheltenham Racecourse over a distance of about 3m 2½f with 22 fences to be jumped. Gold Cup Day is considered the grand finale of the Cheltenham Festival and the race has crowned some of the greatest champions in jump racing history.

Is the Cheltenham Gold Cup on TV?

Yes, you can watch the Cheltenham Gold Cup for free on ITV or ITVX – the Gold Cup sets off at 4pm today (Friday, 13 March), but it’s one of seven races throughout the day. ITV Racing is broadcasting 12:30–5pm.

You don’t an ITVX subscription to watch live racing – just an email address and a valid TV license. You can register for a free account or download the app to your mobile device.

If you’re away from home, you can use NordVPN to unlock your ITVX stream of this week’s Cheltenham action from anywhere in the world.

How to bet at Cheltenham Festival

Online betting companies will be clamouring for your custom during Cheltenham Festival so look out for some of their promotional deals for new customers which include everything from a free bet to giving your money back if your horse loses.

You’ll need to deposit some money into your betting account, choose a race, select your horse (you could study the form and read our tips for day 4, or you could simply pick your lucky number of favourite colour from the jockeys’ silks) and the type of bet — then get ready to cheer!

How to watch Cheltenham Festival in person

If you don’t already have your Cheltenham Festival ticket, there are no more options to watch in person this year as Gold Cup Day is sold out. Thinking of visiting next year? Book somewhere to stay now before everyone else – here’s a list of hotels near Cheltenham Racecourse and other accommodation.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout the Cheltenham Festival and other major events, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Cheltenham day 4 tips from racing experts, including some cracking outsiders and ‘a great each-way bet’ in the Gold Cup

Jennifer Donald — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 19:13:00 +0000

Nothing beats the Friday feeling at the Cheltenham Festival – it’s Gold Cup day! So now’s the time to mark your card with some of our racing experts’ Cheltenham day 4 tips.

We have three Grade Ones among the seven races scheduled for us to enjoy on the final day of Cheltenham Festival, starting with the JCB Triumph Hurdle, then the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle before all eyes turn to Cheltenham’s blue riband race, the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.

So who will be returning to the winner’s enclosure on Friday 13 March? We’ve asked the racing experts to share their Cheltenham day 4 tips and here they are. Good luck!

Cheltenham day 4 tips

Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase tips (2.40pm)

Panic Attack

Trainer: Dan Skelton | Jockey: Harry Skelton

Panic Attack is my pick as H&H racing editor. The trainer reckons this mare is one of his best chances all week. She’s been unbeaten all season, including in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham racecourse in November over a similar distance, where she skipped gleefully up the Cheltenham hill, proving she has the right attitude as well as the talent to win.

Diva Luna

Trainer: Ben Pauling | Jockey: Ben Jones

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “A very good hurdler, Diva Luna has looked an even better chaser in two races this season.”

Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle tips (3.20pm)

Thedeviluno

Trainer: Paul Nolan | Jockey: TBC

If you’re watching Cheltenham on TV, you’ll be enjoying Richard Hoiles’ commentary on ITV Racing. He says: “Stamina is the key and that is this horse’s suit whilst also having some pace. His win at Doncaster last time stamped him as a major Festival player and he’s the one to beat.”

Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup tips (4pm)

The Jukebox Man

Trainer: Ben Pauling | Jockey: Ben Jones

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “Haiti Couleurs has shown an abundance of stamina and won at the Festival last year, but The Jukebox Man can find a touch more speed at the business end.”

Envoi Allen

Trainer: Henry de Bromhead | Jockey: TBC

ITV Racing presenter Alice Plunkett says: “Envoi Allen is 12 years young and a Festival favourite, he’s won here three times and this will be an incredible eighth Festival. He comes alive here, has amazing form around this track and is a great each way bet.”

Princess Royal Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase tips (4.40pm)

Its On The Line

Trainer: Emmet Mullins | Jockey: TBC

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “It’s On The Line, second in this race for the past three years, is very likely to be involved in the finish once again, but Golden Son and Barton Snow have sporting each-way chances.”

So that’s your Cheltenham day 4 tips all sewn up. Enjoy Gold Cup day! You can relive the whole 2026 Cheltenham Festival and enjoy added insight, interviews and exclusive comment in H&H’s bumper magazine report, in the shops Thursday 19 March.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2026, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

If at first you don’t succeed… It’s fifth time lucky for the Stayers’ winner and H&H columnist strikes with a 40/1 Festival winner on Cheltenham day 3

Jennifer Donald — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 18:29:18 +0000

Proving that there’s no such thing as a certainty at the Cheltenham Festival, we celebrated victories from a 40/1 shot and a 33/1 champion on day three.

Two local trainers came up trumps, including H&H’s very own racing columnist Kim Bailey on a thrilling afternoon of sporting action.

Here are some of the highlights from Cheltenham day 3.

Cheltenham day 3 results: fifth time lucky for 33/1 champion

If at first you don’t succeed… Home By The Lee, an 11-year-old gelding trained by Joseph O’Brien and ridden by JJ Slevin proved the expression to be true in his fifth attempt at winning the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle. In 2022 he finished sixth, fifth in 2023, third in 2024 and was unseated last year. But in 2026 he outclassed his rivals, coming home clear of fellow Cheltenham regulars, Ballyburn and Bob Olinger, last year’s winner.

“He trains every day with enthusiasm and when he’s off he gets bored,” said O’Brien. “He loves his work, loves his job, loves his racing and has never had a lame step in his life. He’s a superstar.”

Owner-breeder Sean O’Driscoll added: “Never give up, that’s the moral of the story. He has the heart of a lion.”

Conversely, your heart has to go out to Jonbon after he finished second to the Henry de Bromhead-trained Heart Wood in the Ryanair Chase, unable to brush off his Festival hoodoo. There was a wry smile from jockey Nico de Boinville as he saluted the appreciative crowd – Jonbon is a winning machine, but he’s now run at the Cheltenham Festival four times and finished second in every single one.

H&H columnist Kim Bailey saddles a Festival winner

Sent off at odds of 40/1, White Noise came home the winner of the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle for joint trainers Kim Bailey and Mat Nicholls and owner John Perriss, who has had horses on the yard for nearly 40 years, but this was a first Festival winner.

“It’s a great result for the whole yard and everybody involved,” said Bailey, who trained Master Oats to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1995.

For 31-year-old jockey Tom Bellamy it was also a first Festival winner.

“I’ve worked my whole life for this day,” he said. “This tops my whole career, not just this season. I’m nearly crying here. I bunked off school as a kid to come and watch the Cheltenham Festival, and I can’t believe I’m walking around at the top here after winning.”

Local trainer keeps the British flag flying

Naunton handler Ben Pauling saddled Meetmebythesea to win the Grade Two Jack Richards Novices’ Handicap Chase on Cheltenham day 3, while Dan Skelton also trained a winner for British supporters – Supremely West, ridden by his brother Harry, landed the Pertemps Network Final.

“I was a bit deflated after the first two days,” said Pauling, whose The Jukebox Man is among the entries for Friday’s Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup. “It’s a stark reminder of how hard it is to win here, because you come with good horses. This was one of the darts we hoped would run well, so it was great to see it come off.”

Teenager is cheered into the winner’s enclosure

Amateur jockey Shane Cotter celebrated his first Festival winner on the Cath Williams-trained Ask Brewster after coming home in front in a thrilling finish to the Rosconn Group Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase, concluding all the action on the track on Cheltenham day 3.

“I’ve dreamt of this since I was seven or eight,” said the teenage rider, having his first ride in England.

Read our tips for Cheltenham day 4 and enjoy the final day of racing tomorrow!

You can read the full report including insight, interviews and analysis in next week’s H&H magazine, in the shops Thursday 19 March.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2026, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

‘He’s small, cheeky, happy and loves having a fan base’: Meet a British hope for Cheltenham’s Stayers’ Hurdle – and the groom whose nails match his silks

Jennifer Donald — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 08:51:49 +0000

One of the leading fancies for Thursday’s Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival is the Emma Lavelle-trained gelding Ma Shantou.

The seven-year-old son of Shantou is a huge character on the yard and is looked after by devoted groom Libby Alvis, who told us all about the brilliant “Mash”, as he is known at home.

Ma Shantou and jockey Ben Jones win the Grade 2 Pertemps Network Cleeve Hurdle for trainer Emma Lavelle and owner Mighty Acorn Stables. Credit JTW Equine Images / Alamy Live News. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Ma Shantou in the Stayers’ Hurdle: ‘He loves a squeal and a buck’

Ma Shantou has won three of his last four hurdle races, all round Cheltenham. He arrives at the Festival as one of the leading fancies for the championship race on day three, the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle. It was Ma Shantou’s dominant success in the Cleeve Hurdle in January that really stamped him as a contender for the Stayers’ Hurdle.

Trainer Emma Lavelle won the Stayers’ Hurdle in 2019 with hurdling hero Paisley Park, but the two horses are chalk and cheese to look at. Ma Shantou may only be small, but he has all the heart to win, says groom Libby Alvis, who joined the Wiltshire stables in September. Keep a look out for Libby’s nails, which are decorated to match the red, white and blue silks of owners, the Mighty Acorn Stables.

“He’s been my ride since day one,” says Libby. “Luckily he kind of fell into my lap and we clicked instantly.

“I was told to watch out because he can throw a buck here and he can do this and that and I thought, ‘Yeah, whatever, he’s harmless – look at the size of him! But I soon found out that Mash is a very happy boy!

“Anyone can get on him and he’ll be a very good boy, then I’ll get on him the next day and he’s squealing, grunting and he’s happy again.”

‘He has a pony personality’

According to Libby, she and Mash are so well matched because “we both have very childish personalities”.

“He’ll squeal and then I’ll squeal louder,” she says. “Daryl Jacob recently came to do a piece on him and I said ‘He’s going to squeal here and buck here’ and he totally showed me up – he was foot perfect.”

In the stable, Mash is cheeky and he loves attention.

“He has a pony personality,” says Libby. “He’ll have a play with you as well.

“He’s totally predictable though – we have the same routine every single day. He knows and I know exactly what’s coming next.”

Libby with Ma Shantou in his stable. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Neck tickles are top priority

Harry Cobden is booked to ride Ma Shantou in the Stayers’ Hurdle but Libby does all the riding on him at home.

“He is so fun to ride,” she says. “He’s one of those horses that when you get on them they just grow in height because of their personality.

“You’ll be happy hacking along and then all of a sudden you’re doing a piece of work and he is then 16.3hh, and you’re like, what, where did he come from?

“At home, you wouldn’t know how good he is, though. Mash only does what Mash needs to do and then he’ll step it up when he has to, but he’s smart. He doesn’t ever overdo it.

“I didn’t know quite how good he would be when I arrived here,” she continues. “He had obviously had a few wins, but I didn’t know quite how good he’d be until I worked him on the grass – out of nowhere he just came out of a shell and I just thought, wow!”

At the races, Libby’s trick is to lead him round while giving him “little tickles on his neck and saying his name, just saying things to him”.

“He loves it, he thrives off it,” she explains. “He just loves being hyped up, he loves having a fan base.

“So I’ll do that for a bit, then they tell me I have to trot him up and I’m like, oh, no and he’ll have his little squeal and a buck. There’s absolutely no malice in him. He’s just so happy all the time.”

Libby shows off her nails in the red white and blue silks of Ma Shantou’s owners the Mighty Acorn Stables. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Ma Shantou and King’s Threshold at the Cheltenham Festival: ‘It’s going to be fun!’

Libby Alvis was hoping to have a relatively quiet free days in the build-up to Thursday’s big race, when it will all become very busy. As well as Mash, she looks after King’s Threshold, who runs in the 5.20pm race on Thursday, the Rosconn Group Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup of amateur jockeys, with Harry Swan riding.

“I’ve got lots of hyping to do, but it’s going to be really good fun,” she says. “Mash will need my attention more than Threshold – Mash likes to be the centre of attention and he likes to be told he’s a good boy. But he’s feeling very, very well so I’m just trying to keep a lid on him – and me!”

Ma Shantou runs in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at 3.20pm on Thursday 12 March. You can enjoy the bumper magazine report from the Cheltenham Festival in H&H magazine, which hits the shops on Thursday 19 March.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2026, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Cheltenham day 3 tips, including a ‘consistent winning machine’ and a 16/1 tip in the first race

Jennifer Donald — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:50:54 +0000

Day 3 of racing is now complete – read our Cheltenham Day 4 tips for our experts’ view on the Cheltenham Gold Cup runners.

We’ve made it through to the third day of the Cheltenham Festival. Have you managed to back any winners so far? Perhaps you’d like to hear what our racing experts have to say regarding their Cheltenham day 3 tips.

Day three is traditionally St Patrick’s Thursday so will we see a surge of Irish trainers in the winner’s enclosure as well as the sea of Irish supporters already enjoying this year’s Cheltenham Festival?

Thursday’s big races are the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase, but there are also some cracking handicaps to get your teeth into. Here are some Cheltenham day 3 tips to help guide you through the afternoon, whether you’re watching Cheltenham on TV or at Prestbury Park.

Cheltenham day 3 tips

Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase tip (2pm)

The Bluesman

Trainer: Olly Murphy | Jockey: Sean Bowen

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “The Bluesman is a handsome chap, and his chasing career is coming along nicely. With champion jockey Sean Bowen in the saddle he makes plenty of appeal as an each-way bet.”

Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle tip (2.40pm)

Wodhooh

Trainer: Gordon Elliott | Jockey: Jack Kennedy

Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer and H&H columnist Kim Bailey says: “With Lossiemouth going for the Champion Hurdle, this race looks set up for Wodhooh. She’s tough, consistent and a winning machine.”

Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle tips (3.20pm)

Ma Shantou

Trainer: Emma Lavelle | Jockey: Harry Cobden

Racing journalist Tom Peacock says: “There are a lot of old hands who might be past their best in this race but Ma Shantou has a younger set of legs and there was a lot to like about the way he won the Cleeve Hurdle last time. Each-way contender.”

Kabral Du Mathan

Trainer: Dan Skelton | Jockey: Harry Skelton

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “Kabral Du Mathan has been impressive in two races this season, and while he has yet to tackle a race of this distance he gives all the signs of being able to handle it.”

Ryanair Chase tips (4pm)

Banbridge

Trainer: Joseph O’Brien | Jockey: Sean Bowen

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “Banbridge was unplaced in this race two years ago, but showed his wellbeing when beaten no further than a flared nostril by The Jukebox Man at Kempton on Boxing Day.”

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2026, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

‘I’m speechless’: Teenager rides his first Festival winner and a pony-sized 66/1 shot springs a shock on Cheltenham day 2

Jennifer Donald — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:33:49 +0000

Wednesday at the Cheltenham Festival belonged to the Irish, with five of the seven races coming from across the Irish Sea.

From Il Etait Temps’ sublime Champion Chase performance to the delight of a teenager riding his first Festival winner and some brilliant stories in-between, here is the round-up from Cheltenham day 2.

Cheltenham day 2: Il Etait Temps is simply sublime

Wednesday’s feature race, the high-octane BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase, was won by Il Etait Temps (Paul Townend) for the indomitable Willie Mullins. The winner opened up a 10-length margin over nearest rival Libberty Hunter, who was sent off at odds of 50/1 and survived a first-fence blunder that nearly unshipped jockey Sean Bowen.

“I thought Paul Townend was very brave on him because he couldn’t go the pace they were setting for the first mile; he sat and sat, and coming down the hill we could all see that the further he was going, the better he was going,” said Mullins. “I nearly had a heart attack at the last fence though! But the horse has come to himself at last.”

Il Etait Temps ridden by Paul Townend on their way to winning the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase on day two of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Picture date: Wednesday March 11, 2026. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

A pony-sized 66/1 shot springs a surprise

In a thrilling finish for the Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase, 66/1 shot Martator for trainer Venetia Williams and jockey Charlie Deutsch was adjudged the shock winner, beating last year’s victor Jazzy Matty by a nose.

“I’m pretty speechless, partly because I was screaming so much!” said the Herefordshire trainer. “I just can’t believe it. We could see he was coming and he was on the wide outside, which was always the plan as he’s only a pony. He met the last few on a great stride and winged them.”

Teenager rides his first Festival winner: ‘This is a bit surreal’

Nineteen-year-old Conor Stone-Walsh celebrated his first ever Cheltenham Festival winner when coming home triumphant in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Limited Handicap Chase riding the Gavin Cromwell-trained Final Orders.

“It’s a bit surreal at the minute – I think it will take a while to sink in!” said the winning jockey. “He jumped from fence to fence and he kept going the whole way. He’s a small horse and when the ground is quick he really enjoys it.

“I’m only 19 and Gavin’s shown plenty of faith in me – I’m very grateful.”

Cheltenham Festival winners are like busses: Bowen on a roll

On day one of Cheltenham, jockey James Bowen rode his first ever Festival winner, beating his older brother Sean to the honour. On Tuesday, James found himself back in the winner’s enclosure, again for trainer Nicky Henderson, when Jingko Blue (one of H&H’s Cheltenham day 2 tips) scored by six lengths in the BetMGM Handicap Hurdle.

“Plan A went completely out of the window, then B and C!” said the winning jockey. “I never intended to make the running but I winged the first and the next thing I was there, doing nothing. It felt good when I winged the last because he doesn’t always come for you, but he did today.”

So that wraps up Cheltenham day 2 and another action-packed afternoon of horse racing. Ready to do it all again tomorrow? Here are our Cheltenham Day 3 tips.

H&H is bringing you all the news from the 2026 Cheltenham Festival and you can enjoy added insight, interviews and exclusive comment from Festival-winning jockey Davy Russell in the bumper magazine report, in the shops Thursday 19 March.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2026, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Conjurer, caviar and quaffing champagne: the £999 train ticket to Cheltenham

Eleanor Jones — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 10:06:25 +0000

Among the thousands of people travelling to Cheltenham on Friday (13 March) for the Gold Cup will be almost 300 doing it in unique style.

The lucky few are those who have paid £799 or £999 to make their way from London to the Festival on the 1930s Northern Belle. Standard tickets on the restored Pullman-style train are a snip at the lower price, but for those who want that extra touch of style, there’s the Krug Class option.

Passengers will walk a red carpet across the platform at Paddington and settle into the Northern Belle’s seven carriages, each named after a British castle or stately home, to enjoy a mimosa served by stewards in full livery.

Yorkshire businessman David Pitts, who bought the vintage train from the Belmond Orient Express group, said: “Who says there’s a financial crisis? We sold out in record time and could have sold twice as many tickets. We’ve been running the train for several years, but we’ve never had such a response before.”

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

A three-course “caviar brunch” is on offer on the outward journey – the sample menu features granola with Peak District honey and Earl Grey syrup and treacle-cured bacon with souffle potato – and a National Hunt jockey will be on hand to share tips for the day’s racing. The train has its own musicians and conjurer to ensure no one gets bored on the journey to Evesham station, which lasts about two and a half hours.

The Northern Belle leaves Evesham at about 8.45pm for the return journey, during which a five-course dinner, port and wine will be served. The food is prepared by a chef whose clients have included The King, Rod Stewart and Madonna.

“Not everybody can afford to stump up £1,000 to go to Cheltenham but no matter how they get on with the racecourse bookies, our passengers will be on a winner with the Northern Belle,” said Mr Pitts. “That’s a cert.”

The train will also take passengers from Manchester, Crewe and Birmingham to ladies’ day at Royal Ascot in June, and from London to Goodwood in July.

To stay up to date with all the breaking equestrian news throughout 2026, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Cheltenham day 2 tips from racing gurus, including an ‘exception that breaks the rule’ in the 1.20pm

Jennifer Donald — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 19:20:59 +0000

Day 2 is now complete – we’ve rounded up Cheltenham Day 4 tips here.

After all the excitement of Tuesday’s action at the Cheltenham Festival, attention is turned to Wednesday’s racing and the question is, what are our experts’ Cheltenham day 2 tips?

Wednesday 11 March at the Cheltenham Festival is Ladies’ Day and what racegoers are wearing will be an all-important element to the afternoon. But what’s happening on the track?

The headline race is the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase, with two other Grade One contests to start the day. We’ve asked some racing experts for their Cheltenham day 2 tips for Wednesday’s seven-race card.

Cheltenham day 2 tips

Turners Novices’ Hurdle tip (1.20pm)

No Drama This End

Trainer: Paul Nicholls | Jockey: Harry Cobden

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “Former British point-to-pointers win Cheltenham Gold Cups, but not Grade One novices’ hurdles. No Drama This End could be the exception that breaks the rule.”

Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase tip (2pm)

Kitzbuhel

Trainer: Willie Mullins | Jockey: Harry Cobden

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “While it requires a steady nerve to back Kitzbuhel after a disappointing run at Sandown on his latest start, he has some high-class form to his name, and should be an each-way price.”

BetMGM Cup Handicap Hurdle tip (2.40pm)

Jingko Blue

Trainer: Nicky Henderson | Jockey: James Bowen

If you’re watching Cheltenham on TV, ITV Racing’s The Opening Show is on ITV4, ITVX and You Tube at 9-10am every day, and presenter Ed Chamberlin picks out an each-way shot on day 2 of Cheltenham.

“Jingko Blue is a nice each way price, well handicapped and has been targeted at this race,” he says. “He’s got plenty of ability and his trainer, Nicky Henderson, has a good record in handicap hurdles at Cheltenham.”

Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase tips (3.20pm)

Stumptown

Trainer: Gavin Cromwell | Jockey: Keith Donoghue

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “Stumptown won this race last year and then, in October, added the famous Velka Pardubicka to his trophy haul. Not seen since, but if fully tuned up could stump his rivals once again.”

Desertmore House

Trainer: Martin Brassil | Jockey: Ricky Doyle

Racing journalist Tom Peacock says: “Has run very well over the banks course at Punchestown, the nearest equivalent track, including a cosy win in November. His shrewd trainer looks to have kept him fresh off a light weight.”

Weatherbys Champion Bumper tip (5.20pm)

The Irish Avatar

Trainer: Willie Mullins | Jockey: Harry Cobden

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “In a field of young, lightly-raced horses this is a very challenging contest in which to find a winner, but The Irish Avatar won in a canter on his latest start. It is also interesting to note that Harry Skelton will ride Mets Ta Ceinture, who is making his British debut after a couple of wins in France and after being sold at auction for €710,000.”

So those are your Cheltenham day 2 tips in a nutshell. H&H will be bringing you daily news from the 2026 Cheltenham Festival and you can enjoy added insight, interviews and exclusive comment from Festival-winning jockey Davy Russell in the bumper magazine report, in the shops Thursday 19 March.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major events throughout the year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

A mighty mare is crowned champion, a 208/1 birthday double and we bid farewell to a jumping legend: Cheltenham day 1

Jennifer Donald — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:52:03 +0000

The star of the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival was mighty mare Lossiemouth, who joined her stablemate Kargese in the winner’s enclosure. But we also bowed down to legendary hurdler Constitution Hill as he drew a line under his jumping career and we celebrated a British 1-2-3-4 in the first race of the day.

This is what happened on Cheltenham day 1.

Cheltenham day 1: All the love for Lossiemouth

Mega mare Lossiemouth was finally crowned a true champion when winning Tuesday’s feature race at the Cheltenham Festival, the Unibet Champion Hurdle. The Willie Mullins-trained grey, ridden by Paul Townend, was posting an outstanding fourth consecutive Festival success – she made a winning debut in 2023 in the Triumph Hurdle, before racking a brace of successes in the mares’ hurdle. On Tuesday, the seven-year-old cruised to glory, beating Brighterdaysahead and The New Lion to the championship crown.

She becomes the eighth mare to win the Champion Hurdle after the likes of Dawn Run, Annie Power and Honeysuckle.

“She’s a star mare,” said Willie Mullins. “Just to come back four years on the trot, never mind win, puts her in a league of her own.”

Mullins, the Festival’s winning-most trainer of all time had already visited the hallowed Cheltenham winner’s enclosure with another mare on Tuesday, Kargese having landed the Grade One Singer Arkle Novices’ Chase with Danny Mullins riding.

“A lot was made of this filly being hot-headed, but I’ve always had a good relationship with her,” said the winning jockey, Danny Mullins. “Even when I got headed over the second last, I knew I wasn’t done with yet. I hadn’t burned the petrol early. The last furlong was where she did her best work.”

Not to be outdone, 12/1 shot Holloway Queen made it a treble for the mares on Cheltenham day 1 when she landed the final race, the National Hunt Challenge Cup for trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey James Bowen.

Harry Skelton aboard Madara after winning the Sun Racing Plate Handicap Chase on day one of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Picture date: Tuesday March 10, 2026. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

The easiest Cheltenham Festival winner you’ll see this week?

The Skelton family got off the mark in style on day one with Madara, who came home seven and a half lengths clear of the Gavin Cromwell-trained Will The Wise in the Sun Racing Plate Handicap Chase. Jockey Harry Skelton was riding the seven-year-old for his trainer brother Dan Skelton.

“This horse has been brilliant,” said Harry. “It was his race to lose, he put his head down and galloped well. You don’t get better than this, I feel privileged to be part of this.

“One on the board, I wouldn’t mind a few more now!”

Constitution Hill in the parade ring on day one of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Picture date: Tuesday March 10, 2026. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Farewell to Constitution Hill at Cheltenham

With trainer Nicky Henderson and owner Michael Buckley making the decision that former champion hurdler Constitution Hill would pursue a career on the Flat rather than hurdles, he bid farewell to Cheltenham with a victory parade in front of a packed – and emotional – crowd.

Nicky Henderson also looks to have a future star on his hands, however, in Old Park Star, who led a British 1-2-3-4 in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. The six-year-old runs in the colours of Gordon and Su Hall.

“It’s sad that Constitution Hill isn’t coming here to race, but it’s nice to come up with another youngster who has got his life in front of him,” said the Seven Barrows trainer. “This is only the beginning.”

Owner celebrates 75th birthday with a Cheltenham Festival double

Johnnywho and Saratoga provided owner JP McManus with a winning double on his 75th birthday. The former won the Trustmarque Ultima Handicap Chase for trainers Jonjo and AJ O’Neill in his famous green and gold silks while the latter landed the McCoy Contractors Juvenile Handicap Hurdle for trainer Padraig Roche.

“It’s unbelievable to have a double here and with Richie McLernon riding him too,” said JP McManus after Johnnywho’s success. “He rode a winner of this same race for me a few years ago [2012] on Alfie Sherin. It’s great to have him riding winners at the Festival again.

“Every winner at Cheltenham is very, very special.”

H&H will be bringing you daily news from the 2026 Cheltenham Festival and you can enjoy added insight, interviews and exclusive comment from Festival-winning jockey Davy Russell in the bumper magazine report, in the shops Thursday 19 March.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2026, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Cheltenham day 1 tips from racing experts (including a 100/1 shot): ‘He’s sure to have improvement in him’

Jennifer Donald — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 19:10:06 +0000

Cheltenham Day 1 is complete – see our Cheltenham day 4 tips instead.

As we count down to the sound of the Cheltenham roar that greets the start of the first race at the Cheltenham Festival, many people will be seeking out some Cheltenham day 1 tips.

The Cheltenham Festival’s opening day is billed Champion Day, with the Unibet Champion Hurdle the feature race. But there’s also a superb supporting cast of races to enjoy, including the Trustmarque Ultima Handicap Chase, the Singer Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase, plus the traditional curtain opener, the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

With more than 20 runners lining up in three of Tuesday afternoon’s races at Cheltenham racecourse, picking a winner seems a daunting task. So we’ve asked the racing experts to share their Cheltenham day 1 tips to help steer you through this feast of sporting action whether you’re watching Cheltenham on TV or you’re heading to Prestbury Park in person.

Cheltenham day 1 tips

Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle tips (1.20pm)

Talk The Talk

Trainer: Joseph O’Brien | Jockey: JJ Slevin

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “Another fabulous renewal of the Festival’s opening race, and once again brimming with young talent, but there’s only one Grade One winner in the field, and that’s Talk The Talk.”

Old Park Star

Trainer: Nicky Henderson | Jockey: Nico de Boinville

Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer and H&H columnist Kim Bailey says: “Old Park Star is incredibly quick and straightforward. He jumps well and is improving.”

El Cairos

Trainer: Gordon Elliott | Jockey: Jack Kennedy

Cheltenham Festival-winning former jockey and H&H columnist Davy Russell says: “I’m torn between Old Park Star and El Cairos, but just for a bit more value I’d side with El Cairos. His lack of experience over jumps is reflected in his price and I think Old Park Star will be very hard to beat, but El Cairos should give him plenty to do. He has solid form in the bumper, finishing fifth at the Festival last year, and visually he’s very good.”

Singer Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase tips (2pm)

Kopek Des Bordes

Trainer: Willie Mullins | Jockey: Paul Townend

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “A longish-priced winner is quite possible in this very open-looking contest, but it is hard to ignore likely favourite Kopek Des Bordes.”

Trustmarque Ultima Handicap Chase tips (3.20pm)

Handstands

Trainer: Ben Pauling | Jockey: Ben Jones

Handstands is my pick as H&H racing editor. Ben Pauling revealed that Handstands is like a ‘bull in a china shop’ at home, such is his wellbeing since a wind operation in December. Horses who have suffered breathing problems nearly always benefit from a confidence-boosting run post-surgery and the seven-year-old’s performance at Windsor last month could well have been that turning point. I think he’s possibly one for each-way punters.

Stolen Silver

Trainer: Georgie Nicholls | Jockey: Olive Nicholls

Cheltenham Festival-winning former jockey Davy Russell says: “He’s got brilliant form around the track and may have slipped under the radar coming from a small stable.”

Sun Racing Plate Handicap Chase tips (4.40pm)

Madara

Trainer: Dan Skelton | Jockey: Harry Skelton

Racing journalist Tom Peacock says: “Dan Skelton has a host of leading chances but has proved very effective in the big handicaps. This gelding has caught the eye in behind on both starts this season and is sure to have improvement in him.”

So those are your Cheltenham day 1 tips all tied up. H&H will be bringing you daily news from the 2026 Cheltenham Festival and you can enjoy added insight, interviews and exclusive comment from Festival-winning jockey Davy Russell in the bumper magazine report, in the shops Thursday 19 March.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major events throughout the year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

A bluffer’s guide to reading a racecard

Martha Terry — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 10:00:40 +0000

A day at the races is often a rare treat, perhaps once a year for a major festival or a local trip with friends to mark a special occasion. Chances are, you purchase a racecard, not only as a souvenir of the day, but to help you follow the action. The snag is that to the uninitiated, reading the information within the racecard can be like deciphering secret code.

Whether you’re off to the Cheltenham Festival or an evening on the all-weather, knowing how to read a racecard can give you wonderful intel into the race, the horses, their form – and ultimately help you make an informed decision where to put your £5 note.

Not all racecards are created equal, however there is a certain language that applies to all of them and, once you understand the code, you can work out how to read any racecard across the country.

With up to 20 different pieces of code providing each nugget of information, it’s understandable that many people never get any further than name, colours and starting price. But understanding what the additional letters, figures and numbers mean will add rich flavour to a day at the races.

How to read a racecard

A typical example of a racecard, from Royal Ascot. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Above is a generic example of a racecard, from Royal Ascot. For the purposes of this decoding exercise, below we have broken down the essential figures into the typical sections you’ll find on all racecards. They may be in slightly different arrangements, and there are of course variations according to whether the race is on the Flat or National Hunt.

This is a hypothetical example for the purpose of showing all the possibilities for both Flat or jumps horses – it could not be a real specimen as it shows elements exclusive to each code but should enable you to decipher any racecard.

Key for reading a racecard

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

a) Owner’s colours, shirt and hat silk worn by the jockey.

b) Draw (4) – this is the starting stall number and only applies to the Flat as the jumpers start with tapes with no drawn order.

c) Saddle cloth number (14). If there is an R as shown in this case, it means the horse is on standby to run in case of any non-runners. If NR is shown here, it means the horse is a non-runner. It is not the same as the draw number because it depends on the horse’s weight/rating in the handicap, while the draw is randomly assigned.

d) Colour and sex – this horse is a grey gelding.

For colours:

b=bay
bl=black
br=brown
ch=chestnut
gr=grey

For sex:

c=colt
f=filly
h=horse (an entire male horse that is five years old or over)
m=mare (female horse of five years old or over)

The number 1 after “g”, as shown here, indicates that this is the first time the horse is running since being gelded.

e) Horse’s name. If bred outside Britain, the country code is noted, for example IRE for Ireland, FR for France, USA.

f) Sire and dam – this is the horse’s pedigree, and sometimes the damsire (maternal grandfather) will be listed after the dam in brackets.

g) Number of days since the horse last ran in this type of race. In brackets is the number of days since it last ran under a different code. For example, if this was a hurdle race, this horse last ran over hurdles 155 days ago. However, it ran on the Flat (denoted by F) 24 days ago. PTP would indicate point-to-point.

h) Age of horse – six in this case.

i) Weight allocated for the horse to carry – 10 stone 11 pounds. If the jockey can claim an allowance or is riding overweight, this is not shown here (see notes on J and P).

j) Penalty – this applies to handicaps only, and is the extra weight in pounds that a horse has to carry on top of the allocated weight, according to any improved performances since the handicapper last made its rating. In this case, the horse has 3lb extra to carry, so 11st in total.

k) The horse’s form, most recent on the right.

All-weather or point-to-point will typically be in bold.
Hyphen – means new season.
Slash / means a longer break, so two seasons ago or more.

There are many letter abbreviations used, mostly applying to National Hunt:

B=brought down
F=fell,
P=pulled up
R=refused
S=slipped up
U=unseated rider
V=void

Numbers apply to placings, with 0 meaning unplaced.

So this horse’s form shows that he has had significant time off after a fall and an unseat, finished second on his comeback last season, and second on his only run so far this season.

l) Horse’s race history

BF=beaten favourite on last run
C=course winner
D=distance winner (to nearest half-furlong)
CD=course and distance winner
Hc=horse’s handicap debut.

m) Official rating. There may be one, two or three rating numbers here, which could be calculated by the Racing Post, the official handicapper, Timeform or the British Horseracing Authority. These might take into account the horse’s past race times within the standard time, adjusted for weight and going. These will vary according to the racecard, and is getting into the nitty-gritty for the serious punter.

n) Owner.

o) Trainer. Some racecards will print a number after the trainer’s name to indicate if the horse is having his first or second run for a new stables.

p) Jockey. If there are numbers after his name, this denotes a weight allowance for an inexperienced jockey – this jockey claims 5lb, which means the horse carries 5lb less than his allocated weight.

q) W1 shows that the horse has had one wind operation. This is obligatory for trainers to declare. Some racecards will label wind surgery as WS.

r) Odds at which the horse is expected to start. This is rarely available in printed programmes because the starting price changes all the time.

s) Betting history, showing whether the horse is shortening or drifting in the market.

t) Headgear abbreviations to indicate whether the horse has blinkers, a tongue-tie and so on. The number 1 denotes that this is the first time they have worn this headgear under this code. This horse is wearing first-time blinkers.

b=blinkers
e/s=eye shield
e/c=eye cover
h=hood
t=tongue-tie
p=sheepskin cheekpieces
v=visor

Crack the code and the racecard transforms from a baffling list of symbols into an essential guide to every horse’s story, form and chance in the race.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major events throughout the year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Cheltenham Festival heroes: Dawn Run – ‘She despised nothing more than the spectre of defeat’

Julian Muscat — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 08:30:13 +0000

On the eve of the Cheltenham Festival and 40 years on from her Gold Cup win, we remember the magical Dawn Run, the only horse ever to win both the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup. “Ferocious” in the stable, this Irish mare’s prowess on the racecourse was never in doubt, says Julian Muscat

There are several strands to Dawn Run’s status as a legend of the Turf. She merits that description for the fact that 40 years ago, in 1986, she was the best steeplechaser over all distances from two miles to 3¼ miles. It would be warranted, too, for her unique achievement in 1984, when she won the Irish, British and French Champion Hurdles.

Yet her greatest claim to fame is that she remains the only horse in history to win both the Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival.

That prestigious double has eluded all others because of the diverse qualities required to win both races. The Champion Hurdle, with its emphasis on speed and quicksilver jumping, is the polar opposite of the Gold Cup, in which stamina and resilience are at a premium. But it all came alike to Dawn Run. There was nothing she despised more than the spectre of defeat.

And of course, she was a mare. A common perception in racing is that mares are inclined to wilt when confronted by male opponents. It largely holds true; hence the 5lb weight allowance mares receive from males on the racecourse. Conversely, however, a tough, hardy mare will put males to shame.

Not for nothing was Dawn Run described by Maureen Mullins, wife of her trainer Paddy Mullins, as the “most ferocious” among thousands of horses to pass through their stable. She was her own soul and woe betide anybody who challenged her authority, in or out of the saddle. Her box was her own private domain.

“She was quite a savage in that way,” says Tony Mullins, who rode Dawn Run to 15 of her 21 victories. “If a stranger went into her stable, she’d let him have it.”

When it came to racing, however, all was sweetness and light. Dawn Run would quickly become Ireland’s pride and joy.

Dawn Run was equally adept at both hurdling and chasing, winning both codes’ premier races. (Image credit: Alamy)

Dawn Run and the ‘galloping granny’

Dawn Run had for an owner an equally redoubtable woman in Charmian Hill, who gave 5,800gns for the filly as an unbroken three-year-old at public auction. Charmian also rode the mare on her first three starts in “bumper” races on the Flat for young, inexperienced horses. Dawn Run won the third of them at Tralee in 1982, but not before she tried to bite a horse with the temerity to challenge her for the lead.

Just days later, the Irish authorities refused to extend Charmian’s riding licence on the grounds of her advancing years. She was 62. Very much of the old school, she was brought up around horses on the family’s Monksgrange Stud in Wexford. She’d started riding as an amateur in her 40s and vented full spleen at the Irish stewards’ decision to stand her down.

Known to all as the “galloping granny”, Charmian was pivotal to the Dawn Run story. She frequently rode the mare in morning exercise on the Mullins’ circular, 2f, all-weather gallop, where she was rarely in control of her headstrong partner. Having broken her leg in a fall one morning, Charmian resumed the partnership some months later with increased enthusiasm.

She was also brash in her convictions. On each of Dawn Run’s three visits to the Cheltenham Festival hill, she displaced Tony Mullins, Paddy’s son and the mare’s regular rider, in favour of a more established jockey. It was Jonjo O’Neill who rode Dawn Run to her Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup triumphs, in the process bringing tinges of sadness to what would otherwise have been an unforgettable family affair.

Now a trainer like his much-decorated brother Willie Mullins, Tony remembers every facet of Dawn Run’s career. He vividly recalls the moment when Charmian almost casually dropped a bombshell after his victory aboard the mare at Down Royal in late 1983.

“I won quite well,” he recalls, “but when I came in, Mrs Hill told me that since Dawn Run looked like a Champion Hurdle mare, I wouldn’t be riding her for the rest of the season.”

Just like that. Even when he was again “jocked off” ahead of Dawn Run’s 1986 Gold Cup triumph, Tony Mullins offered great assistance to Jonjo during a crucial schooling session at Punchestown one week before the big race. It probably made the difference. Jonjo recognised as much when he hoisted him atop his shoulders and carried him to the presentation dais at Cheltenham to pick up his winner’s trophy.

“It was difficult even though the place was really buzzing,” Jonjo reflects of that famous day. “It was Tony who’d done everything with Dawn Run, not me. I was just lucky enough to get on her. All Tony had done was help me.”

On that highly charged occasion, with Irish hordes still intoxicated by the excitement of a dramatic conclusion to the Gold Cup, Paddy Mullins was nowhere to be seen. Wounded by the absence of his son from the saddle, he’d sent his wife to receive his trophy from The Queen Mother and made his way instead to the sanctuary of the racecourse stables.

It would emerge over time that Paddy Mullins, who died in 2010, could never bring himself to watch a replay of Dawn Run’s Gold Cup triumph. Nor did he and his son ever sit down and talk about the contrasting emotions intertwined with the mare’s triumph.

Tony Mullins, for his part, was always magnanimous in public. On Gold Cup day, he was taken aback to be asked how he felt about missing the winning ride.

“My family had just won the Gold Cup,” he recalls. “The excitement of it far outweighed losing the ride myself.

“The disappointment of not riding her came much later on. It was a very hurtful thing the way it happened. It ran deep.”

‘This one is out of the ordinary’

Even though Dawn Run showed abundant promise in her early races, it was impossible to envisage her progression to the highest peaks. Tony Mullins admits he never saw it coming, although his father, who would win 10 champion trainer titles in Ireland, had more than an early inkling.

“When she was young, she was a masculine-looking filly who never did anything spectacular at home,” Tony says. “Before she ran, nobody ever said: ‘By God, this is the one.’

“But after my brother [Tom] had won a bumper on her, Dad said to me: ‘This one is out of the ordinary.’ I was quite surprised. I knew by the way he said it that he thought she was something else.”

The jumping fraternity would get a glimpse of Paddy Mullins’ intuition when Dawn Run paid her first visit to the Cheltenham Festival in 1983. Charmian stood Tony down in favour of Ron Barry, who rode the mare into a commendable second place behind Sabin Du Loir in the SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle (now the Ballymore).

Sabin Du Loir looked like winning easily, but Dawn Run made him pull out all the stops. It was Barry’s first time aboard the mare and a consensus held that he may even have won had he set a stronger pace aboard Dawn Run. Barry was not to know of the mare’s remarkable ability to maintain a punishing, end-to-end gallop. She could contrive a racing rhythm that would have seen most horses throw in the towel long before the finish.

With Barry sidelined by a fall, Tony was back aboard when Dawn Run ventured to Aintree three weeks later, where they waltzed to victory.

“Then came the first portent of the heights the strapping mare would one day scale. Saddled up again just 24 hours later, Dawn Run made Gaye Brief – winner of the Champion Hurdle three weeks earlier – work hard to suppress her in the Templegate Hurdle. And when Dawn Run won again in a canter at Punchestown two weeks later, the extent of her prowess had become plain.

Dawn Run picked up where she left off the following season until her Down Royal victory, when Charmian told Tony he would be replaced as the mare took aim at the Champion Hurdle. With Jonjo now aboard, Dawn Run won the Christmas Hurdle and Irish Champion Hurdle before descending on Cheltenham for the second time.

Up against her in the Champion Hurdle was another habitual front-runner in Desert Orchid, no less, but Dawn Run led the grey until halfway. Desert Orchid briefly went on but the mare had his measure by the third-last flight, when the field bunched up alongside her. At that point, Jonjo prompted Dawn Run, who shrugged off the persistent Buck House before she resisted Cima’s late thrust to carry the day by three-quarters of a length.

Irish eyes misted up as they cheered Dawn Run every step of the way into the winner’s enclosure. She became just the second mare to win the Champion Hurdle, yet amid scenes of joyous bedlam Charmian remained unmoved. She was already thinking ahead to Dawn Run’s date with destiny in the Gold Cup.

But Charmian had other fish to fry before that. After Dawn Run won the Aintree Hurdle by 15 lengths, she instructed Paddy to send her mare to France, where she won the Prix la Barka and Grand Course de Haies (French Champion Hurdle), each time with great ease under Tony.

Tony was supremely confident Dawn Run would win that day at Auteuil. So much so that he obliged a photographer from The Times, who told him that if he could jump the final flight in the middle of the obstacle (rather than either end), he would get a picture of Dawn Run jumping to victory with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

“I was winning so easily that I was able to do just as the photographer asked,” Mullins recalls. “That day was the best feel I ever got from Dawn Run.”

She closed that season having won eight of her nine starts.

Dawn Run returns to the winner’s enclosure to rapturous applause. (Image credit: Alamy)

Dawn Run: ‘Brilliant – but a bulldozer’

Dawn Run’s 1984–85 campaign, which saw her graduate to fences, was cut short after she sustained a tendon injury in winning on her chasing debut. It was a significant setback that detained her for 13 months, after which she resumed by winning the Durkan Brothers Chase in December 1985. And she showed she was back on the Gold Cup trail when she beat Buck House over 2½ miles at Leopardstown over Christmas.

Then the plot unravelled.

Dawn Run was sent to Cheltenham in January 1986 for a straightforward assignment ahead of the Gold Cup. She was sauntering along in the lead until she crashed into the fifth-last, unseating Tony into the bargain.

“That was just her,” Tony relates. “She was quite ignorant with her jumping. If she met a fence right, she was brilliant; if she met one wrong, she felt she could bulldoze it. She wouldn’t try to put herself right.”

Tony also spoke of seeing his Gold Cup dreams biting the dust in the act of falling off Dawn Run – and his nightmare duly materialised.

“I didn’t like it but after all these years, I’m just about getting over it,” he reflects.

Nevertheless, when Jonjo O’Neill schooled Dawn Run solo at Gowran Park seven weeks before the Gold Cup in 1986, he came away thinking the inexperienced mare should not even be lining up at Cheltenham, never mind as the favourite.

But it was a different story when he rode Dawn Run in another schooling session at Punchestown one week before the Gold Cup.

“That time Tony Mullins schooled alongside me on another horse and it made all the difference,” O’Neill recalls. “Tony was a big help to me. It allowed me to go to Cheltenham thinking I had a fighting chance.”

So, for the third time, Charmian stood Tony down in favour of Jonjo, who rode in the Gold Cup like a man possessed. He needed to, since Dawn Run was making only her fifth start over fences.

“I was worried down at the start because she was a moody so-and-so and I had to get away smartly,” Jomjo relates. “She might have sulked otherwise, but she jumped away and we met the first fence on a good stride.”

As with her Champion Hurdle victory, Dawn Run was harried from the off, this time by Run And Skip. And her task became all the more daunting when she clattered into the fifth-last fence, where she surrendered the advantage. Even though she was back on terms on the turn for home, her goose looked cooked when both Wayward Lad and Forgive ’n Forget swept past her on the run to the final fence. But Dawn Run was far from spent.

“I had ridden Wayward Lad before and never felt that he stayed more than three miles,” Jonjo recalls. “I could see that he was tiring on the run-in, so I kept riding away and sure enough, the mare came alive under me. She’d taken a breather and managed to force herself back in front in the nick of time.”

If Dawn Run’s Champion Hurdle triumph had triggered a communal outpouring of joy, this one saw the winner’s enclosure engulfed by what seemed like half of Ireland. In the deliriously happy chaos, Paddy slipped quietly away, unnoticed. His finest moment as a trainer was compromised by the absence of his son in the saddle.

Dawn Run en route to victory in the 1986 Cheltenham Gold Cup (Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)

It would be apposite to relate that Dawn Run, then an eight-year-old, had had another chance to win the Gold Cup for a second time the following year. Sadly, it never came to pass.

After Dawn Run had beaten Buck House, who’d just won the two-mile Champion Chase at Cheltenham, in a match race at Punchestown in April, Charmian was adamant she should return to France. Dawn Run would again take in the Prix la Barka as a stepping stone towards the Grand Course de Haies she’d won two years earlier.

Tony was back aboard for the Prix la Barka, after which he maintained Dawn Run would not avenge the beating she’d taken from Le Rheusois in the Grand Course itself. Agitated by what she perceived as Tony’s negativity, Charmian replaced him once more with French jockey Michel Chirol, in whose hands Dawn Run died when she fell heavily and broke her neck at the fifth-last flight.

Her demise hit the Mullins family hard.

“It was a massive shock,” says Tony.

“I went off for a walk on my own; I felt very angry. I felt Dawn Run should never have been there that day and in two seconds she was gone.

“She was only really maturing. She was a huge big mare, almost 17 hands, and only just coming into her prime. She was just superior at every level, all of her life.”

It says everything about Dawn Run that her death was reported on the front page of The Irish Times.

Dawn Run with her groom John Clarke and trainer Paddy Mullins’ wife Maureen. (Image credit: Independent News and Media/Getty Images)

Dawn Run’s origins

Bay mare, foaled 1978
By Deep Run out of Twilight Slave, by Arctic Slave
Owner: Charmian Hill
Trainer: Paddy Mullins
Breeder: Joe Riordan
Jockeys: Tony Mullins, Jonjo O’Neill, Ron Barry
Unlike many top-class National Hunt horses, Dawn Run boasted a fine jumping pedigree. She was by multiple champion National Hunt sire Deep Run out of the unraced Twilight Slave, whose five other winners over jumps included Even Dawn, himself the winner of 21 races over jumps. Furthermore, Dawn Run’s granddam, the point-to-point winner Early Light, was a full-sister to the Scottish National winner Brasher.

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Remaining Cheltenham Festival 2026 ticket options now that Gold Cup Day has sold out

georgia.guerin@futurenet.com (Georgia Guerin) — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:56:16 +0000

The “early bird” and “advanced sale” windows for 2026 Cheltenham Festival tickets have now closed, but you can still save money against the on-the-gate prices by booking online before you go (up until 23:59 the night before the raceday).

Tickets for Gold Cup Day (Friday, 13 March) have completely sold out, but there are still tickets available for the preceding days.

If you want to be at the Cheltenham Festival when “the greatest show on turf” gets underway next year, then don’t leave it a moment longer – get your Cheltenham Festival tickets now. Keep reading for more information about what’s on and the different enclosures, so that you can watch Cheltenham live with your own eyes.

When is Cheltenham Festival?

The 2026 Cheltenham Festival spans four days over 10–13 March.

Day 1 (Tuesday 10 March) is Champion Day, with the prestigious Unibet Champion Hurdle (a Grade One race over two miles) as the highlight.

Day 2 (Wednesday 11 March) is Ladies Day, where the style awards add extra excitement. Feature races include the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase.

Day 3 (Thursday 12 March) is St Patrick’s Thursday, which is a celebration of all things Irish. Don’t miss two of the festival’s most anticipated events on this day – the Ryanair Chase and the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle.

Day 4 (Friday 13 March) is Gold Cup Day, which is a big day of top-class action for those looking for the ultimate Cheltenham experience, including the Cheltenham Gold Cup, of course.

Ticket prices are the same for each enclosure for the first three days, and are slightly more expensive on the final day – although Gold Cup Day is now sold out.

Cheltenham Festival tickets

Best Mate Enclosure

Though you don’t have access to the Parade Ring or views of the preliminaries, the Best Mate Enclosure provides a decent view of proceedings from opposite the main grandstand. What’s more, on the Thursday and Friday, the New Course (where the racing taking place) is closer to the Best Mate Enclosure than to the Tattersalls or Club Enclosures.

Gate price from £70
General sale tickets from £54

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Tattersalls Enclosure

Marketed as the perfect middle ground, Tattersalls gives you a great view of the racing up the famous Cheltenham hill. Access is afforded to much of the grandstand, the parade and pre-parade ring as well as facilities such as the Guinness Village.

Gate price from £91
Advance sale tickets from £73.80

Club Enclosure

The best seat in the house without splashing the cash on hospitality, the Club Enclosure gets racing fans as close to the finishing post as possible. You have access to all the areas available to Tattersalls ticket holders, plus prime position in the main grandstand.

Gate price from £126
Advance sale tickets from £103.50

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Premium area tickets

All premium areas are now sold out for 2026.

Guinness Grandstand

The Guinness Village is opposite the last fence, so you get an excellent view with a reserved seat. It extends from the Tattersalls Enclosure, and has extra viewing steps, bars, bands and other entertainment.

This area is now sold out.

Racecourse View

Enjoy one of the best views in the racing world with a reserved seat in the Grandstand with view across the finish line.

This area is now sold out.

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Cheltenham Festival Hospitality tickets

A range of hospitality packages are available direct from Cheltenham.

Specialist hospitality provider Seat Unique also offer various official hospitality packages if you’re looking for a premium way to experience The Festival.

Cheltenham Festival Annual Memberships

Those wishing to attend multiple days might want to consider an annual membership, which grants access 16 racedays at Cheltenham, including Cheltenham Festival.

Full membership: From £500
12–28 membership: From £290
Senior membership (65+): From £215
Garrison Savannah Business Club: From £600
Cheltenham and Southwest Racing Club: From £1,800
National Stud Bloodstock Club: From £1,700

Once you’ve got your tickets, check out hotels near Cheltenham Festival and how to get to Cheltenham racecourse.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

‘It’s a big blow’: defending Champion Chase hero withdrawn from 2026 Cheltenham Festival

Lucy Elder — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 17:05:37 +0000

The 2025 Champion Chase hero Marine Nationale will not defend his title at next week’s Cheltenham Festival (10-13 March).

Barry Connell, who owns and trains the nine-year-old gelding, told the Nick Luck Daily podcast today (3 March) he suspects that Marine Nationale may have got cast in his box.

“We went into his stable this morning and the horse was very sore through his neck and just down in the dumps,” he said.

He added that the issue is “nothing too serious” and that the vet has been to see the horse and given him pain relief medication, but the timing means that he will miss next week’s BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (11 March).

“We’ve had a clear run with him right through his career. He’s incredibly sound and has hardly ever missed a day, either through lameness or sickness. It’s a big blow, but we’ll hopefully have him back for Punchestown [in April] and for next year. He has very little mileage on the clock.”

Marine Nationale: ‘One in 10,000 lifetimes’

H&H’s Martha Terry visited Mr Connell’s yard in Co Kildare last month, when Marine Nationale was in work.

“Marine is a special animal, not just one in a lifetime, he’s one in 10,000 lifetimes and we’re just lucky he landed in our yard,” said Mr Connell at the time.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout the year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

‘An outstanding all-round equestrian’: Cheltenham names amateurs’ gold cup after the Princess Royal

Eleanor Jones — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 16:47:30 +0000

The race known as the “amateurs’ Gold Cup” has been renamed after the Princess Royal, an “outstanding all-round equestrian”.

Cheltenham racecourse has announced that the hunters’ chase, which runs at the Festival immediately after the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup, will now be The Princess Royal Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Steeple Chase.

The race is run over the same course as the Gold Cup on the last day of the Festival, which runs from Tuesday to Friday next week (10-13 March). It is not the first race at the meeting to be named in honour of a member of the royal family; the Queen Mother Champion Chase was renamed in 1980, the year of the Queen Mother’s 80th birthday.

The National Hunt Chase, on the opening day of the Festival, will no longer carry the Princess Royal’s name; it returns to being run as the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase.

The Princess Royal is a frequent visitor to Cheltenham; she opened the Princess Royal Stand at the racecourse in November 2015, and her daughter Zara Tindall has been a member of the racecourse committee since 2019.

Cheltenham chief executive Guy Lavender said: “The Hunters’ Chase at the Festival is a contest that recognises and celebrates the very origins of our great sport. We therefore feel it is very appropriate to stage it under the name of Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal – an outstanding all-round equestrian who has excelled in a wide range of disciplines.”

Princess Anne won individual European eventing gold with Doublet in 1971 and team and individual silver in 1975 with Goodwill, with whom she became the first member of the royal family to compete at the Olympics, a year later.

She also rode as an amateur jockey, winning on the Flat and over jumps.

To stay up to date with all the breaking equestrian news throughout 2026, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Get the inside scoop at one of the remaining 2026 Cheltenham Festival preview nights

georgia.guerin@futurenet.com (Georgia Guerin) — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 12:22:25 +0000

We’ve rounded up the 2026 Cheltenham Festival preview nights to make sure you know which horses to keep a close eye on when the action gets underway at the Cheltenham Festival four-day National Hunt racing bonanza.

This list has been updated on Tuesday, 3 March to remove the preview nights that have passed and those that have closed their bookings. Many of the remaining previews have limited tickets available, so it’s best to book now if you can.

Cheltenham previews have a host and a panel of experts, including jockeys, trainers, pundits and other members of the media – all there to share tips, predictions, and insider knowledge of the runners, riders and more. They’re fun, insightful (whether you’re heading to Prestbury Park or watching Cheltenham on TV) and many raise money for charity, too.

Remaining Cheltenham Festival preview nights 2026

Tuesday 3 March

Venue: Rodney Parade, Newport

Time: 7.30pm

Price: £20 (includes light meal)

Confirmed panel: Luke Harvey, Christian Williams, Jack Tudor, Sean Bowen and Nick Scholfield

Tickets: eticketing.co.uk

Venue: The News Building, 1 London Bridge Street, London

Time: 7pm

Price: £5 (includes drink)

Confirmed panel: Matt Chapman, Rich Ricci, Davy Russell, Ben Pauling, Nick Luck and Steve Mullen

Tickets: thesun.co.uk

Venue: Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds

Time: 7.30pm

Price: £20 (includes a £5 bet from Sky Bet)

Confirmed panel:Ed Chamberlin, Oli Bell, Fran Berry, Daryl Jacob and Mark Howard

Tickets: tickets.yorkshireccc.com

Wednesday 4 March

Venue: Hexham Auction Mart, Hexham

Time: 7pm

Price: £12, proceeds to Injured Jockeys Fund and Racing Welfare

Confirmed panel: Andrew Thornton, Gordon Brown, Ryan Mania and Stephen Darbyshire

Tickets: hexham-racecourse.co.uk

Venue: The Holford Arms, Tetbury

Time: 6.45pm

Price: £25 (includes hog roast), proceeds to Racing Welfare, Leighterton School PTFA and local charities

Confirmed panel: Olly Murphy, Jamie Snowden and The Racing Life Podcast Team

Tickets: Call Naomi on 07702 720920

Thursday 5 March

Venue: The Centaur at Cheltenham Racecourse

Time: 7pm

Price: Members free, public £10

Confirmed panel: Sir AP McCoy, Barry Geraghty, Jane Mangan, Leonna Mayor and Gavin Cromwell

Tickets: thejockeyclub.co.uk

Venue: Mister Shenanigans, Coventry

Time: 7.45pm

Price: £10

Confirmed panel: Derek Thompson, Olly Murphy and Tom Ellis

Tickets: skiddle.com

Friday 6 March

Venue: Slaithwaite Cricket Club, Huddersfield

Time: 7.30pm

Price: £20 (includes drink on arrival)

Confirmed panel: Kate Tracey, Aidan Coleman, Henry Brooke

Tickets: ticketsource.co.uk

Venue: Baildon Cricket Club, Shipley

Time: 7.30pm

Price: £15 (includes drink on arrival)

Confirmed panel: Derek Thompson, David Carr and Tom Scudamore

Tickets: ticketsource.co.uk

Venue: The Owls At Standish, Standish

Time: 7.30pm

Price: £12.50

Confirmed panel: Stephen Darbyshire, Adam Smith and Lee Jones

Join waiting list: ticketsource.co.uk

Venue: Horwood House, Milton Keynes

Time: 6.30pm

Price: £90 (includes three-course meal and wine), proceeds to Ride High

Confirmed panel: Gina Andrews, Billy Aprahamian, Dave Orton, Stuart Edmunds and Charlie Hammond

Tickets: ridehigh.org

Venue: Clavell & Hind Brewery, Cheltenham

Time: 7pm

Price: £32 (includes burger, fries and first drink), proceeds to Racing Welfare

Confirmed panel: Olly Murphy, Jamie Snowden, Tom Drinkwater and Andrew Staines

Tickets: eventbrite.co.uk

Saturday 7 March

Venue: Ashton Under Lyne Golf Club, Manchester

Time: 7pm

Price: £15

Confirmed panel: Dan Barber, Martin Dixon, Graham Cunningham and John Parrott

Tickets: ticketsource.co.uk

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major events throughout the year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

‘This fellow is top shelf’: the Cheltenham Gold Cup runner with a serious chance, according to Grand National-winning trainer

Martha Terry — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 14:50:00 +0000

Jimmy Mangan may only have 10 horses in his yard in Co Cork, but his Cheltenham Gold Cup contender Spillane’s Tower is one of the best in the National Hunt game. Having already saddled a Grand National winner, Jimmy is bidding to add jump racing’s most prestigious prize to his CV at this year’s Cheltenham Festival.

It’s been 23 years since Jimmy celebrated victory at Aintree with Monty’s Pass, but eight-year-old Spillane’s Tower could be the horse to thrust him back into the limelight.

“In the village I come from the signs are still up ‘Home of Monty’s Pass’, so hopefully they can put another one up!” said Jimmy, 70.

Spillane’s Tower beat two potential Boodles Gold Cup rivals in the Betfair Cotswold Chase over the same distance on Cheltenham Trials day.

“He’s a lovely, placid horse, who comes alive when he goes racing,” Jimmy says. “When he came into the [parade] ring at Cheltenham, you could see he was ready for it. We had to put him in a stable as he was really on his toes, getting giddy and wanting to get on with the job. That’s a good sign with him.”

The Walk In The Park son was bred by Noreen McManus and is certainly fulfilling his early promise.

“The McManuses said they were sending me the most beautiful horse to train and when he came off the lorry that day I said, ‘I hope there’s an engine inside that horse, because he had all the physique, size, strength and boldness – he was a real athlete.

“Thankfully there was an engine to drive that body. He performed very well over hurdles and I said, ‘If this horse can jump a fence we’ll have a great time’.”

He promptly won two Grade Ones as a novice.

“I knew then we had a good one,” Jimmy chuckles. “You can’t compare him to Monty’s Pass, who was a handicapper. This one is all class, he has the gears. This fellow is top shelf.”

Spillane’s Tower (left) heads for victory at Cheltenham earlier this year. (Image credit: JTW Equine Images / Alamy Live News)

Spillane’s Tower’s build-up for the Gold Cup

Not only is he a performer, he’s also a “very easy horse to deal with”. His routine includes plenty of turnout and variety.

“He loves rolling in his paddock every day,” Jimmy says. “If it’s wet, he has an all-weather sheet and we’ll still get him out. He eats better if he goes out, and he’ll roll in the mud and have a pick of grass. He’ll kick the door to get out, but then he loves to come in in the evening, I think he suits being where he’s trained.

“He goes out in the centre of the circle gallop and we work the other horses round him and he won’t even lift his head. He’ll just pick at the grass and say, ‘I’ve done my work this morning’.

Jimmy works him both on a circular gallop and up a hill.

“If you’d run up that hill yourself, you’d know about it!” says Jimmy. “We have a lot of nice gallops that we use. I think variety is nice – not to be confined to the same gallop all the time.”

As for the race itself, Jimmy says “you need luck”, but he isn’t the type to stress about it.

“I’m cool enough, I’ve been at it all my life,” he says. “This horse has a ‘pull out’ which is vital from the last fence home. If luck has gone his way during the race, he should have a bit up his sleeve and won’t be far away at the finishing line.

“If I go for the big race, I fancy my own horse and that’s it. They all have chances, but I’m not running for the sake of it.”

Jimmy Mangan’s lucky local hat

One extra bit luck comes in the form of Jimmy’s trademark purple and yellow beanie – both his family racing colours and those of his local hurling team, St Catherine’s GAA in Conna.

Jimmy Mangan wearing his famous purple and yellow beanie. (Image credit: Alamy)

“A long time ago, my father had a few point-to-pointers and he had no racing colours,” Jimmy explains. “He asked the local hurling team would they give him the loan of a jersey, and they did. He kept the jersey and registered with the Turf Club so they’re our racing colours and also our local hurling team.

“Any time I do a Cheltenham preview night for charity, they give me a hat in my colours! It will definitely be coming to Cheltenham.”

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from Cheltenham Festival, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Time called on Constitution Hill’s hurdles career – but fans will see him parade at the Cheltenham Festival

Lucy Elder — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 18:27:24 +0000

Constitution Hill has been withdrawn from the Champion Hurdle and will start the “next chapter” of his career.

Trainer Nicky Henderson announced the end of the racing star’s jumps career today (25 February), with his future runs expected to be on the Flat.

Although the horse will not be racing at next month’s Cheltenham Festival (10 to 13 March), he will make an appearance “to give all his National Hunt supporters the chance to say goodbye”.

Constitution Hill, owned by Michael Buckey, won his first 10 starts under Rules including the 2023 Champion Hurdle. But three falls from four starts over hurdles prompted a change of tactics.

The nine-year-old headed to Southwell on Friday (20 February), where he made a scintillating Flat debut on the all-weather with Oisin Murphy in the saddle. The big question since has been whether connections would target a reclamation of the Unibet Champion Hurdle at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, or if Constitution Hill would switch codes.

Mr Henderson said today that he and Mr Buckley have “spent a lot of time soul-searching and thinking” about the horse’s future, and have concluded that “he will not be running in the Unibet Champion Hurdle”.

“Last Friday night was for us all a magical occasion and we so appreciated his popularity and the love and admiration everybody showed to Conrad, as he is fondly called here. It was a terrific night for him, us, and I believe British horse racing.”

Mr Henderson added that he and Mr Buckley did not feel it would be fair to ask the horse and his regular jockey Nico de Boinville to race again over hurdles.

“He showed on Friday night that he has another career in front of him that could possibly take us all to new playing fields.

“I would like to thank the thousands of Constitution Hill’s supporters and admirers that have shared their sentiments with us and advice on how we should proceed, and I would have to say the poll was as near 50/50 as you could get.”

He added: “This is a sad day for a lot of us, particularly the National Hunt fraternity that would have liked to have seen Constitution Hill try to regain his crown and sad for all here especially Nico, who has spent so much time trying to iron out our jumping issues.

“However he leaves the jumping world sound and happy and ready for the next chapter. It has been a staggering journey so far and Michael has had to endure some dark days but of course enjoyed the enormous highs and thrills of an extraordinary horse.”

Constitution Hill will parade at Cheltenham racecourse on Champion Hurdle day (Tuesday, 10 March).

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout the year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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2PD5HYC Constitution Hill ridden by jockey Nico de Boinville clear a fence on their way to winning the Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy on day one of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Picture date: Tuesday March 14, 2023. (Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)

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Meet Willie Mullins’ key Cheltenham Festival 2026 contenders: ‘This horse still has the ability to win the Gold Cup’

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Meet Willie Mullins’ key Cheltenham Festival 2026 contenders: ‘This horse still has the ability to win the Gold Cup’

Martha Terry — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 16:05:22 +0000

The 19-time Irish champion jumps trainer Willie Mullins is set to bring a strong hand of Cheltenham Festival runners to Prestbury Park for the 2026 meeting (10–13 March).

Willie Mullins, who is also the reigning UK champion trainer, is the most successful in the history of the Cheltenham Festival with a record 113 winners to his credit since landing the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 1995 with Tourist Attraction. He has been leading trainer there 12 times.

Willie tallied 10 trophies at Prestbury Park last year – his equal best season with 2022. His Ryanair Chase winner Fact To File spearheaded his string, while his dual Boodles Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs fought valiantly for a hat-trick but was denied by Inothewayurthinking.

Several of the stables’ winners from last year have entries this time, including Kopek Des Bordes, Lossiemouth, Lecky Watson, Fact To File, Poniros and Kargese.

So how does Willie Mullins rate his key runners at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival? This is what he had to say about just some of his potential contenders when he attended a press briefing in his local town, Bagenalstown, at an event organised by The Jockey Club.

Despite being long odds-on to regain his leading trainer title, he played down expectations.

“I’m always fascinated when people say to me, ‘how many this year, Willie?’” he said. “People expect us to have six, seven, eight or 10 winners. We go there hoping for one, and if we get one on the first day, then hopefully we might get two or three but we don’t go over expecting winners.

“So I don’t expect, I hope for winners and hopefully the right ones will win. It’s always nicer to get bigger winners than 10 ordinary winners. To get a Gold Cup or a Champion Hurdle puts a whole different aspect on the week.”

As for his form going into the Festival, Willie hopes his string will peak when it matters.

“I’m happy enough. I’ve been further forward in other years,” he admitted. “A few of the horses just haven’t sparked, but I think I’ll have them right by the time we get to Cheltenham.”

Willie Mullins’ key Cheltenham Festival runners

Fact To File: ‘He can run in any race!’

JP McManus’s nine-year-old Poliglote gelding holds the Ryanair crown. He is currently entered to defend that 2½-mile title, but the trainer hasn’t ruled out running him in the Gold Cup over 3m 2f – which will require supplementing at a cost of £25,000.

This was on the strength of beating his stablemates Gaelic Warrior and Galopin Des Champs in the Irish Gold Cup (over 3m 1/2f) at Leopardstown on his latest outing.

“If you go back to November, Fact To File was the Irish banker for the Ryanair and there was no doubt about it,” said Willie. “And then he comes out and did what he did the other day, and you’ve got to remember it’s not like JP is an ordinary owner.

“JP has so many horses, Spillane’s Tower for one, that he can run in the Gold Cup with a live chance and still keep Fact To File in the Ryanair. He’s seen the ups and downs, ins and outs of it so I’m going to respect whatever he says to me.”

The decision is likely to be taken late, depending on which other horses commit to running. But in terms of prep, Willie has no concerns whether he’s running over two miles or three.

“I’ll just get him ready for Cheltenham and if you’d want to supplement him for the Champion Chase I’d say he can run in that too! But I’ll train him the same.”

Fact To File wins the Ryanair Chase at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival. Which race will he go for this season? (Image credit: Alamy)

Gaelic Warrior: ‘He always runs well at Cheltenham’

The 2024 Arkle winner is Willie’s son Patrick Mullins’ pick for the Gold Cup despite being defeated by Fact To File in the Irish Gold Cup. Susanna Ricci’s eight-year-old by Maxios is a remarkably consistent horse at the highest level in staying chases, and was a narrow third in the King George thriller on Boxing Day.

Gaelic Warrior – described by Patrick as “a tank; he’s pure strength” – holds entries in both the Ryanair and the Gold Cup.

“Gaelic Warrior’s in good form; he had a hard race at Christmas and he had a hard race the other day,” said Willie. “He ran fantastic in both races and he’s a horse that does run well at Cheltenham all the time.

“I thought Gaelic Warrior’s run the other day in Leopardstown was ideal for the Ryanair, myself. I just thought the way he ran his race and I wouldn’t have any problem going back there. I thought that was a hell of a run. Patrick was delighted getting off him – he gave him a terrific feel the other day.”

Gaelic Warrior’s four-year-old full brother Our Trigger could take his chance in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper.

Galopin Des Champs: ‘He still has the ability but he’ll need a lot of luck’

Willie’s stable jockey Paul Townend has been aboard Audrey Turley’s son of Timos for both his Gold Cup wins. The 10-year-old has finished third on both his starts this season. Although the horse is in the twilight of his scintillating career, Paul admitted the prospect of riding a rival contender would be “very hard”.

“I don’t think Galopin is finished yet, and I’d love it for the horse to win,” he said. “I’m not saying I would get off him, but if I did and he went by me up the hill, I’d be keeping a wide berth of me for the whole week!”

A hard race at Christmas took more out of the horse than Willie would have liked, but the horse is coming back into form. He would suit softer ground, and may run with cheekpieces.

“He’s in good order and I think he’s still at an age were he’s competitive,” Willie said. “He still has the ability but he’ll need a lot of luck.”

Willie added that Galopin is “lovely individual”.

“He loves people, and when we were out [in the town on his victory parade] we thought we’d just be half an hour but people wanted their photograph with him and he stood there with kids. One kid came over in a wheelchair and he just put his head in his lap – it was extraordinary.”

Galopin Des Champs: can he regain the winning thread? (Image credit: Alamy)

Majborough: the wide-margin winner who ‘has come right’

JP McManus’s Champion Chase contender put in an impressive jumping performance to beat the reigning champ Marine Nationale by 19 lengths in a Leopardstown bog last time. The six-year-old won the Triumph Hurdle at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival, and is favourite for the 2m showpiece this year.

The Martinborough-sired gelding is one to watch if the going is soft.

“I’m always happy enough with his jumping – he might have had one or two schools but very little,” said Willie. “It’s more or less about getting him right – and he’s come right.”

The Champion Hurdle quest

While his 2024 Champion Hurdle winner State Man is sidelined for the season, Willie has nonetheless five horses entered for the 2m hurdling crown, though not all are certain to run. However he’s not boasting about his chances despite the open field.

“Poniros will definitely run because there’s nowhere else to run him,” he said. “Hopefully he’ll have a first-five finish – I think that’s probably the best we can achieve.

“Anzadam – I’ve tried a couple of things and I’ve one or two more things to try that might make him more competitive. We’re a little disappointed as the year has worked out, but I haven’t given up hope on him just yet.”

“Lossiemouth was disappointing the other day, but it’s a very open Champion Hurdle and I’ll have a good word with [owner] Rich Ricci and see what he thinks. A lot will depend on how the mare is in herself. The form she was in the other day I don’t think would cut the mustard and she might be better off going for the Mares’ Hurdle but we shall see.”

However, if Willie does opt for the Mares’ with Lossiemouth, she is likely to face a serious challenge in Gordon Elliott’s Wodhooh, an improving six-year-old who won at the Festival last year and has won both her Group races this campaign. Arguably the Champion Hurdle could hold more appeal.

3 unexposed runners that could deliver for Willie Mullins at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival

Kopek Des Bordes: ‘The further and faster he jumped, the better’

The six-year-old, owned by Monabeg Investments, hit the headlines after a fabulous workout, and is due to line up in the Arkle. However, he has only had one run over fences – winning a beginners’ chase impressively at Navan by 13 lengths. He’s also been picked out by racing journalist Carl Evans in our round up of Cheltenham day 1 tips.

“You have to ask the question – how many horses have gone to the Arkle with just one run before?” Willie said. “We are up against it experience-wise, but it’s well known how well he worked recently when he and other horses when two miles over fences at racing speed.

“The further and faster he jumped, the better he jumped.”

Kopek Des Bordes heads for the Arkle on the back of one chasing run. (Image credit: Alamy)

Mighty Park: ‘He has to be a hell of a horse’

JP McManus’ five-year-old son of Walk In The Park is entered in the Supreme Novices’ and Turners Novices’ Hurdles.

He has had only one run over hurdles, where he trounced the 16-strong field by 38 lengths at Fairyhouse.

“When Mark Walsh got off him after he won at Fairyhouse, he said he looked at the big screen at the second last and couldn’t believe how far he was in front, having gone what he thought was a normal slow pace,” said Willie.

“Mark said his cruising speed must be huge and he’s a fantastic jumper. I think he must be right in the mix for the Supreme. He has to be a hell of a horse to do what he did and has huge natural ability.

“Winning by 38 lengths like he did the other day puts you into Faugheen-type territory. From day one I thought he was good enough to win a Champion Bumper with what he was showing me at home.”

Love Sign D’Aunou: ‘He didn’t beat them, he hammered them’

Susanna Ricci’s five-year-old son of Goliath Du Berlais is another Bumper contender. He has won his only start by 10 lengths.

“That win at Naas was a huge performance,” said Willie. “I always love horses that can win at Christmas time or this time of year by 10 lengths.

“He hammered them. He didn’t beat them, he hammered them, and what I loved about it was that he never really showed me that at home. I have so many morning glories where you think they’re fantastic at home and you bring them to the racetrack and they let you down.”

To stay up to date with all the breaking news in the run up to the Cheltenham Festival, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

‘I think he could win the Gold Cup’: 17-time champion amateur jockey’s selection for Cheltenham’s blue riband

Martha Terry — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 15:10:19 +0000

Champion trainer Willie Mullins has entered nine horses for the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup 2026, and his son and assistant trainer Patrick Mullins highlights Gaelic Warrior as his pick of the bunch.

“I’d love to ride Gaelic Warrior, I think he’d win the Gold Cup,” says amateur rider Patrick, who won the Grand National last year with Nick Rockett. “I’ve ridden a lot of horses in my life, the feeling he gives is pure strength, and it’s that strength that makes me think he could win.

“It’s a cliché but he’d run through a brick wall – he’s like a tank.”

“Like a tank”: Gaelic Warrior’s greatest asset is his bottomless strength. (Image credit: Alamy)

Patrick rides Gaelic Warrior at home and describes him as “always leaning on you, always wants to be in conversation”.

“He can hang and run a bit keen at times, he’s complicated, but while some horses would annoy you, he doesn’t annoy me because you can have a conversation with him,” he says.

“Our gallop is bottomless and he just goes through it so easily. After every race he’s fresh – nothing knocks him or fazes him.”

Thankfully, he never throws his weight around in the stable – though it takes two people to lead him up at the races.

“He’s a funny horse, if he was a human he wouldn’t know how strong he is,” Patrick adds. “He has a bit of wild eye and he’s a bit turned in – he’s not an oil painting, but he does the job.

“He looks big – he’s 16.3hh – but in the stable he’s quite relaxed. But he has this persona in his races of being very difficult to ride and he is. He was born with this energy. You need to know him, that’s all.”

Why Gaelic Warrior could win at Cheltenham 2026

The eight-year-old has a superb record, only finishing out of the first three once (sixth) in 20 completed races. He racked up three in a row last season, and won the Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival by 8½ lengths two years ago.

Cheltenham form: Gaelic Warrior wins the Arkle Chase at the Festival in 2024. (Image credit: Alamy)

Gaelic Warrior finished a tight third in the Boxing Day King George thriller, before last time out finishing second to stablemate Fact To File in the Irish Gold Cup at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown.

“I thought he’d win there too,” admits Patrick, before pointing out that the horse’s form outside of Leopardstown is considerably better than his form at Leopardstown. “In technical terms, in Cheltenham and Aintree and Kempton, where he ran well, there’s a constant inside running rail, and the field races quite tight, so you can park him in on horses’ tails and he relaxes, when he can’t see any daylight.

“At Leopardstown, there’s no inch of running rail, so the field is always spreading out and there’s daylight. Whenever he sees daylight he says I wanna go faster! He is strong, and when he wants to go there’s not much I can do about it. But if you know him well enough, you can distract him – you can’t force him to slow down.”

Of course, with Willie Mullins having some 87 entries across the board, several in multiple races and numerous key contenders, all this conjecturing could be academic. Gaelic Warrior is currently vying for favouritism for the Ryanair Chase with Fact To File – who may yet himself be supplemented at a cost of £25,000 for the Gold Cup, for which the latter is favourite despite the lack of entry. Gaelic Warrior is entered in both – and it’s Willie’s decision which of his jockeys rides which horse.

But Patrick has laid down his cards as the horse he is keen to ride in the big one as he bids to add the Gold Cup to a CV that is impressive by any standards, let alone as an amateur rider.

He adds: “If I could choose one, the Grand National would be the one and always was because of the history – but Sam Waley-Cohen won both so let’s try to match him!”

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major events throughout the year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Meet Marine Nationale, the small-yard superstar bidding for Cheltenham Festival hat-trick

Martha Terry — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 08:30:38 +0000

If you want to back a winner at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, take a look at hat-trick seeker Marine Nationale. The 2025 Champion Chase winner returns to defend his title, and is set to peak at just the right time.

So far, Marine Nationale has been to the Cheltenham Festival twice. The first time he beat the favourite, Willie Mullins’ Facile Vega, to win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, before thrashing two-mile chasing superstar Jonbon by 18 lengths last year.

“He’s been to Cheltenham twice, won twice and hasn’t come off the bridle twice,” says Barry Connell, the horse’s owner-trainer.

Last time out this term, Marine Nationale’s speed was blunted in a Leopardstown bog at the Dublin Racing Festival, where he was beaten 19 lengths by Majborough, and Barry is hoping for better going at Cheltenham for his stable star.

“I live near Leopardstown and in the last 20 years, I’ve never seen rain like it, the heaviest ground I’ve ever seen up there,” he says.

“We needed to get a run into him, but he didn’t go a yard on that ground. He lost 15 lengths with the mistake he made and it brought him to a standstill. He was never in a rhythm, but he stayed on at the end, and I think you’ll see a different horse in March.

“Two factors will come into play: he loves spring ground and he loves Cheltenham.

“He’s nine years old and in the prime of his life. Last year we were learning on the job – this year he’s the finished article.”

Garrett Cotter and Marine National doing routine exercise at Boherbaun Stables. (Image credit: Lorraine O’Sullivan/Jockey Club)

Marine Nationale: gearing up for Cheltenham Festival 2026

H&H visited Barry Connell’s Co Kildare yard in the lead-up to the Festival, where Marine Nationale was just back in work after a short break following his Leopardstown exertions. After a short canter on Barry’s two-furlong deep sand circle, he rolled in his airy box and was then walked round by yard manager Mandy Makepeace to pose for photos.

“He’s an absolute dote to handle, exceptionally well behaved,” says Mandy. “He’s a little excited today as he loves people coming to see him, but you could put a child in here.”

Barry says this temperament – coupled with his natural athleticism – is a winning ingredient.

“He did come alive in the parade last year for the Champion Chase, but while other horses are losing it and sweating, he’s a dude and doesn’t mind where he is,” he says.

“Marine is a special animal, not just one in a lifetime, he’s one in 10,000 lifetimes and we’re just lucky he landed in our yard.

“They say the good horses train themselves, and you just don’t get in their way or do anything stupid.”

It’s a humble assessment of his input from Barry, who is a relative newcomer to the training ranks. He started riding aged 30, took out his amateur jockeys’ licence at 40 – landing two Cheltenham Festival winners in the saddle. Since he started trained only six years ago, he has secured two wins and two placings in five starts at the the Festival.

“I enjoy the whole process,” he says, resting an arm fondly on Marine. “Being down with horses in the early morning, seeing them gallop and just standing with them in the stables.

“It’s addictive once you’ve been bitten by these gorgeous thoroughbreds. There’s an energy that radiates out of these magic creatures.”

Marine Nationale relaxes his stable. (Image credit: Lorraine O’Sullivan/Jockey Club)

And Marine isn’t the only horse from Barry’s Boherbaun Stables making the trip across the Irish Sea. While his Champion Hurdle hopeful William Munny is temporarily sidelined by a muscle injury, seven-year-old Eachtotheirown will line up for the Supreme Novices’. He was sub-par in November at Fairyhouse, but has since bounced back to win at Thurles on his last start. He has won or been runner-up on all his five runs but one.

“He’ll be a big price, but he’s a good jumper and he’ll definitely be competitive,” says Barry.

Barry Connell is a trainer on form. With only 17 horses in training, he’s not prolific, but when they run, it tends to count. He had two winners from two runners on Valentine’s Day. And while neither of them hold Cheltenham entries this time, it bodes well for Marine Nationale and Eachtotheirown come the Festival.

To read the full article on Barry Connell’s yard visit, pick up a copy of Horse & Hound, 26 February.

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What to wear to the races –all occasions covered

georgia.guerin@futurenet.com (Georgia Guerin) — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 15:05:54 +0000

If you’re wondering what to wear to the races, this guide will help you work out what’s a good option and what to avoid, depending on what type of race meeting you’re attending.

In 2023, The Jockey Club announced that formal dress codes will no longer be in place at any of its 15 racecourses in order to make racing more accessible and inclusive, but many racegoers will still choose to dress up for a day at the races, especially if they’re heading to one of the big meetings. Not every outing requires you to dress up as if you’re heading to Royal Ascot, but there are still several things to consider when deciding what to wear to the races.

That said, some racecourses (as not all are owned by The Jockey Club) do employ dress codes, especially for prestigious racedays. The dress codes usually vary between enclosures and will also differ for men and women. For example, men may be required to wear a particular type of jacket, such as a morning coat, while women may need to wear a hat or fascinator. If you’re struggling with what to wear to the races, we always recommend checking whether there are rules for the meeting and enclosure at the racecourse you plan to attend.

It’s currently National Hunt season, which means dressing for the weather as well as for style. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

What to wear to the races: the considerations

As there is quite a difference in what to wear to the races depending on the fixture, there are a few things you need to consider before you start thinking about individual items of clothing. It’s currently National Hunt racing season (until the end of April) and this calls for stylish yet practical attire, focusing on warmth, comfort and, often, country chic.

Weather

Much of the excitement at a fixture is outside, whether it’s heading down to the parade ring to check out the runners, placing a bet at the bookmakers in front of the grandstand or standing at the rail to watch your horse come in, so it’s important you’re dressed for the weather.

Some seating areas are covered, but not all, so be sure to check your ticket.

Time of year

All-weather racecourses mean that racing can go on year round, but traditionally the Flat racing season runs from the Newmarket 2000 Guineas meeting at the start of May until Champions Day at Ascot in mid-October, while the bigger meetings in the National Hunt season run from the end of October to the end of April.

Enclosure

Generally, the more expensive an enclosure is to access, the smarter people tend to dress. Some enclosures will have dress codes you’ll need to adhere to, but these vary so it’s best to check on the racecourse’s website.

Time of day

Most meetings are held in the daytime, but some racecourses, such as Windsor, are known for their evening meetings, while many all-weather tracks also hold evening meetings under lights throughout the winter. Some jumps meetings also take place in the evening during the summer months. If you’re heading to an evening meeting, it’s definitely worth taking a jacket or something to cover your shoulders.

For specific areas of advice or inspiration, jump to:

Men’s footwear
Men’s legwear
Men’s shirts and jackets
Men’s accessories
Women’s footwear
Women’s dresses
Women’s legwear
Women’s tops and jackets
Women’s accessories

What men should wear to the races

Although not compulsory in all enclosures or at all racecourses, men usually dress smart.

Dressing for the weather is important during the jumps season. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

At jumps meetings, men tend to adopt a “dress for the weather” approach as most of the big meetings take place during the winter months. Many traditionalists wear tweed, but this is personal preference. If you’re a corporate guest at a big meeting, such as the Cheltenham Festival, a suit is more appropriate.

During the Flat season, men usually dress smart. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

For Flat racing, men usually wear a collared shirt with trousers and smart shoes. Some choose to finish the look with a tie and blazer, but again this is personal preference and not essential – and to some extent determined by the weather.

Men’s footwear

First thing’s first – you can expect to be on your feet all day at the races. Consequently, the footwear you select needs to be comfortable and suitable for day-long wear. If you’re keen to buy a new pair of shoes for the races, ensure your first wear of them does not coincide with raceday. To ensure the shoes have suppled up and moulded to your feet, wear them in a good few times around the house or in the office.

Next, consider the style of shoe you want to wear. As as general rule, trainers are largely regarded as a no-go for the races – however, they are often welcome at more low-key racedays or weekday meetings. Oxfords or brogues pair well with a suit, and you may want to opt for a boot, such as a Chelsea, for the depths of winter. In summertime, loafers can help keep you cool and comfy.

You should also ensure the colour you opt for compliments the colour and material of your attire. As a rule, black suits should be paired with black shoes, while navy suits may go more pleasantly with a brown or burgundy shoe. Light or grey suits can be successfully paired with a warmer colour, such as shades of brown, navy or oxblood. That said, black shoes are a classic and usually pair well with most suits.

Finally, be sure your shoes are in good order before you go. In essence, make certain they are clean and polished and the laces are in a good state of repair. It would be a shame to detract from an otherwise chic look with shabby shoes.

Men’s legwear

A formal, tailored trouser in a slim or regular fit looks smart and is comfortable – but think about your material. A wool, tweed or a heavier cotton twill are good choices for cooler weather, while a linen or linen/cotton blend will help you beat the heat at a summertime fixture.

A chino is also a great move for raceday – but be wary of shorts. Some events where dress codes are in place do not permit them. Even so, the general consensus is a preference for longer trousers, so at the end of the day it’s about your comfort. If it’s baking hot and you want to rock a short, in most cases you’ll be at liberty to.

Smart jeans are out for the more prestigious racedays and the fanciest enclosures, though smart casual racing outfits featuring denim are very popular on weekday meetings.

Men’s shirts and jackets

Shirts with a collar are the obvious choice and it’s your choice to opt for a dress shirt if you wish – cufflinks are a fun accessory. Most men opt for a classic Oxford shirt, however.

If you’re not going to a full tailored suit, a suitable blazer or jacket will be what to wear to the races. Fabric will be a major player as with trousers, and it’s advisable to avoid a high polyester content if you can. Jackets with a high concentration of polyester are not especially breathable and could cause you to overheat.

Some men like to opt for a three-piece suit, which has the addition of a waistcoat. These are smart and add a little personality to an outfit (especially if they have a fun lining). What’s more, they give you an layering option in changeable weather. On the coldest racedays (or nights), you might add an overcoat to you look.

Men’s accessories

A smart belt is great, if it matches your shoes then even better. A wristwatch is another nice touch, especially if the strap also ties in to your belt and shoe colour.

Most men pair their collared shirt with a tie and you could even go the extra mile and choose a matching pocket square (like this one).

A pair of smart gloves are just the ticket on chilly winter racedays.

What ladies should wear to the races

Although ladies do tend to dress up for the races, you do not need to go to the lengths you would for Royal Ascot for other race meetings.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

As with the gentlemen, it is a case of wearing weather-appropriate clothing in the winter for National Hunt racing. We wouldn’t advise heels as the conditions are likely to be wet and you’re likely to spend much of the day on your feet.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Many ladies attending Flat racing meetings in the summer use it as a chance to get dressed up, although this is not always compulsory. Some of the more prestigious meetings, such as Royal Ascot, and the increasing number of ladies’ days put the spotlight on fashion. Some meetings also offer competitions for the best-dressed racegoers to enter.

Women’s footwear

It’s a caution that’s worth repeating – at the races about 90% of your time is spent on your feet, so it’s a very good idea to ensure you’re shod primarily for comfort. That said, there’s no need to sacrifice on style and there are so many chic options at your fingertips. Even so, if you’re buying new, give them a few wears before you step out on raceday.

Strappy sandals and open-toed stilettos are tempting for aesthetic purposes – but a few words of caution. Firstly, racedays can draw huge crowds and you wouldn’t want your toes getting trampled on. Secondly, there’s a high chance you’ll be walking across grass at some point and risk sinking into the turf. Finally, the grace period for which most people can tolerate such shoes is usually very short. Strappy, thin-heeled shoes are likely suspects in causing tired, aching and blistered feet. So, what to wear to the races?

Chunkier, close-toed shoes are a great choice and heeled pumps or court shoes are elegant yet practical. Block heels are especially comfortable. If you aren’t keen on fully enclosing your foot, a slingback pump is a good shout and makes for a summery look. Or, why not go for some smart flats? Loafers, Mary Janes or mules would be ideal choices.

Heels are seen much less in the winter and many ladies opt for a pair of stylish boots instead. Ankle and Chelsea boots are popular options, or invest in a pair of knee-highs that will serve you well through the colder months.

As with the men, trainers are not traditionally worn, but are becoming more popular as dress codes become more and more relaxed.

Women’s dresses and jumpsuits

When we think of the ultimate raceday look, a dress is often the thing that springs to mind. Dress code pointers that apply to dresses usually relate to straps, sheer fabric and skirt length, so double check before you attend.

Sky’s the limit in terms of style, cut and fabric – the most important consideration is your comfort and wearing something you feel good about. One thing to bear in mind is that synthetic fabrics do not have the breathable properties of natural ones, and can be more liable to pilling. Cotton jersey dresses are on the casual end of the scale, linen and cotton poplin somewhere in the middle and wool, silk, satin and velvet numbers offer the most polished look.

Another all-in-one option that shouldn’t be overlooked is the jumpsuit – a super garment for overcast days when you don’t need a jacket, but a summer dress would leave you chilly. Alternatively, you might opt for a jumpsuit if you’re a habitual trouser wearer and fancy a compromise. The styles vary from super slim-fitting, to a tailored bodice and wide-leg pant, or even a relaxed all-over fit.

Women’s legwear

On wintery days a wool or tweed trouser with a boot will keep the cold at bay. Dark colours disguise any mud and opting for a smooth grain leather will be easier to clean.

Jeans can be on the agenda dress code permitting – we can recommend bootcut, wide leg or flared styles to give your look an upmarket feel, while skinny jeans fit nicely under knee-high boots in winter.

Women’s tops and jackets

Double check for any rules on straps and sheer fabrics, but other than that sky’s the limit on the top you choose. If you’re struggling to pair a top and trousers it can sometimes help to go for opposite fit styles for each garment. For example, pair a loose, wide-leg trouser with a more fitted top.

Similarly, you can use your top to dress down a more elegant trouser to give off a smart-casual vibe. A nicely-fitted, well-made white cotton jersey t-shirt would pair wonderfully tucked in to a high-waisted statement trouser.

When dressing for colder weather, you have the opportunity to elevate your look with whatever you choose to layer up with. Long wool or tweed overcoats, capes or ponchos – especially those with a faux fur trim – keep you cosy while looking looking glam.

Women’s accessories

We need to talk headwear. Again, you’ll need to check the dress code for the meet you plan to attend to know if you need one, but in the majority of cases preference will be the decider.

There are two obvious options when it comes to raceday headwear: a hat or a fascinator. What you choose will come down to budget, style and personal preference. The main difference between the two is that fascinators affix to the head using a headband or clip, ideal for fine, silky hair, or a comb, best suited to thicker hair. Traditionally, fascinators are worn on the right side of the head.

Hats and fascinators can be as subtle or as bold as you like, so consider how best your headwear can complement your outfit. If your look is thus far muted, opt for a more striking colour or style. On the other hand, you’re already sporting eye-catching attire, opt for a more subtle hat or fascinator so as not to detract from your outfit.

If you need a winter style, a fedora, trilby, pill box or cossack-style hats are smart and chic. Look for felt-type or velvet options for a wintery feel.

What to wear to the races at Cheltenham

Known as the home of jump racing, Cheltenham holds a number of racedays and meetings throughout the year, the biggest of which is the Cheltenham Festival. If you’re heading to Cheltenham, we’ve put together a specific guide on what to wear to Cheltenham races. You can also find Cheltenham edits by brands including Fairfax & Favor or Really Wild.

What to wear to the races at Royal Ascot

The dress code and expectations at Royal Ascot are different to almost all other race meetings in the UK. There is a strict Royal Ascot dress code and in some Ascot enclosures you’ll be required to wear an appropriate hat or fascinator. We’ve picked out a selection of suitable hats for Royal Ascot and dresses for Royal Ascot to help give you some inspiration and guidance on what’s accepted.

Things to take to the races

Depending on the time of year and type of meet you’re heading to, there are a few things you shouldn’t be without:

A large umbrella, like this one available at Amazon
A pair of binoculars – we’ve rounded up the best binoculars for horseracing
Picnic basket, like this one, if you’re heading to a summer meeting

How to save money on raceday outfits

Without doubt, picking up a new look for a trip to the races can be a pricey affair. Given that there’s the cost of travel and the price of entry, investing in a new look on top might feel like a stretch. With this is mind, can you be smart about your spending? Here’s how…

Think multi-purpose – could the boots you’d like to top off your winter raceday look work in your regular wardrobe rotation? On the other hand, maybe the hat you want for Ascot would go perfectly with your wedding guest outfit later in the year? There’s nothing worse than buying something beautiful and wearing it once. Instead, think about what to wear at races in terms of your closet as a whole.

Hit the charity shops – it’s an age-old tip but truly, you never know what hidden gems lie in these treasure troves of preloved articles.

Rent your look – wear something flashy for the fraction of the cost with designer clothing rental services like By Rotation. You can rent garments and accessories to upscale your look and when you’re done, simply return them. No wasted money or wardrobe space – and it’s a greener way to style yourself, too.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major events throughout the year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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How to get to Cheltenham Racecourse –by road, rail or air

georgia.guerin@futurenet.com (Georgia Guerin) — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 10:10:35 +0000

If you’re planning ahead and looking at how to get to Cheltenham Racecourse, we’ve covered the conventional methods of transport as well as those that will get you there in style and make you feel like a VIP.

During Cheltenham’s major racing events – the Cheltenham Festival and the November Meeting – there are more options to accommodate the number of racegoers heading to Prestbury Park and we’ve rounded up all the options by road, rail and air below.

How to get to Cheltenham Racecourse by car

If you’re using sat nav, follow directions to GL50 4SH. Cheltenham Racecourse is located just off J11 on the M5 in Gloucestershire. During the racing season, AA signs will mark all major approach routes.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Cheltenham Racecourse parking

Car parking is available at the racecourse and is free at all of Cheltenham’s meetings except the Friday and Saturday of The November Meeting and all four days of the Cheltenham Festival.

If you’re attending on a paid parking day, you must book parking in advance. For Cheltenham Festival 2026, no parking passes will be available to purchase on the day – cars without a valid ticket will be turned away.

Parking costs £20 per day, or £25 for large vehicles, which includes minibuses up to 15 seats, coaches of 16 seats or more and limousines.

Book parking at thejockeyclub.co.uk

Cheltenham Racecourse pick up/drop off

If you’re planning to be dropped off or picked up from the racecourse at The November Meeting or The Festival, follow directions for drop-off areas on approach to the Racecourse. It is then a short walk to the entrances.

The Hackney Carriage taxi drop off and collection point is located on the main drive of the racecourse, while private taxis will follow the signage for the general pick up and drop off areas.

Cheltenham Racecourse park and ride

Located directly off J11 of the M5, the park and ride service runs from Arle Court to the transport hub at Cheltenham Racecourse.

The service runs from 9.15–14.30 to the racecourse, with return journeys to Arle Court leaving between 16.00–19.30, and journey time is approximately 30 minutes.

Racecourse bus

There is a dedicated shuttle bus service for The Cheltenham Festival that operates between:

Cheltenham Spa Railway Station
Cheltenham town centre
The racecourse transport hub

For more information, visit stagecoachbus.com

Travelling by coach

National Express coaches are available from more than 20 different pick-up locations during the Festival. This cost-effective way of getting to the the racecourse drops you off just a couple of minutes from the entry gates.

For more information, visit nationalexpress.com

Getting to the racecourse on foot

The racecourse is approximately 1.5 miles from the centre of Cheltenham town centre, and would take around 30mins to walk.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Nearest train station to Cheltenham Racecourse

The nearest train station to Cheltenham Racecourse is Cheltenham Spa. There is a shuttle bus service to the racecourse from Cheltenham Spa station on racedays.

There is also a special steam train service that runs from Toddington station. The 35 minute journey through the beautiful countryside of the Cotwolds, Malverns and Vale of Evesham allows you to avoid all the traffic and takes you directly to the back of the main grandstand at the racecourse.

For more information, visit classichospitality.co.uk

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

How to get to Cheltenham Racecourse by helicopter

On racedays, Cheltenham welcomes arrivals by helicopter, and operates the busiest temporary airfield in the UK, receiving 400 flights over The Festival week alone.

If arriving via helicopter, a shuttle service is available between the heliport and the racecourse. All visiting aircraft must pre-book landings with Cheltenham Racecourse’s partners. They will provide full pilot briefings on confirmation of booking.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows and events throughout the year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

What to wear to Cheltenham Races – outfits for ladies and gents

Franchesca Slack — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 13:17:00 +0000

You’ve got the dates in your diary, but now you’re wondering what to wear to Cheltenham races. With Cheltenham Festival on the horizon, we’ve put this guide together to help you find an outfit that will look the part and have a great day.

The racecourse can be understandably wet and windy during the winter months, and many first timers can get caught out by the conditions. This guide is full of tips on what to wear to the races and will help you get an idea of which looks are popular.

H&H’s racing editor Jennifer Donald regularly attends Cheltenham Festival and advises that knowing what to wear to Cheltenham is not all about fashion.

“The four-day Festival is always a trade-off between style versus warmth, practicality and comfort in order to stay the distance. If you start out in heels on Tuesday, by Thursday you’ll likely be crying out for some sheepskin-lined slippers.”

What is the Cheltenham Racecourse dress code?

Cheltenham Racecourse has no official dress code – it’s not like the super-strict Royal Ascot dress code. However, attendees are advised to dress smartly without compromising practicality and consider the unpredictable British weather. Cheltenham is all about country glamour.

The team at Cheltenham offer one very simple piece of guidance, which is to come “dressed to feel your best” and many racegoers still choose to dress up for a day at the races. Even though it’s not mandatory, getting dressed up is part of the day for most attendees.

Princess Beatrice (left) with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and Mike Tindall and Zara Tindall (right) on day three of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

What to wear to Cheltenham races: the considerations

Weather – much of the excitement at Cheltenham is outside, and with many uncovered areas, it’s important you’re dressed for the weather. It can be wet and windy.
Time of year – Cheltenham Festival is held in mid-March, but there are other meetings throughout the season between October and May
Enclosure – at Cheltenham, people get dressed up no matter which enclosure they are in. During the Festival, fancy dress is not permitted in hospitality, restaurant facilities, or in the Club Enclosure (check your Cheltenham tickets). Fancy dress is permitted in other areas as long as the outfit isn’t offensive, and at the racecourse’s discretion, they reserve the right to decline entry, should the need arise.
Time of day – races are held each day during the afternoon, so it’s definitely worth taking a jacket to cover up and keep you warm

What to wear to Cheltenham races: the specifics

Jump to:

Ladies’ dress advice
Men’s dress advice

Examples of what ladies might wear to Cheltenham. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

What ladies should wear to Cheltenham

We’re all unique, and no more so than in our sense of style and comfort. Although there is no official Cheltenham Festival dress code, you might prefer to turn heads with a glamorous dress or trouser suit.

But whatever your taste, the most important thing when choosing your outfit is, of course, comfort and confidence. Wear what feels right for you and it will keep you feeling your best, whatever the weather. Follow our useful tips and advice on what to wear to Cheltenham races so you can enjoy your time at the races.

Jennifer Donald says “Some of the best outfits I’ve seen over the years have combined the traditional Cheltenham look with something out-of-the-ordinary, such as a striking, but not too ostentatious, hat, a colour pop from a smart coat or covetable accessories.”

As a regular spectator, Jennifer has some go-to items. “A solid investment has been a pair of Dune knee-high suede boots [like these] that are both divinely comfortable and smart enough to look dressy and they’ve already seen me through several race meetings, so they’ll be making a couple of appearances at Prestbury Park, too.

“My two other best investments over the years have been a long navy coat – it’s smart, goes with everything, hides multiple layers when it’s freezing and makes me feel a million dollars – and the slightly-less-glamorous thermal long-sleeved top [like this]. I promise, with one of these you’ll never feel cold again.”

Ladies’ shoes

Sensible shoes are a must as you are going to be on your feet for long periods of time throughout the day and two-thirds of the car parks are on grass, so choose something practical and comfortable. That said, there’s no need to sacrifice on style and there are so many chic options at your fingertips.

Chunkier, close-toed shoes are a great choice and heeled pumps or court shoes are elegant yet practical and easier to walk on grass. Block heels are especially comfortable. Many ladies opt for a pair of stylish knee-high or ankle boots instead. Invest in a good pair of boots that will serve you well through the colder months. Chelsea boots are also a popular choice.

Ladies’ dresses and jumpsuits

When we think of the ultimate race day look, a dress is the thing that springs to mind. The sky’s the limit in terms of style, cut and fabric – the most important consideration is your comfort and wearing something you feel good about. Cotton jersey dresses are on the casual end of the scale, while linen and cotton pop in somewhere in the middle (if it’s warm), and wool, silk, satin or velvet numbers offer the most polished look.

Another option is a jumpsuit. The styles vary from super slim-fitting, to a tailored bodice and wide-leg pant, or even a relaxed all-over fit. Skirts are also an option – and tweed is particularly popular.

Ladies’ legwear

If you’re more of a trouser person, your options are far ranging. Whether you’re after a high-waisted nautical vibe, a statement culotte or a wide-leg linen, you can build an outfit as casual or chic as you like. A wool or tweed trouser with a boot will keep the cold at bay. Dark colours disguise any mud and opting for a smooth grain leather will be easier to clean.

Jeans can be on the agenda – we can recommend bootcut, wide leg or flared styles to give your look an upmarket feel, while skinny jeans will fit nicely into tall boots.

Ladies’ tops and jackets

If you’re struggling to pair a top and trousers it can sometimes help to go for opposite fit styles for each garment. For example, pair a loose, wide-leg trouser with a more fitted top. Similarly, you can use your top to dress down a more elegant trouser to give off a smart-casual vibe. A nicely-fitted, well-made white cotton jersey T-shirt or blouse would look great tucked into a high-waisted statement trouser.

During colder weather, you have the opportunity to elevate your look with whatever you choose to layer up with. Long wool or tweed overcoats, capes or ponchos – especially those with a faux fur trim – keep you cosy while looking glam.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Ladies’ accessories

Elevate your look with accessories. There are three obvious options when it comes to race day headwear: a hat, fascinator or headband. What you choose will come down to budget, style and personal preference. Traditionally, fascinators are worn on the right side of the head. Statement headbands, fascinators and leather gloves will finish this polished style. You do not need to wear the kind of hat you’d see at Royal Ascot.

Headwear can be as subtle or as bold as you like, so consider how best your headwear can complement your outfit. If your look is thus far muted, opt for a more striking colour or style. On the other hand, if you’re already sporting eye-catching attire, opt for a more subtle hat or fascinator so as not to detract from your outfit. Look for felt-type or velvet options for a wintery feel.

What to wear for Cheltenham Ladies’ Day

Also known as Style Wednesday, it is a celebration of the glamour and glory of the Festival. You can follow our advice on what to wear to Cheltenham races above as a general guidance, but most racegoers going the extra mile for this day.

For many racegoers attending the Cheltenham Festival is a family tradition and has been happening through the generations, with fabulous fashion items also passing through. To honour and celebrate these wonderful traditions Cheltenham presents the Style Wednesday Slow Fashion Awards. The Slow Fashion awards celebrate vintage and borrowed items, as well as investment pieces that can be passed down through generations. Cheltenham encourages all racegoers to showcase their unique and personal style, and to share the stories behind their amazing outfits.

Layers are an essential part of any Cheltenham outfit (Image credit: creditUnknown)

What men should wear to Cheltenham races

Although there is no official Cheltenham Festival dress code, it’s the perfect excuse to wear your best attire. Some men opt for suits at the races, while others feel more comfortable in smart jeans and clean trainers. Some retailers give advice that jeans should be avoided, but casual clothing is allowed, with organisers stating that wearing what you feel comfortable in is best. Many traditionalists wear tweed, which is a great choice for the winter, but again this is personal preference.

We’d certainly advise adopting a “dress for the weather” approach and suggest you consider which enclosure you’re in as the more expensive ticketing options lend themselves to smarter attire.

Men’s footwear

Whether you’re cheering from the stands or enjoying the bar, you’ll be on your feet the majority of the day, so comfort is key. You could wear a pair of brown Chelsea boots if you’re opting for a sports jacket, while brogues might suit the classic look. If you’re wearing tweed, opt for brown footwear, while black gives a more formal look with a suit.

Men’s legwear

Try a formal, tailored trouser in a slim or regular fit for a smart and comfortable look. But think about your material – wool, tweed or a heavier cotton twill are good choices for colder weather.

Men’s shirts and jackets

Most men opt for a classic Oxford shirt. Shirts with a collar are the obvious choice and it’s your choice to opt for a dress shirt if you wish – cufflinks are a fun accessory. If you’re not going to a full tailored suit, a suitable blazer or jacket will be what to wear to the races.

Some men like to opt for a three-piece suit, which has the addition of a waistcoat, especially if they’re in an enclosure. These look smart and add a little personality to an outfit, especially if they have an interesting lining. What’s more, they give you a layering option in changeable weather. You could also add an overcoat to your look for added warmth. It’s always better to have additional layers to hand than feel cold, especially when a long walk back to the car is involved.

Men’s accessories

Accessories truly make an outfit. Cufflinks if your shirt allows are the perfect finishing touch, while a pair of smart gloves are just the ticket on chilly race days. Try matching your belt with your shoes. A flat cap is ideal for keeping your head warm and dry. You could swap out a tie for a silk scarf, to create a cravat for a sleek touch.

Don’t leave your socks at home, and if you really want to look the part then a pair of binoculars to watch the racing will finish your look as well as add to your day.

Cheltenham Festival fashion tips

Layers – wear tights or thermals under your trousers as no one will see them, but they are designed to trap heat and keep you cosy.

Accessories – gloves will not only keep you warm but finish off your outfit, while a silk scarf in an eye-catching print will compliment your look.

Sensible shoes – a must as you are going to be on your feet for long periods of time throughout the day and two-thirds of the car parks are on grass so make sure you pick a pair that are practical and comfortable.

What not to wear to Cheltenham Festival

Something inappropriate for the weather – due to the time of year it’s all about outerwear. Stay away from thin materials and floaty skirts – this is not Royal Ascot. After all, you don’t want to get cold and not be able to warm up.

Fancy dress is not permitted in hospitality, restaurant facilities, or in the Club Enclosure. Fancy dress is permitted in other areas as long as the outfit isn’t offensive, and Cheltenham Racecourse reserves the right to decline entry should the need arise.

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Behind the stable door with The Jukebox Man: ‘He’s proved himself in the Champions League’

Jennifer Donald — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 08:30:35 +0000

The Jukebox Man was the star of Christmas 2025, winning the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day after an exhilarating battle with his rivals.

The impressive sight of four of the greatest chasers clearing the last in near-unison and battling to the finish has been woven into sporting history. As legendary jockey Davy Russell commented in his opinion piece in Horse & Hound this week, “So many people were shouting for so many different horses, it was fantastic.”

At only eight years old, the Ben Pauling-trained The Jukebox Man is a relative newcomer to the top tier of the sport. But he and jockey Ben Jones have forged an endearing and hugely successful partnership with their King George triumph coming in the wake of several Graded successes and high-profile placings.

The son of Ask was bred by Paul Cunningham and was snapped up by Ben Pauling after the young horse won his first point-to-point in 2022.

So what is The Jukebox Man like at home? What does owner Harry Redknapp say about his “dream horse”? Could the celebrations continue to the Cheltenham Festival in March, as he is among the Cheltenham Gold Cup entries? Here is what connections have to say about the heroic and much-loved The Jukebox Man.

The Jukebox Man (second left, with Ben Jones in the saddle) goes on to win the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day 2025. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

The Jukebox Man: “a power-packed package”

“The most wonderful thing about The Jukebox Man is that he is so versatile,” says trainer Ben Pauling. “You can make the running or you can drop in. He is not afraid of a battle. He has enough class and ability to run over any trip.

“He used to lug left in behind horses – he was just a bit green and gawky – but Ruby Walsh said after he ran at Newbury that fences have made this horse a lot faster and he is right. People crib him for jumping left but when he goes right-handed he is as straight as a die. He is just a bit of a character with a big engine and a big heart.

“I don’t know of a more economical jumper than when he is on song. He has not lost a modicum of distance over any fence. Jumping is his biggest forte and he seems to land running. At Haydock Park he showed exuberance; he’s a power-packed package of aggression and ability.”

Jockey Ben Jones also offers full credit to The Jukebox Man’s work rider Ollie Wardle.

“The Jukebox Man has always had the right engine and we just gave him some time and let him fill out,” he says. “I’m still not 100% sure we have got to the bottom of him. He is such a professional.”

The Jukebox Man has “outgrown all expectations”. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

The Jukebox Man enjoys a spin on the gallops with Ollie Wardle. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Owner Harry Redknapp: “He’s taken on the Real Madrids and Barcelonas”

For owner Harry Redknapp, former manager at Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United, it is “a dream to have a horse as good as The Jukebox Man”.

“He wasn’t five hundred thousand pounds or anything like that, but he has outgrown all our expectations,” he says. “Ben Pauling said [before the King George], ‘Harry, I’ve got him in such great form and he has come on a bundle from the Haydock Park run.’ He had him spot on.

“I was so proud just to have a runner in the King George, but to have the winner is special. What a race, what a finish and what courage he showed. It’s right up there with my best achievements – we have gone into the Champions League, taking on the Real Madrids and the Barcelonas. The Jukebox Man proved he can compete with them, and win against them. The guts the horse showed was amazing.

“I love racing, I love the game and people in it, so to have a winner on the big stage is fantastic.”

The Jukebox Man hacks out with Ollie at home. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

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Heartbreak as horse who made history at Cheltenham dies in retirement, aged 10

Becky Murray — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 18:04:17 +0000

Langer Dan, the record-breaking racehorse who won back-to-back Coral Cups, has died aged 10.

Colm Donlon’s much-loved gelding won the 2023 and 2024 Coral Cup at Cheltenham Festival and had won £281,952 in prize money, before his career was cut short last spring owing to an “unexplainable heart condition”.

Today (9 January) his trainer Dan Skelton announced that Langer Dan died yesterday from the same heart problem.

“We are saddened to say that we lost Langer Dan suddenly yesterday to the heart condition he was diagnosed with in February last year,” said Dan.

“He enjoyed a wonderful, well-deserved retirement and was thoroughly spoiled by Amber Blythe who rode him during his time in training.”

Langer Dan won six of his 27 runs, finished second on four occasions and third three times. Most of these runs were with Harry Skelton, Dan’s brother. He had been due to run in the Stayers Hurdle at last year’s Cheltenham Festival, but was declared a non-runner owing to a respiratory problem – which was found to be a “secondary effect of his heart not working as efficiently as it should”.

At the time Dan said: “We’re quite lucky he gave us that indication as his heart rate was never raised and there were no other signs at all. The vets diagnosed a heart problem after further investigation with a heart scanner and it came as a big shock to us all.”

Dan thanked Colm Donlon “for his devotion to Langer Dan both during his racing career and throughout his retirement”.

“We will never forget what he achieved on the racecourse and he will be greatly missed by all,” he said.

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Hotels and holiday homes near Cheltenham Racecourse for all budgets

georgia.guerin@futurenet.com (Georgia Guerin) — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 13:45:11 +0000

I’ve put together a list of hotels near Cheltenham Racecourse, including nearby guesthouses and B&Bs at a range of price points to help you make the most of your visit. Known as the home of jump racing, Cheltenham holds a number of racedays and meetings throughout the year, the biggest of which is the Cheltenham Festival.

Accommodation is likely to fill up quickly with racing fans travelling from across the country, so we suggest booking as soon as possible once you’ve found somewhere. These hotels and holiday lets near Cheltenham Racecourse are listed in order of distance from the venue (GL50 4SH).

Hotels near Cheltenham Racecourse

No38 The Park
Distance: <1 mile | Tripadvisor rating: 4.5/5
Described as “exceptional”, this hotel offers a range of room types in a great location.View Deal

Ellenborough Park
Distance: <1 mile | Tripadvisor rating: 4.3/5
This hotel has an outdoor pool, spa and wellness centre and free parking.View Deal

Clarence Court Hotel
Distance: 1 mile | Tripadvisor rating: 4.3/5
This hotel has free parking, a restaurant and an indoor pool.View Deal

Cotswold Grange
Distance : 1 mile | Tripadvisor rating: 4.3/5
This hotel offers family rooms and free parking.View Deal

Holiday Inn Express Cheltenham Town Centre
Distance: 1.1 miles | Tripadvisor rating: 4.2/5
This hotel stay includes breakfast, and has a bar and restaurant on site for ease.View Deal

Premier Inn Cheltenham Town Centre
Distance: 1.2 miles | Tripadvisor rating: 4.3/5
This could be a good option for you if you’re looking for a hotel on a budget.View Deal

Cleeve Hill Hotel
Distance: 1.9 miles | Tripadvisor rating: 4.5/5
A short drive from Cheltenham, this B&B is out of the busy centre.View Deal

DoubleTree by Hilton Cheltenham
Distance: 3.3 miles | Tripadvisor rating: 3.6/5
This hotel has two restaurants, free parking and a spa centre.View Deal

The Rising Sun
Distance: 3.7 miles | Tripadvisor rating: 3.8/5
Despite being located outside Cheltenham, this hotel is less than 10 minutes from the racecourse.View Deal

Travelodge Cheltenham
Distance: 4.2 miles | Tripadvisor rating: 4/5
Slightly further away than other options listed, but this is a great budget option.View Deal

Other places to stay near Cheltenham Racecourse

The Lily Pad
Distance: 1.3 miles
This two-bed house with terrace sleeps up to four people.View Deal

Alice Guest House
Distance: 1.1 miles | Tripadvisor rating: 3.5/5
This guesthouse offers a range of rooms for different budgets.View Deal

Applegate
Distance: 2.5 miles
This holiday home is perfect for group trips as it comfortably sleeps 10 adults.View Deal

Suncroft
Distance: 2.9 miles
This spacious and well-decorated holiday home sleeps up to seven guests.View Deal

Hillside
Distance: 3.7 miles
This two-bed holiday home has a fully equipped kitchen, walk-in shower, cosy seating area and private garden.View Deal

Pardon Hill Farm B&B
Distance: 4.9 miles | Tripadvisor rating: 5/5
If you’re looking for something a bit different, this farmstay could be just the ticket.View Deal

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Davy Russell: ‘A late Cheltenham Gold Cup entry is a bold decision that could change a trainer’s future’

Davy Russell — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 10:35:41 +0000

Davy Russell, who achieved 25 winners at the Festival prior to his retirement, rides an emotional rollercoaster at an “extraordinary” Cheltenham Festival

Where do you start with this year’s extraordinary Cheltenham Festival? We saw a mix of established winners enjoying the spotlight, new trainers coming to the fore, some talented young jockeys earning their place in the winner’s enclosure and, while Ireland remained dominant, success came from both sides of the water.

In the same way the Brazilians play soccer or the English are good at cricket, we live and breathe horseracing in Ireland. So it’s important for us to succeed and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we’re good at it.

Kopek Des Bordes’ victory, in the opening Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, got the four days off to a great start, but it was a rollercoaster ride after that.

Lossiemouth’s win in the mares’ hurdle was a real standout, and you can see where Willie Mullins was coming from, separating her from Champion Hurdle contender State Man. Had it not been for State Man’s fall at the last, Willie would have won both races.

For trainer Gavin Cromwell to supplement Inothewayurthinkin as a late entry for the Gold Cup – and win – was phenomenal. Forget about how much money it cost, you make these decisions under immense pressure. Then all you have is hope, when the outcome could change your future in the sport. So all credit to JP McManus for being such an understanding owner. It was a huge call, but they were all duly rewarded.

“We felt Michael’s presence all week”

My great friend Ken Budds saddled his first Festival runner, 125/1 shot Anyway – who I bought for the owner and have been riding at home – to finish second to Caldwell Potter in the Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase. I started riding out for Ken as a kid, and the sign I used to do with my hands at the top of the hill during my racing days was for Ken’s brother, who passed away.

It’s a big undertaking to take a horse to Cheltenham and it had been our long-term plan, but you’re putting your neck on the line doing so and horses have a habit of making an eejit out of you. In another year, Caldwell Potter would most likely be running in a different race, but we’re happy to finish second – we thought he’d run a huge race, so we’re very proud.

But we must pay tribute to jockey Michael O’Sullivan, who died last month after a fall at Thurles. He had won on Anyway, and for his 2023 Cheltenham winners Marine Nationale and Jazzy Matty to win in succession like that was extraordinary; we felt Michael’s presence all week.

As always, there were plenty of hard-luck stories, so credit to Gordon Elliott and his staff who held up all week long, despite not enjoying a single winner – even though his horses ran well – until the last race, when he pulled it out of the bag with Wodhooh.

Whether you’re a jockey or a trainer, you love to see the Irish horses winning at Cheltenham and if you have a winner on day one, you can float around for the next three days. But if you’re looking at everyone else celebrating, even though you’re happy for them, you’re thinking, “When is it my turn?” For such a tough man to show such emotion tells you how much it meant to finally get there.

New-look hurdles

What interested me was the impact of the new-style hurdles they introduced at Cheltenham this year and which they’ve started rolling out at racecourses in Great Britain and Ireland. Replacing the traditional timber obstacles, these foam-padded rubber hurdles are designed to improve safety for horses and jockeys – they are said to reduce the chances of horses falling by about 11%.

I don’t want to blame the jumps and I don’t know the numbers, but there did seem to be plenty of trips and spills. There’s a louder noise off them – which increases with a whole field of runners – and a different sensation when horses hit them or flick the top of them. They also seem to swing as they come back into place, whereas timber hurdles tend to be knocked flat. I don’t think there’s a problem, they’re just different and anything different takes time to adapt to.

Hats off to Cheltenham for another phenomenal week.

● What were your standout moments from this year’s Cheltenham Festival? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and country, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine

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‘Something you dream of when you’re a kid’: changing of the guard as Galopin Des Champs is defeated in Cheltenham Gold Cup

Gemma Redrup — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 19:15:55 +0000

Inothewayurthinkin put Galopin Des Champs’ chances of winning a third consecutive Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup to an end when taking the feature race on day four of the Cheltenham Festival for trainer Gavin Cromwell, owner JP McManus and jockey Mark Walsh.

Supplemented for the race by his owner, the seven-year-old by Walk In The Park who last won when taking the Huyton Asphalt Franny Blennerhassett Memorial Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree last April, challenged Galopin Des Champs at the final fence and powered up the hill to win.

“It’s brilliant – it’s something you dream of when you’re a kid wanting to be a jockey, so it’s a dream come true,” said Mark. “I had a great trip round. They went a proper good gallop; I had a lovely position.

“Paul Townend was on the outside on Galopin Des Champs and I noticed early on he wasn’t happy – I noticed by his body language that he wasn’t just happy with how Galopin Des Champs was jumping, so I thought that if I had a clear round I could have a little squeak.

“My lad just carried me there. Gavin has done a savage job with him, and Keith Donoghue has done a brilliant job with him at home too – he’s done all the work on him, so I’m just lucky to be able to ride him.”

Inothewayurthinkin went off as third favourite at odds of 13/2 and Gavin admitted that he thought he had “a chance of being a Gold Cup horse”.

“Galopin Des Champs is a dual Gold Cup winner, but we were coming here to try and win the race – we weren’t coming to pick up the pieces and get place money. We thought we’d have a good chance if everything was right.

“To have a runner in the Gold Cup is fantastic, but to win it is unbelievable – I’m so grateful to JP and Noreen [JP’s wife] for sending horses like this to me. I’m just delighted to be able to repay them by winning the Gold Cup.”

Gavin was a farrier for more than 20 years before getting into training racehorses.

“Eventually I had to give up the farrier job when the training got busier. It’s well publicised I was Gordon Elliott’s farrier and I shod Don Cossack [who won the Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup in 2016].”

8/13 favourite Galopin Des Champs finished a gallant second for trainer Willie Mullins, jockey Paul Townend and owner Audrey Turley.

“Everything seemed to be a bit of an effort,” said Paul. “He came half alive the top of the hill the last time and I was hoping it would be game on from there – and it was.

“He’s run a blinder, he’s finished second, he’s gone down on his sword. It’s disappointing to get beaten, but he’s back, he’s fine and gave [people] something to shout about for a long time.”

Asked whether the ground was a bit faster than Galopin Des Champs would like, Paul said: “That’s the first thing I was thinking going round, that this [the ground] is livelier than he appreciates. But no excuses – he wasn’t good enough on the day, but he is still our favourite.”

Mouse Morris, trainer of the third Gentlemansgame – who went off at 40/1 – and was ridden by Darragh O’Keeffe and is owned by Robcour, said: “He ran his heart out and jumped super. He just lacks a gear, but he will stay all day. He is as honest as the day comes.”

In a sad post-script to this race, Corbetts Cross, trained by Emmet Mullins, was fatally injured when falling at the second last.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major races throughout the season, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

‘I couldn’t believe it!’: 100/1 shot runs into the record books at Cheltenham Festival

Gemma Redrup — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 15:26:02 +0000

Poniros became the longest-priced winner of the Grade One JCB Triumph Hurdle at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival today (14 March).

The Golden Horn gelding is also the joint-longest priced horse to score at the Festival in the modern era, alongside fellow 100-1 chances Nortons Coin (1990 Cheltenham Gold Cup) and Hipparchus (1954 Grand Annual Handicap Chase).

Equally remarkably, this was this horse’s first ever run over hurdles. He is trained by Willie Mullins, owned by Tony Bloom and was ridden by Jonjo O’Neill Jr, who wasn’t originally meant to be riding at this meeting today.

“It’s crazy – it’s a funny old game,” said Jonjo. “I was supposed to be in Doncaster today. After declarations, Alain Cawley, my agent, said that Willie was looking for a jockey. He actually said I should stay in Doncaster, but I said that the way this week is going, I’d much rather be riding one of Willie’s. Anything of Willie’s has a chance.

“It’s unbelievable. That’s his first ever appearance over hurdles in public. What a place!”

This victory comes the day after Jonjo rode Jagwar to win the TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase.

“I couldn’t have imagined having two winners this week,” said Jonjo. “I was really hoping for one, and luckily Jagwar did it. We were really just here for a good time today. It’s turned into an even better time.”

Poniros got up to defeat Lulamba by a neck on the line with 5/4 favourite East India Dock another three-quarters of a length back in third.

“He’s by Golden Horn, who I think is going to make a very good sire over jumps,” Willie said of Poniros. “He’s the sort of horse you’re looking for, but I didn’t expect that. We were hoping he would run well and be a nice horse for next year, so he’s ahead of schedule.”

Poniros was purchased by current connections in October for 200,000gns, and had useful Flat form while in training with Ralph Beckett.

“We bought him, schooled him and gave him a break. We said we’d better drag him in from the field and get him ready for Cheltenham, and that’s what we did,” said Willie. “But I didn’t expect any more than a nice run. I couldn’t believe it when I saw him flying through the middle of them. I just couldn’t believe it.

“You must remember that he came from the Flat, so he had race experience – that’s a huge advantage. We’ve done plenty of jumping at home with him, but I didn’t think he was sharp enough for this!”

Speaking of future plans for the four-year-old, Willie said: “I imagine he’ll go to Punchestown, and then we’ll find something at Royal Ascot, perhaps. He was bought as a dual-purpose horse, and I am hoping in time he might turn into a Melbourne Cup horse – that would be the long-term plan.”

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‘He’ll enter the history books’: experts share Cheltenham Festival tips for day four

Gemma Redrup — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 11:14:39 +0000

The four-day 2025 Cheltenham Festival is preparing for its climax, following a dramatic first day (11 March) when first and second favourites for the Champion Hurdle, Constitution Hill and State Man, crashed out, plus an emotional day on Wednesday, and a first Stayers’ Hurdle victory for Rachael Blackmore yesterday. We now turn our attention to the final day with our Cheltenham day four tips.

If you’re wondering who to back in the big race on Friday 14 March, then don’t miss our Cheltenham Gold Cup tips below from horse racing experts who have shared their knowledge to help you navigate some of today’s seven races. Maybe you’ll pick a winner or two on the final day of jump racing extravaganza?

But whether you win or lose or you are simply happy to enjoy the spectacle, the Cheltenham Festival is a sporting event like no other. It is important that you gamble responsibly and you can read more advice on how to bet here. Are you ready? Let’s go!

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Cheltenham Festival day four tips

Friday 14 March

Gibbs Island in the JCB Triumph Hurdle (1.20pm)

Trainer: Tom Lacey | Jockey: Stan Sheppard

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “At a decent price, Gibbs Island is worth an each-way bet. He has more speed in his pedigree than many of his rivals and is unbeaten in two starts for Tom Lacey.”

Hello Neighbour in the JCB Triumph Hurdle (1.20pm)

Trainer: Gavin Cromwell | Jockey: Keith Donoghue

H&H racing editor Jennifer Donald says: “An improving four-year-old who will have to get past smart British contenders East India Dock and Lulamba, but jockey Keith Donoghue says he’s the horse he’s most looking forward to riding at this year’s Cheltenham Festival. The fitting of a hood seemed to help the exuberant youngster settle better last time out and he powered home to win a Grade One at the Dublin Racing Festival. A very likeable, classy ex-Flat horse who could be very smart indeed.”

Cheltenham Gold Cup tips

If you are looking to try and pick a winner from the feature race of the day, we’re here to help with our Cheltenham Gold tips. Can the remarkable Glaopin Des Champs win a third consecutive Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup?

Galopin Des Champs in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (4pm)

Trainer: Willie Mullins | Jockey: Paul Townend

ITV pundit Ruby Walsh says confidently of the second of his Cheltenham Festival tips: “Galopin des Champs will win the Boodles Gold Cup on Friday. He’s the best we’ve seen for a while and he’ll enter the history books by making it three in a row.”

Corbetts Cross in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (4pm)

Trainer: Emmet Mullins | Jockey: Jack Kennedy

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “It’s impossible to oppose Galopin Des Champs but he will be a very short price and Corbetts Cross each-way could be a good bet.”

Inothewayurthinkin in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (4pm)

Trainer: Gavin Cromwell | Jockey: Mark Walsh

Racing journalist Tom Peacock says: “Last year’s Kim Muir scorer has been feeling his way in open company this season. Interesting his connections added him back into the Gold Cup field and he’s a decent alternative to the favourite.”

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‘Something you dream of when you’re a kid’: changing of the guard as Galopin Des Champs is defeated in Cheltenham Gold Cup

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Galopin Des Champs: everything you need to know about this two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup victor

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Meet Willie Mullins’ key Cheltenham Festival contenders: ‘A huge honour to be involved with a horse like Galopin Des Champs’

CHELTENHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 15: Galopin Des Champs ridden by Paul Townend cross to line to win the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase during day four of the Cheltenham Festival 2024 at Cheltenham Racecourse on March 15, 2024 in Cheltenham, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) (Image credit: Getty Images)

‘He has pulled out all the stops again’: Galopin Des Champs wins back-to-back Cheltenham Gold Cups

(Image credit: Getty Images)

‘To see him come back and do that is amazing’: crowd-favourite jockey wins Stayers’ Hurdle in Cheltenham Festival double on day three

Gemma Redrup — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 18:00:53 +0000

Rachael Blackmore delighted the crowd by increasing her Cheltenham Festival tally to 25 wins with a double on day three of the 2025 fixture today (13 March) – the most notable being in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle.

Bob Olinger, who went off at odds of 8-1, took the day’s feature race. This was the third Cheltenham Festival Grade One win of his career – he has previously been successful in what is now the Turners Novices’ Hurdle (2021) and the Turners Novices’ Chase (2022).

Robcour’s 10-year-old got the better of 7/4 favourite Teahupoo, who won this race last year and is in the same ownership, to take the honours by 1¾ lengths.

“Rachael was brilliant on him – she gave him a super ride,” said winning trainer Henry De Bromhead. “I’m delighted for the horse – he’s incredible.

“He had such a reputation a few years ago when things didn’t work out as well as we thought, but to see him come back and do that is amazing. I’m delighted for everyone involved, especially David Roche, my assistant at home, who would take a bullet for this horse. He adores him.

“He is such a dude and he likes the attention and he deserves every bit he gets. He comes alive here and he obviously just loves it here.”

Rachael said that she is “very lucky” to ride such horses.

“He was brilliant – he has so much speed and was able to use it there today. We went a good gallop and he was still able to pick up off the back of it.

“He’s unbeaten around here, he’s a very, very good horse and we were very hopeful coming here, but for him to do it is just fantastic.”

Teahupoo’s rider Jack Kennedy said there there were “no excuses” for the Gordon Elliott-trained horse finishing second.

“Maybe if the ground was a shade slower it would have taken the sting out of the other lad [Bob Olinger] a little bit. Bob Olinger is a horse with loads of ability and he’s just put it all together today.”

J P McManus’s The Wallpark, trained by Gordon Elliott and ridden by Mark Walsh, finished 9¾ lengths down in third.

A sad post-script to the third day of the Cheltenham Festival was that Springwell Bay, an eight-year-old ridden by Jonjo O’Neill Jr, trained by Jonjo and A J O’Neill and owned by Mrs Gay Smith, was fatally injured in a fall in the Jack Richards Limited Handicap Chase.

The Cheltenham Stayers’ Hurdle is a Grade One National Hunt hurdle race, run over three miles with 12 flights of hurdles to jump. The race is held on the third day of the Cheltenham Festival in March and is a massive highlight of the National Hunt season.

Last year’s winner, Teahupoo, was the short-priced favourite to take the victory this year. The Stayers’ Hurdle got under way at 4pm on Thursday 13 March. Here’s everything you need to know about the big race, from this year’s runners and riders, how to watch, to what prize money the winner took home.

When was the 2025 Stayers’ Hurdle?

The race got underway at 4pm on Thursday 13 March.

Who were the runners in the 2025 race?

Horse: Teahupoo | Jockey: Jack Kennedy | Owner: Robcour

Gordon Elliott

Home By The Lee | J J Slevin | Owner: Sean O’Driscoll

Joseph O’Brien

Lucky Place | Nico De Boinville | Owner: Mrs G Van Geest & M George

Nicky Henderson

The Wallpark | Marl Walsh | Owner: JP McManus

Gordon Elliott

Langar Dan | Harry Skelton | Owner: Colm Donlon

Dan Skelton

Mystical Power | Paul Townend | Owner: Mrs S Ricci, JP Mc Manus & Mrs John Magnier

Willie Mullins

Bob Olinger | Rachael Blackmore | Owner: Robcour

Henry De Bromhead

Rocky’s Diamond | Shane Fitzgerald | Owner: Mrs Margaret C Kiely

Declan Queally

Crambo | Jonathan Burke | Owner: Sullivan Bloodstock Ltd & Chris Giles

Fergal O’Brien

Gowel Road | Sam Twiston-Davies | Owner: Options O Syndicate

Nigel Twiston-Davies

Namean Lion | Richard Patrick | Owner: Will Roseff

Kerry Lee

Buddy One | Jack G Gilligan | Owner: E Lynch, T C Quinn & John J McGrath

Paul John Gilligan

Ga Law | Gavin Sheehan | Owner: The Footie Partnership

Jamie Snowden

Franciscan Rock | Gavin Brouder | Owner: Michael & John F O’Flynn

M F Morris

What were the betting odds for this year’s runners?

The following odds are correct at the time of publishing and may have varied between bookmakers.

Teahupoo: 3/2

Home By The Lee: 13/2

Lucky Place: 7/1

The Wallpark: 7/1

Langar Dan: 12/1

Mystical Power: 16/1

Bob Olinger: 20/1

Rocky’s Diamond: 20/1

Crambo: 28/1

Gowel Road: 33/1

Namean Lion: 33/1

Buddy One: 40/1

Ga Law: 50/1

Franciscan Rock: 66/1

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What was the prize money for winning?

The winner of the 2025 Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle will take home £182,878.

Recent winners

2024: Teahupoo – read race report

2023: Sire Du Berlais – read race report

2022: Flooring Porter – read race report

2021: Flooring Porter – read the race report

2020: Lisnagar Oscar – read the race report

2019: Paisley Park – read the race report

2018: Penhill – read the race report

2017: Nichols Canyon – read the race report

2016: Thistlecrack – read the race report

2015: Cole Harden – read the race report

2014: More Of That – read the race report

2013: Solwhit – read the race report

2012: Big Buck’s – read the race report

2011: Big Buck’s – read the race report

Winning-most trainer, horse, jockey and owner of the Stayers’ Hurdle

The all-time leading Stayers’ Hurdle trainer is Paul Nicholls, who has so far won it a total of four times, thanks to Big Buck’s, who is also the horse that holds the most wins in this race (2009-12). The winning-most jockey in the race is Ruby Walsh, thanks to his five wins — all four on Big Buck’s, plus one on Nichols Canyon. And there are two leading Stayers’ Hurdle owners, who both have four wins each. These are the Stewart Family, who owned Big Buck’s and Andrea & Graham Wylie, who owned Inglis Drever (2005, 2007, 2008) and Nichols Canyon.

The history of the Stayers’ Hurdle

The inaugural Stayers’ Hurdle race was run in 1912 at Prestbury Park with £100 (£200 in 1913) prize money to the winner and £10 to the runner-up. It was called the Stayers Selling Hurdle and was a weight for age selling event with the winning horse being sold for £50 after the race. The race was dropped from the Festival programme twice during 1928–1929 and in 1939–1945 but in 1946 it replaced the Spa Hurdle, which was previously run in 1923 and 1942 over two miles. From 1946 to 1967 the Spa Hurdle was run over the same three miles until being renamed in 1972 as the Stayers’ Hurdle.

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Cheltenham , United Kingdom - 13 March 2025; Bob Olinger, with Rachael Blackmore up, right, jumps the last alongside Teahupoo, with Jack Kennedy up, who finished second, on their way to winning the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle on day three of the Cheltenham Racing Festival at Prestbury Park in Cheltenham, England. (Photo By David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty Images) (Image credit: David Fitzgerald)

‘To see him come back and do that is amazing’: crowd-favourite jockey wins Stayers’ Hurdle in Cheltenham Festival double on day three

(Image credit: David Fitzgerald)

‘It will take a nice one to beat her’: experts share their day three Cheltenham Festival racing tips

Jennifer Donald — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 11:20:22 +0000

The four-day 2025 Cheltenham Festival has reached the halfway point, with a dramatic first day (11 March) when first and second favourites for the Champion Hurdle, Constitution Hill and State Man, crashed out, and an emotional day yesterday, we turn our attentions to day three.

Here we bring you our Cheltenham Festival tips from horse racing experts who have shared their knowledge to help you navigate the seven races on the card today – and for tomorrow’s action too. Maybe you’ll pick a winner or two during this year’s jump racing extravaganza?

Cheltenham Festival tips

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Cheltenham Festival day three tips, and more…

Day three tips: Thursday 13 March

Sixandahalf in the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (1.20pm)

Trainer: Gavin Cromwell | Jockey: Keith Donoghue

H&H racing editor Jennifer Donald says: “This syndicate-owned five-year-old switched from the Flat and was an impressive winner at Fairyhouse on her hurdling debut in January. Her trainer says it will take a nice one to beat her.”

Jungle Boogie in the Ryanair Chase (3.20pm)

Trainer: Henry de Bromhead | Jockey: TBC

ITV Racing pundit Ruby Walsh says: “My outsider is Jungle Boogie. He is trained by Henry de Bromhead and is beginning to fulfill the potential he showed as a youngster.”

Day four tips: Friday 14 March

Gibbs Island in the JCB Triumph Hurdle (1.20pm)

Trainer: Tom Lacey | Jockey: Stan Sheppard

Hello Neighbour in the JCB Triumph Hurdle (1.20pm)

Trainer: Gavin Cromwell | Jockey: Keith Donoghue

Galopin Des Champs in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (4pm)

Trainer: Willie Mullins | Jockey: Paul Townend

Corbetts Cross in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (4pm)

Trainer: Emmet Mullins | Jockey: TBC

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “It’s impossible to oppose Galopin Des Champs but he will be a very short price and Corbetts Cross each-way could be a good bet.”

Inothewayurthinkin in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (4pm)

Trainer: Gavin Cromwell | Jockey: TBC

Cheltenham Festival tips and how our expert tippers fared in 2025

Day one tips: Tuesday 11 March

Kopek Des Bordes in the Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (1.20pm)

Trainer: Willie Mullins | Jockey: Paul Townend

ITV Racing is on air 12.45-5pm every day of the Cheltenham Festival and ITV commentator Richard Hoiles says: “This is the horse I am most looking forward to at the Festival and he lines up in the opening race. He looked a potential superstar when winning in Ireland last time and hopefully he can prove the point and get punters off to a good start.”

Racing journalist Carl Evans agrees: “Willie Mullins is likely to train plenty of winners over the four days and, while his Kopek Des Bordes is a short price in the opening race, it’s good to beat the bookies in round one.”

Kopek Des Bordes result: winner

Joyeuse in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle (3.20pm)

Trainer: Nicky Henderson | Jockey: Nico de Boinville

Racing journalist Tom Peacock says: “A really impressive winner of Newbury’s big handicap hurdle last month and Nicky Henderson clearly feels she is on the upgrade to pitch her in against the best mares. A nice one at the prices.”

Joyeuse result: sixth

Take No Chances in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle (3.20pm)

Trainer: Dan Skelton | Jockey: Harry Skelton

H&H racing editor Jennifer Donald says: “She’s up against mega mare Lossiemouth but could run well at a big price. I’ve loved her attitude in some tight finishes this season and she has proved she stays much further than this 2m 4f, so she will hopefully be staying on gamely up the Cheltenham hill.”

Take No Chances result: third

Constitution Hill in the Unibet Champion Hurdle (4pm)

Trainer: Nicky Henderson | Jockey: Nico de Boinville

ITV Racing’s lead presenter Ed Chamberlin has nominated the 2023 champion as his cert of the meeting in the Unibet Champion Hurdle, the highlight of Tuesday’s card. “He’s a generational talent and looks back to his best,” he says.

Constitution Hill result: fell

Murcia in the Hallgarten and Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (registered as the Fred Winter) (4.40pm)

Trainer: Willie Mullins | Jockey: Rachael Blackmore

Ed Chamberlin also picks out a longer shot from Tuesday’s action, saying: “She’s in the Honeysuckle silks and may not have her talent but she does look better than her handicap mark.”

Murcia result: eighth

Day two tips: Wednesday 12 March

The Yellow Clay in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle (1.20pm)

Trainer: Gordon Elliott | Jockey: Jack Kennedy

Leading the second day’s Cheltenham Festival tips, H&H racing editor Jennifer Donald says: “I can’t wait for this 2m 5f contest packed full of young superstars this year. I think The New Lion could well take it for the Skeltons and new owner JP McManus, while you can forgive Grade One winner Potters Charm his defeat last time out, for which there are plenty of excuses. But unbeaten Irish raider The Yellow Clay is very exciting, has proved himself in some real scraps and seems to be on an upward curve.”

The Yellow Clay result: second

Sixmilebridge in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle (1.20pm)

Trainer: Fergal O’Brien | Jockey: Kielan Woods

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “Beat a smart horse when winning at Cheltenham in January and might surprise some shorter-priced runners.”

Sixmilebridge result: ninth

Ballyburn in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (2pm)

Trainer: Willie Mullins | Jockey: Paul Townend

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “Steps up in trip for this race and that is likely to suit him.”

Ballyburn result: fifth

Latenightpass in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase (3.20pm)

Trainer: Tom Ellis | Jockey: Gina Andrews

Racing journalist Carl Evans says: “Although only third to Stumptown over the course and distance in December, Latenightpass is now better off at the weights and is very good over these rare obstacles.”

Latenightpass result: second

Jazzy Matty in the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup (4.40pm)

Trainer: Cian Collins | Jockey: Danny Gilligan

Racing journalist Tom Peacock says: “A winner here over hurdles who had a useful sighter over fences earlier in the season. Represents a new and shrewd, young trainer in Cian Collins, who will be keen to make his mark.”

Jazzy Matty result: winner

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‘That’s for Michael’: not a dry eye in the house following an emotionally charged afternoon at Cheltenham Festival

Gemma Redrup — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 19:50:14 +0000

It is fair to say that you would have had to be made out of stone not to be moved by the scenes that unfolded on day two of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival this afternoon (12 March), where the Queen Mother Champion Chase was the feature race.

Last month, Irish jockey Michael O’Sullivan died following a fall at Thurles Racecourse, just days before his 25th birthday.

Two years ago, Michael won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle aboard the Barry Connell-owned and trained Marine Nationale. Were it not for his passing, Michael would have ridden the eight-year-old in today’s BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase, which he duly won under Sean Flanagan.

Those watching on at Cheltenham Racecourse understood the gravitas of this poignant victory, and there was barely a dry eye in the house.

“It’s very raw; the whole thing with Michael over the last three or four weeks has been horrible, horrible,” said Barry. “My thoughts and prayers are with [Michael’s] family and his girlfriend, Charlotte [Giles], is here and was with us saddling up the horse.

“Everybody in racing has come together for Michael and I hope this is a fitting tribute to him. Marine Nationale is a magical creature, to get one like him you just pinch yourself.”

Barry added that Michael had been on quite a journey with the horse.

“Michael rode him in all his races in his novice season over hurdles. He won three Grade Ones as a claimer, was awarded with leading rider on the first day [at Cheltenham Festival in 2023], and then leading conditional [in Ireland, in the same year]. I’ve asked racing historians and I don’t think they can find anyone who did all that.

“It is a tragedy that he’s left us, but it’s a record that he can be really proud of. He achieved more in a lifetime than a lot of riders who have been riding a lot longer ever achieve, so I’d like to dedicate this win to Michael.”

Sean Flanagan was unsurprisingly in total agreement with Barry, adding: “It’s hugely emotional for a lot of reasons – all the jockeys in the world have been under a cloud for the last couple of weeks. I’m only the man that steered Marine Nationale around – Michael’s the man who made him what he is and he’ll never be forgotten.”

Many felt that Michael was looking down on them when Jazzy Matty duly went on to win the following race – the Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase – 40 minutes later.

This six-year-old, ridden by Danny Gilligan, owned by the Top Man Racing Syndicate and trained by Cian Collins, was the horse who gave Michael O’Sullivan a day one double at the Cheltenham Festival in 2023 when trained by Gordon Elliott to win the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle.

“It went very smoothly, never missed a beat the whole way round there,” said Danny. “I’m sure everyone knows there’s someone very special looking down on us today. That’s for Michael.”

What happened to Jonbon?

Jonbon, who went off as 5/6 favourite in the Queen Mother Champion Chase under jockey Nico De Boinville for trainer Nicky Henderson and owner JP McManus, but was on the back foot from the start after the tape hit him in the face, then a juddering error five fences out put paid to his chances of victory.

He managed to battle back to finish second, after a challenging Quilixios fell at the last. Both the horse and Rachael Blackmore walked away.

“It went wrong from the start,” said Nico. “We were stood up against the tape, it’s gone back and pinged up against his nose. He’s just been startled for a second, then they’ve gone hard.

“At five out, there was a stride there, but he lost his sight slightly, decided to chip in and it wasn’t there. From there you’re doing what you can.

“He’s some horse to manage to finish where he did.”

Cheltenham Festival day two results

1.20pm: Turners Novices’ Hurdle

1st: The New Lion, trained by Dan Skelton and ridden by Harry Skelton

2nd: The Yellow Clay

3rd: Final Demand

2pm: Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase

1st: Lecky Watson, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Sean O’Keeffe

2nd: Stellar Story

3rd: Better Days Ahead

2.40pm: Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle

1st: Jimmy Du Seuil, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Danny Mullins

2nd: Impose Toi

3rd: Ballyadam

3.20pm: Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase

1st: Stumptown, trained by Gavin Cromwell and ridden by Keith Donoghue

2nd: Latenightpass

3rd: Vanillier

4pm: BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase

1st: Marine Nationale, trained by Barry Connell and ridden by Sean Flanagan

2nd: Jonbon

3rd: Captain Guinness

4.40pm: Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase

1st: Jazzy Matty, trained by Cian Collins and ridden by Danny Gilligan

2nd: Unexpected Party

3rd: Midnight It Is

5.20pm: Weatherbys Champion Bumper

1st: Bambino Fever, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Miss J Townend

2nd: Heads Up

3rd: Shuttle Diplomacy

When was the 2025 Queen Mother Champion Chase?

The Grade One National Hunt steeplechase race, which is run over two miles with 13 fences to jump, went off at 4pm on Wednesday 12 March.

Who were the runners in the 2025 Queen Mother Champion Chase?

Horse: Jonbon | Jockey: Nico De Boinville | J P McManus

Trainer: Nicky Henderson

Marine Nationale | Sean Flanagan | Barry Connell

Barry Connell

Energumene | Paul Townend | Tony Bloom

Willie Mullins

Solness | J J Slevin | Bronsan Racing

Joseph O’Brien

Found A Fifty | Jack Kennedy | Bective Stud

Gordon Elliott

Captain Guinness | Rachael Blackmore | Declan Landy

Henry De Bromhead

Quilixilos | Darragh O’Keeffe| Cheveley Park Stud

Henry De Bromhead

Libberty Hunter | Adam Wedge| Mr & Mrs William Rucker

Evan William

What were the Queen Mother Champion Chase odds?

The following odds were correct at the time of publishing and may vary between bookmakers.

Jonbon: 10/11

Marine Nationale: 5/1

Energumene: 7/1

Solness: 15/2

Found A Fifty: 12/1

Captain Guinness: 28/1

Quilixilos: 28/1

Libberty Hunter: 33/1

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What was the prize money?

The winner of the 2025 Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase takes home £225,080.

Recent winners

2o24: Captain Guinness – read race report

2023: Energumene – read race report

2022: Energumene – read race report

2021: Put The Kettle On – read the race report

2020: Politologue – read the race report

2019: Altior – read the race report

2018: Altior – read the race report

2017: Special Tiara – read the race report

2016: Sprinter Sacre – read the race report

2015: Dodging Bullets – read the race report

2014: Sire de Grugy– read the race report

2013: Sprinter Sacre – read the race report

2012: Finian’s Rainbow – read the race report

2011: Sizing Europe – read the race report

Winning-most trainer, horse, jockey and owner

There are three all-time leading Queen Mother Champion Chase trainers; Nicky Henderson, Tom Dreaper and Paul Nicholls who each have six wins between them. The winning-most horse in the race is Badworth Boy, who won it three times (1983-85). Two jockeys have won the race five times, which is the current record — these are Pat Taaffe and Barry Geraghty. And there are three leading owners in this race; George Ansley, Doug Armitage and John Hales, who have each won three runnings of the race.

The history of the Queen Mother Champion Chase

This race was established in 1959, and it was originally called the National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase. It was given its present title in 1980 — the year of the late Queen Mother’s 80th birthday — in recognition of her support to jump racing. The late Queen Mother was a successful owner of National Hunt horses, particularly chasers, and among these was Game Spirit — the runner-up in this race in 1976.

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‘I almost called it quits’: young rider’s first Cheltenham Festival win proves why you should never give up on your dreams

Jennifer Donald — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 13:30:26 +0000

It may have taken young jump jockey Patrick Wadge, 23, nearly two years and 63 races to ride his first winner under Rules, but the winner of last season’s conditional jockeys’ championship is being richly rewarded for his perseverance and patience, securing his first Cheltenham Festival success.

The delighted young Scot landed the 3m 1f Ultima Handicap Chase with the Lucinda Russell-trained Myretown on the opening day of Cheltenham (Tuesday 11 March).

“He was winging fences,” said Patrick of his winning partner Myretown. “Thanks to Lucinda and Scu and the owners – it’s crazy, the opportunities I’ve had, the places I’ve been and the horses I’ve got a ride on. He’s the best horse I’ve ever sat on and I think he might be the best I ever will.”

“Patrick’s early days in the saddle were pathetic!” says mum

The incredible wave he’s riding now is a remarkable turnaround from those barren early days as a rookie jockey when he came close to calling time on his racing career. Born in Gretna, Patrick says “as soon as he left hospital” he was carried round by his mother while she mucked out on his parents’ livery yard, so “from day one all I can remember is horses and I had a great upbringing around them”.

However, his mother describes the future champion’s early career in the saddle as “pathetic!”

“In fact, one day he got off his pony, let it go with all its tack on and said ‘I’m giving up’,” she recalls. “So where it’s come from I’m not quite sure, but we’re really proud of him. He’s worked really hard, he’s just been fantastic, he’s done really well.”

Patrick, who also hunted, showjumped and followed his father’s footsteps into eventing until he was 16, continues, “I certainly wasn’t always the best rider – I’ve had to work hard at it and I’d be up early in the morning riding out before school and mucking them all out. It was the same at Lucinda’s – I grafted to get what I wanted. I’m working now, but it still feels like my hobby too, so it’s good fun.

“I was very lucky that both mum and dad taught, and I always think you can link eventing and racing together – they’re very similar. I wasn’t the most confident of riders when I was younger, but I ended up in point-to-pointing through my older brother Cameron and followed him up to Lucinda’s five years ago – I said I’d come up for the summer and never left. I haven’t looked back since.”

Patrick Wadge: “That season was the be all and end all”

Patrick Wadge’s brother Cameron also started out as a jockey and is now one of the Lucinda’s assistant trainers. But Patrick endured a tough couple of years as an ambitious young jockey and came close to calling time on his racing career as the frustrations mounted during 20 months and 63 races without riding a winner.

“It all started off a bit slow and eventually I told myself it was going to be my last year – if I couldn’t get going a bit and ride a few winners, then I may as well call it quits,” says Patrick. “I just felt I wasn’t really going anywhere. It was call it quits or change place, so that season was going to be the be all and end all – it was certainly the turning point, and I’m very happy it turned out the way it did.”

Having certainly learnt his trade the hard way, finally, at Perth racecourse in April 2022, everything clicked for the determined Scot and he notched up a momentous first winner in a 10-runner novices’ handicap hurdle riding Petite Rhapsody for Lucinda.

“I don’t think it was necessarily me that kept at it, more the people around me who kept me at it – Brian Harding my jockey coach was very good and always supported me because it was a long time and it did get to the point where I thought it was never going to happen. Then all of a sudden it did, so I have to thank everyone who did support me.

“I think a lot of people would agree my racing brain wasn’t really the best back then – I could always get horses to jump, but I was still getting used to the racing side of things, where to place a horse and that sort of thing. But Lucinda kept employing me, so I owe her a lot and that pushed me to keep going and thankfully it paid off. The turnaround in just one or two years is bonkers really.”

Patrick Wadge: “I’ve had great people supporting me”

As well as Lucinda and Brian, Patrick credits Lucinda’s partner eight-times champion jockey Peter Scudamore and agent Wilson Renwick for guiding him through his breakthrough season last year, when he was entrusted with Lucinda’s top mare and subsequent Grade One winner Apple Away in a Listed race and has gone on to enjoy great run of five successes with his yard favourite Traprain Law, including second in a Grade Three Chase. H&H also caught up with Patrick last year when he enjoyed a remarkable sequence of six winners from seven runners.

“The backing you have as a young jockey nowadays is unreal – I’ve had great people supporting me,” he acknowledges. “Between Scu, Derek Fox, Brian who has been there since the start, and Lucinda who has been very good to me – she’s very understanding of horses. Her yard has really grown over the past few years, going down south and winning on the big days, and it’s a brilliant place to work and they’re only getting bigger and stronger.

“I joined Wilson at the start of last year and it really took off from then, he got me some nice rides and he gives me great advice after racing, so if I ever feel like I’ve made a mistake or done something wrong – he’s there, he’s honest and he’ll tell me the truth.

“Scu is brilliant too – sometimes he’s a wee bit old fashioned in his ways, he keeps it simple, but what he says works. It’s brilliant having those kind of people behind you, helping you to improve.”

Patrick Wadge with his Champion Conditional Jockey trophy at Sandown Park Racecourse. (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images). (Image credit: creditUnknown)

“I rode 24 lots that day!”

Patrick Wadge says working at two-time Grand National-winner Lucinda Russell’s yard is a “busy place to be”.

“It’s hard work and you have to graft, but she and Scu are some characters,” he says. “Obviously there are days when the stress is high, but they’re great to be around and they get stuck in with us too – Lucinda’s out there at 6am, mucking out, riding out and mingling with the yard. You can talk to them about anything. They’re brilliant people and deserve what they get.

“I’ll always remember one day it snowed and a lot of people couldn’t get into work, I was unfortunately one of those people who could get into work, and I was at the main yard at Arlary and I was the only lad riding, everyone else was mucking out. That day I rode out 24 lots, so that was a hard day! But that’s the way it works – if you work hard, you knuckle down and you graft, you get stuff in return.”

Traprain Law: the “great character” Patrick owes it all to

Talking about the wonderful Traprain Law, a multi-winner at Ayr and Kelso, Patrick describes him as a “great character” and the horse he owes it all to.

“You always get told, there will be one horse – it might not be your first winner, although you always remember your first winner – who will be your breakthrough horse and then you’ll hit the roll and for me it was Traprain Law,” explains Patrick.

“I’ve ridden him since day one and watched him develop. The first day he ran I thought he’d be something big and he got beaten by a horse rated 80 and I thought ‘Well that’s me completely wrong’. But we just had to figure him out and work out how he goes – he’s a front runner and he likes soft ground and all sorts of stuff.

“He’s such a lovely horse and every time I feel like we’ve got the grasp of him, he gives you a bit more, so he’s exciting going into next year, because this year he was very good over fences and didn’t put a foot wrong – he won twice and was placed twice. Everyone likes him on the yard.

“He’s such a friendly horse – you can stand in his box and he’ll rest his head on your shoulder, he’s a big gentleman. But when you ride him, he’s not one you’d put anyone on because he’s quite hot-headed and he’s all wound up, he’s quite a jazzy horse. But he’s just likeable, really sweet and honest.”

Future aspirations: “This story just keeps getting better and better”

Having been third in the championship the previous season, Patrick Wadge became the third rider from Scotland to claim the prestigious conditional jockeys’ title in 2024, following Lucy Alexander in 2013 and Craig Nichol in 2016. As well as Lucinda Russell, Patrick also rode winners for trainers Jennie Candlish, Iain Jardine, Martin Todhunter and Michael and David Easterby.

Speaking ahead of the current season, Patrick revealed some trepidation about the next steps in this remarkable journey.

“Next season is the scariest one, it’s hard to think that probably next year I’ll lose my claim. But ambitions-wise it would just be to busy as I can be,” says Patrick. “It would be lovely to follow on and go and do what Sean Bowen and Harry Cobden have done, but it’s easier said than done.

“So I’d love to get as much sport as I can, build every year, improve on every season and try to get some nice horses behind me. I’ve got a few with Lucinda that could maybe go on and run in Graded races next season, so it would be nice to win one of them. But another year like this would be great.

“They say there’s a story behind everything and mine just keeps getting better and better,” says Patrick. “It doesn’t happen for everyone so I feel so lucky it happened for me, it’s a great job to be in. I’ve had the opportunity to ride some amazing horses this past season and horses like Apple Away are ones that come round once in a lifetime.

“It’s amazing to be here and an unbelievable position to be in.”

Cheltenham Festival to go ahead despite being hit by snow

Gemma Redrup — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 12:06:31 +0000

Day two’s racing at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival today (12 March) will go ahead as planned, despite snow falling on the track this morning. No inspection of the course is required.

The snow lasted until around 8.30am, but there is no danger to today’s card, as it quickly turned into sleet and melted away. Temperatures are forecast to rise to around 9°C by the time the field set off for the opening race, the Turners Novices’ Hurdle, at 1.20pm.

Jon Pullin, Cheltenham’s clerk of the course, said at 8.50am: “We had a covering of snow this morning but it turned to sleet as forecast and that should soon disappear. The going for today remains good to soft on the [main] Old Course and is good to soft, good in places and soft on the top loop on the cross-country course.”

All routes into Cheltenham Festival are clear of snow so it won’t affect those attending today. Cheltenham is currently bathed in sunshine at a temperature of 6°C and spectators are arriving in their droves.

According to the Met Office, there will be sunny intervals and a chance of showers this afternoon, which could become heavy and wintry, especially over the hills. Showers will become more isolated later this afternoon with more in the way of sunshine. There will be brisk northerly winds in the west, making it feel chilly.

Cheltenham Festival day two racecard: Wednesday 12 March 2025

1.20pm: Turners Novices’ Hurdle (Grade One)

2pm: Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (Grade One)

2.40pm: Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle

3.20pm: Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase

4pm: BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade One)

4.40pm: Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Champion Chase

5.20pm: Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade One)

You can watch all of the action from today at Cheltenham on TV and, if you fancy trying to pick a winner, take a look at tips from industry experts to help you along the way.

To stay up to date with all the news from the Cheltenham Festival, plus breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

‘Dreadful news’: most expensive jumps horse bought at public auction to miss Cheltenham Festival

Gemma Redrup — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 19:29:22 +0000

Palladium, a horse who entered the history books when becoming the most expensive jumps’ racehorse to be sold at public auction, will not run as intended at this week’s Cheltenham Festival.

The four-year-old, who won the German Derby last year, was purchased by Lady Bamford for €1.4m (£1.17m) at the Arqana Arc Sale in October 2024. Now in training with Nicky Henderson, he went on to win on his hurdles debut at Huntingdon in January.

Nicky confirmed today that Palladium will not run in Friday’s Grade One JCB Triumph Hurdle as planned after getting cast in his stable.

Nicky said: “We have had quite a blow this morning when it appears that Palladium had got cast overnight and is quite sore this morning and we really can’t see how he can be fit to run in the JCB Triumph Hurdle.

“This is dreadful news and an unfair shock for the Bamford family as we seriously thought we had an outstanding chance on Friday.”

Palladium was a 10/1 shot for the Triumph Hurdle. It is hoped he will recover and will likely resume his Flat career, with Royal Ascot a potential target in June.

“We are confident he will soon be able to resume training, but he will require a few easy days,” continued Nicky. “He would be back in time for Aintree, but I think in all probability he will now return to his Flat career.

“He is a very good looking and talented young horse with a great temperament and he has a really bright future under both codes.”

Nicky’s remaining runner in the Triumph is Lulamba, who is currently second favourite behind the James Owen-trained East India Dock.

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2S8NPGY Palladium ridden by Nico de Boinville on their way to winning the Pertemps Network Maiden Hurdle at Huntingdon Racecourse, Brampton, Huntingdon. Picture date: Thursday January 23, 2025. (Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)

‘A certain amount of relief’: world’s most expensive jumps racehorse makes British debut

(Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)

Cheltenham Festival is next stop for Gredley family’s home-bred star East India Dock

(Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)

‘Give me a pinch and make sure this isn’t a dream!’: shock result in Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival

Gemma Redrup — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 19:02:30 +0000

A dramatic Unibet Champion Hurdle unfolded on the opening day of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival as two former winners fell and a 25/1 shot ran on triumph.

Palpable shock rippled through the crowd when odds-on favourite and trainer Nicky Henderson’s stable star, Constitution Hill, who won in 2023, fell at the fifth flight. Both he and jockey Nico De Boinville were reported to be ok afterwards, but the outcome brought his unbeaten run of 10 under Rules to an end.

Last year’s winner, State Man, appeared to have the contest at his mercy, until a final flight fall when five lengths clear put paid to his chances. This left Ian Gosden’s Golden Ace with the lead and the seven-year-old by Golden Horn, ridden by Lorcan Williams, became just the seventh mare to win the race since it was first run in 1927.

Winning trainer Jeremy Scott said: “I think my team at home will be as flabbergasted as I am – they’ll be watching it at home now and they’ll definitely be reaching for the drinks’ cabinet.

“My wife, Camilla, and our family are all involved. Camilla does a lot of the work at home – she has the patience of a saint and she’s the genius, rather than me.

“Lorcan is part of the team and we work really well together. He’s just such a good horseman and he’s a good mate, so it’s really nice to do this.

“Give me a pinch and make sure this isn’t a dream! I couldn’t even dream it – for God’s sake, thump me, because I must be fast asleep at the moment!”

Lorcan Williams admitted his ride wasn’t travelling as well as he would have hoped in the latter part of the race when things started unravelling in front of him.

“Literally, I cannot believe it,” he said. “I was thinking that we could do with a bit further, then I thought, ‘We’re staying on well for second’, and things happened started to happen. I’m absolutely thrilled for the Jeremy Scott team; it’s a massive team effort to come here and I’m lost for words as to what a pleasure it is to get it done.

“Nothing compares to how I am feeling now. I hope this day will never end. I’m shell shocked.”

The James Owen-trained Burdett Road finished runner-up at odds 66/1 under Sam Twiston-Davies for the Gredley Family, while the Willie Mullins-trained 150/1 shot Winter Fog was third under Brian Hayes for The Triple Lock Partnership.

How are the Champion Hurdle fallers?

Few race fans would have predicted that Constitution Hill and State Man would fall in Champion Hurdle on the opening day of the Festival, but both were reported by their trainers to be fine after the race.

Nicky Henderson said: “[Constitution Hill] seems fine. He is very bright and breezy, but of course he hasn’t had a race. I don’t know what can you say. He ran two miles, even if he didn’t have Nico on at the end.

“He has been in terrific form I have got to say, but when you are jumping as fast as they jump, you have got to get it deadly accurate.”

Constitution Hill may now head to Punchestown Festival in May for the Boodles Champion Hurdle.

Willie Mullins, trainer of State Man, said: “He was just long at it and popped the top of it, but these things happen. I’m just delighted he is okay.”

Cheltenham Festival day one results

1.20pm: Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

1st: Kopek Des Bordes, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend

2nd: William Munny

3rd: Romeo Coolio

2pm: My Pension Expert Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase

1st: Jango Baie, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Nico De Boinville

2nd: Only By Night

3rd: Majborough

2.40pm: Ultima Handicap Chase

1st: Myretown, trained by Lucinda Russell and ridden by Patrick Wadge

2nd: The Changing Man

3rd: Malina Girl

3.20pm: Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle

1st: Lossiemouth, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend

2nd: Jade De Grugy

3rd: Take No Chances

4pm: Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy

1st: Golden Ace, trained by Jeremy Scott and ridden by Lorcan Williams

2nd: Burdett Road

3rd: Winter Fog

4.40pm: Hallgarten And Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle

1st: Puturhandstogether, trained by Joseph O’Brien and ridden by Mark Walsh

2nd: Robbies Rock

3rd: Liam Swagger

5.20pm: Princess Royal National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase

1st: Haiti Couleurs, trained by Rebecca Curtis and ridden by Ben Jones

2nd: Rock My Way

3rd: Will Do

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‘I had my kidney removed and he has kept me going’: emotions run high as Cheltenham Festival gets underway

Gemma Redrup — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 17:53:17 +0000

Kopek Des Bordes’ win in the opening Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival today (11 March) was emotional for many reasons.

Ridden by Paul Townend and trained by Willie Mullins, Kopek Des Bordes is owned by Monabeg Investments Limited, which has Charlie McCarthy among its members.

“This is something I have dreamt about all my life,” said Charlie, who has endured a tumultuous time recently. “I had my right kidney removed, which was cancerous, on 26 February. But he [Kopek Des Bordes] kept me going through all of it. He’s a superb horse, something special.”

Following the race, Charlie added: “I’m on cloud nine – is there a bigger cloud to be on? I just can’t get over it! Here with my sons, to win at Cheltenham and to win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, after everything I’ve been through, is a dream come true, and the dream is not finished yet.”

This race was renamed in memory of Irish jockey Michael O’Sullivan, 24, who died following a fall at Thurles Racecourse last month.

Jockey Paul Townend was overcome with emotion when asked about his former colleague.

“He was a big part of our team. He is in everyone’s thoughts every day,” said Paul. “We can just count ourselves very lucky that we did know him for the short that we did – very lucky to have known such an incredible young man.”

William Munny finished second under jockey Sean Flanagan. He is owned and trained by Barry Connell, who was a big supporter of Michael O’Sullivan throughout his career.

“The whole thing today is very poignant,” said Barry. “This whole place is emotional on an ordinary day, but when you have something like this after the tragedy that happened to Michael, who was so closely associated with our yard, it is very raw.”

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(Image credit: Harry Murphy/Getty)

Can anyone beat Constitution Hill? Everything you need to know about the 2025 Cheltenham Festival Champion Hurdle

Gemma Redrup — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 10:30:07 +0000

The Champion Hurdle gets underway at 4pm tomorrow (11 March) during the opening day of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the big race, from this year’s runners and riders, and how to watch, to what prize money the winner will be taking home.

Constitution Hill, trained by Nicky Henderson is favourite to win, with Brighterdaysahead, trained by Gordon Elliott and last year’s winner, State Man, his biggest rivals.

Who are the runners in the 2025 race?

Horse: Constitution Hill | Jockey: Nico De Boinville | Owner: Michael Buckley

Trainer: Nicky Henderson

Brighterdaysahead | Jack Kennedy | Owner: Gigginstown House Stud

Gordon Elliott

State Man | Paul Townend | Mrs J Donnelly

Willie Mullins

Golden Ace | Lorcan Williams | Owner: I F Gosden

Jeremy Scott

Burdett Road| Sam Twiston-Davies | Owner: The Gredley Family

James Owen

Winter Fog | Brian Hayes | Owner: The Triple Lock Partnership

Willie Mullins

King Of Kingsfield | Danny Gilligan | Owner: Gigginstown House Stud

Gordon Elliott

What are the betting odds for this year’s runners?

The following odds were correct at the time of publishing and may vary between bookmakers.

Constitution Hill: 8/13

Brighterdaysahead: 9/4

State Man: 10/1

Golden Ace: 40/1

Burdett Road: 50/1

Winter Fog: 125/1

King Of Kingsfield: 150/1

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About the Champion Hurdle

The Cheltenham Champion Hurdle is a Grade One National Hunt hurdle race, run over two miles and half a furlong with eight flights of hurdles to jump. The race is held on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival in March, which runs from Tuesday-Friday, and a massive highlight of the National Hunt season.

When is the 2025 Champion Hurdle?

The race will start at 4pm on Tuesday 11 March.

How to watch the Champion Hurdle

You can watch the race from home on ITV Racing and Racing TV at 4pm on Tuesday 11 March.

What was the prize money for winning?

The winner of the 2025 Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy will take home £253,215.

Recent winners

2024: State Man – read race report

2023: Constitution Hill – read race report

2022: Honeysuckle – read race report

2021: Honeysuckle – read the race report

2020: Epitante – read the race report

2019: Espoir D’Allen – read the race report

2018: Buveur D’Air – read the race report

2017: Buveur D’Air – read the race report

2016: Annie Power – read the race report

2015: Faugheen – read the race report

2014: Jezki – read the race report

2013: Hurricane Fly – read the race report

2012: Rock On Ruby – read the race report

2011: Hurricane Fly – read the race report

Winning-most trainer, horse, jockey and owner

The all-time leading Champion Hurdle trainer is Nicky Henderson, who has so far won it a total of nine times, thanks to See You Then (1985, 1986, 1987), Punjabi (2009), Binocular (2010), Beveur D’Air (2017, 2018), Epatante (2020) and Constitution Hill (2023). Five horses have won three Champion Hurdles, which is the current record. These are Hatton’s Grace (1949-51), Sir Ken (1952-54), Persian War (1968-70), See You Then and Istabraq (1998-2000). Three jockeys have won the race four times, which sits at the current record. These are Tim Molony, Ruby Walsh and Barry Geraghty. And the leading Cheltenham Gold Cup owner, J. P. McManus, has so far won it nine times – three times with Istabraq, as well as with Binocular, Jezki (2014) and Beveur D’Air.

The history of the Champion Hurdle

The Champion Hurdle is the most prestigious hurdle race in the British National Hunt calendar. The race was first to run in 1927. That inaugural race was won by Blaris, earning connections £365.

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Paisley Park, Native River and other retired racing stars prepare to return to Cheltenham

Lucy Elder — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 17:45:28 +0000

Fan favourite Paisley Park is set to delight crowds at the Cheltenham Festival once again as he returns in retirement to take part in the Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) parade.

The four-time Grade One winner, trained by Emma Lavelle, retired at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival, after his final run in the Grade One Stayers’ Hurdle – a race he contested on six occasions and won in 2019. He has since found a new home with Emma’s secretary Katrina Stanhope-White, and Katrina’s daughter, Jazz.

The 13-year-old gelding is now enjoying days out following hounds and is set to take part in the Tattersalls RoR show series qualifiers this year.

Paisley Park will be joined by 13 other former racehorses, including 2014 Grand National winner Pineau De Re and 2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Native River.

“This parade showcases a variety of horses, many of whom excelled on the racecourse, while others have found success in their second careers,” said RoR managing director David Catlow.

“Regardless of size, shape, or ability, all are thriving and enjoying active retirements. These parades offer racegoers a firsthand look at the many post-racing opportunities available.

“While they highlight the care and commitment to retired racehorses in Great Britain, they also emphasise the need for continued support, as outlined in the RoR Strategy 2024-2026, to ensure every former racehorse has the opportunity for a well-supported life beyond racing, whatever path they take.”

The RoR parade will take place at 12.25pm on Tuesday (11 March), the opening day of the 2025 Festival (11 to 14 March).

The full line up includes:

Balthazar King – ridden by Michael Andrews

Bristol De Mai – ridden by Clare Lawes

Coneygree – ridden by Sara Bradstock

Elegant Escape – ridden by Lily Clothier

Kemboy – ridden by Rachel Sharp

Melon – ridden by Sophie Candy

Minella Rebellion – ridden by Katie Dashwood

Native River – ridden by Jazmin Hosgood

Paisley Park – ridden by Gabby Jones

Pineau De Re – ridden by Lizzie Brunt

Polydamos – ridden by Katy Llewellyn

Saphir Du Rheu – ridden by Charlotte Alexander

Sharjah – ridden by Abbie Hawkins

Wonga Swinger – ridden by Tori Thomas

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Heading to the races? Here are 7 of the best binoculars to keep you abreast of the action

Oscar Williams — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 13:54:40 +0000

If you’re gearing up for race day and want to catch every thrilling moment from a front-row perspective, having a pair of the best binoculars is a game-changer. Think of it like having a personal front-seat upgrade – you get to see every gallop, every stride, and every burst of speed without having to scramble for a better view.

There are plenty of options out there to suit different needs. In this guide to the best binoculars for horse racing we’ll give you all the information you need to pick the best binoculars to enhance your enjoyment at the races, whether you’re heading to Cheltenham Festival or your local track. If you’re a bit befuddled by the numbers and specifications, here’s a super-simple explainer.

Best binoculars for horse racing: H&H’s quick guide

Best value binoculars: Nikon Prostaff P7 10×42

Best compact binoculars: Steiner BluHorizons 10×26

Best premium pick: Canon 10×30 IS

Best budget pick: Olympus 8×25 WP

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Nikon Prostaff P7 10×42

Magnification: 10x

Objective lens diameter: 42mm

Weight: 645g

RRP: £259

Reasons to buy

Sharp, high-contrast images with multi-coated lenses
Waterproof and fog-proof, ideal for all weather conditions
Comfortable rubber-armoured grip for secure handling

Reasons to avoid

Slightly heavier than some compact models
Higher magnification can make it harder to keep a steady image without a tripod

The Nikon Prostaff P7 10×42 is a solid all-rounder, perfect for racegoers who want crisp, detailed views without jumping to a premium price bracket. The multi-coated optics and phase-corrected roof prisms enhance brightness and clarity, helping you track fast-moving horses with ease.

Built to handle the elements, these binoculars are waterproof and nitrogen-filled, meaning you won’t have to worry about misting up in damp conditions. The textured rubber coating ensures a comfortable and secure grip, even on a long day at the races.

With 10x magnification, you’ll get up-close views of the action, but if you struggle with a steady hand, a lower magnification model might be easier to use. However, for those looking for a high-quality pair that balances performance, durability, and affordability, the Nikon Prostaff 7S is a great pick.

Steiner BluHorizons 10×26

Magnification: 10x

Objective lens diameter: 26mm

Weight: 310g

RRP: £199

Reasons to buy

Ultra-compact and lightweight
Auto-adjusting light technology for glare-free viewing
Rugged, rubber exterior for durability

Reasons to avoid

Smaller objective lens lets in less light in low-light conditions
10x magnification can be tricky to keep steady in a compact model

The Steiner BluHorizons 10×26 is perfect for racegoers who want a lightweight, pocket-sized binocular without sacrificing performance. The lens automatically adjusts brightness to reduce glare – ideal for those sunny days at the track.

While the 10x magnification provides fantastic close-up views, the smaller 26mm objective lens means they perform best in bright daylight. If you want something compact that’s easy to carry but still powerful enough for a detailed view, these are a great option.

Canon 10×30 IS

Magnification: 10x

Objective lens diameter: 30mm

Weight: 600g

RRP: £469.99

Reasons to buy

Image stabilisation tech (IS) for a steady view
Crisp, high-contrast optics
Comfortable, ergonomic design for extended use

Reasons to avoid

Battery-powered stabilization requires replacements
More expensive than non-stabilized models

The Canon 10×30 IS stands out with its image stabilisation technology, which compensates for hand movements, delivering a steady, shake-free view. This makes them perfect for following the action, even at higher magnifications.

The 30mm objective lens balances portability and light-gathering ability, making them a solid mid-range option. If you struggle to keep binoculars steady but want the benefits of 10x zoom, these are the best horse racing binoculars for you.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Olympus 8×25 WP

Magnification: 8x

Objective lens diameter: 25mm

Weight: 260g

RRP: £109.99

Reasons to buy

Extremely lightweight and compact
Waterproof design for all-weather use
Budget-friendly without sacrificing quality

Reasons to avoid

Lower magnification compared to others on this list
Small objective lens limits brightness in dim conditions

The Olympus 8×25 WP is one of the most compact and affordable options on this list, making it a great pick for casual racegoers. Despite its small size, the optics are surprisingly sharp and its waterproofing ensures durability.

If you’re after something lightweight that still provides clear and stable viewing, these are an excellent choice for the price.

Zeiss Terra ED 8×42

Magnification: 8x

Objective lens diameter: 42mm

Weight: 725g

Reasons to buy

Wide field of view
Exceptional optics with ED glass for high contrast and sharp details
Waterproof and nitrogen-filled for durability

Reasons to avoid

Higher price point compared to similar models
Slightly bulkier than compact binoculars

The Zeiss Terra ED 8×42 is a premium choice for those who want exceptional clarity and a wide field of view. The ED glass enhances contrast and reduces chromatic aberration, meaning you get razor-sharp images with true-to-life colors.

With 8x magnification, you get a broader perspective, making it easier to track horses in motion. They’re slightly larger than some competitors, but if optical quality is your top priority, these are worth the investment.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Steiner Wildlife 8×24

Magnification: 8x

Objective lens diameter: 24mm

Weight: 350g

RRP: £189

Reasons to buy

Lightweight and compact for easy carrying
Wide field of view for tracking movement
Robust, rubber design

Reasons to avoid

Smaller objective lens limits brightness in low light
Not as powerful as larger models

For racegoers who want a balance between portability and performance, the Steiner Wildlife 8×24 could be the one for you. The 8x magnification offers a steady, wide view, making it easier to track moving horses.

Designed for rugged use, the rubber coating ensures a secure grip, even in wet conditions. While the smaller objective lens means they’re best suited to bright daylight, their lightweight design makes them easy to carry all day.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Celestron Outland X 10×42

Magnification: 10x

Objective lens diameter: 42mm

Weight: 624g

RRP: £95

Reasons to buy

Great value for a 10×42 model
Waterproof and fog-proof for all-weather use
Rubber coating for a secure grip

Reasons to avoid

Image clarity not as sharp as premium models
Slightly heavier than some alternatives

For those on a budget, the Celestron Outland X 10×42 provides decent magnification and a robust, waterproof design at a low price point. They don’t match the clarity of higher-end options, but they’re solid for casual use.

How to choose a pair of binoculars for horse racing

There are plenty of binoculars available. Some are super compact and easy to carry around, which is perfect if you want to keep things light and hassle-free. Others, however, pack a bit more power with higher magnification and even image stabilisation to make sure you don’t miss a detail – even if your hands are a little shaky from all the excitement. It all comes down to what kind of experience you’re after.

“A decent pair of binoculars are your best accessory at the races,” explains Horse & Hound’s racing editor Jennifer Donald. “If you’ve a vested interest in a particular horse, whether as a punter, keen spectator or owner, nothing beats zooming in and following all the action.”

Gemma Redrup, Horse & Hound’s point-to-point editor adds: “In the absence of a big screen at most point-to-point fixtures, binoculars really help you keep abreast of the action within a race – and can therefore make you the envy of many as a result!”

Understanding binocular numbers: what do they mean?

When you pick up a pair of binoculars, you’ll often see a set of numbers printed on the body – something like “8×32” or “10×42”. At first glance, these might seem confusing, but they’re actually the key to understanding how your binoculars will perform.

The first number represents the magnification. An 8x magnification means objects will appear eight times closer than they are to the naked eye, while 10x magnification brings them ten times closer. The “x” simply stands for “times magnification”.

The second number refers to the diameter of the objective lens (the lens furthest from your eyes) in millimeters. For example, in 8×32 binoculars, the 32mm objective lens determines how much light enters the binoculars. A larger lens allows more light in, which means a brighter, clearer image, especially in low-light conditions.

What binoculars are best for horse racing?

It might seem like bigger is better when it comes to magnification, but that’s not always the case. While higher magnification provides a closer view, it also has trade-offs. Without a large enough objective lens, the image can appear darker and less clear, especially in low light.

For horse racing, you’ll want a balance between magnification and stability. Anything over 10x can amplify natural hand movements, making the image shaky and difficult to track fast-moving horses. Heavier binoculars can also become tiring to hold for long periods.

For the best race-day experience, 8x or 10x magnification with a 32mm–42mm objective lens is ideal – giving you a clear, steady view without unnecessary weight.

Trainer Nicky Henderson on pre-Cheltenham bombshells, rivalry with Willie Mullins, his love for Sprinter Sacre and chasing that elusive Grand National win

Jennifer Donald — Sun, 02 Mar 2025 16:30:02 +0000

With the Cheltenham Festival (11-14 March) just days away, six-time champion National Hunt racehorse trainer Nicky Henderson admits he and the team at Seven Barrows are now box-walking in anticipation.

Speaking on episode 162 of The Horse & Hound Podcast, which is sponsored by a new campaign from British racing called HorsePWR, Nicky firstly reflects on the “bombshell” of “bright spark” Sir Gino’s injury in the run-up to this year’s Festival, before looking back fondly to his first ever Festival winner, which came with the quirky hurdler See You Then exactly 40 years ago.

“We started in 1978 and our first Cheltenham winner came in 1985,” says Nicky. “The Champion Hurdle has been a very lucky race for us; we’re on nine at the moment.

“It’s going to be a mighty invasion,” he says of going up against the strong squad of Irish runners at the Festival again this year. “So we need a lot of public support for a start. But we’ve had a few skirmishes with Willie Mullins’ horses since Christmas and it has come out in our favour. I suspect he won’t have taken that lying down and he’ll have them even more tuned up as a result!”

Racehorse trainer Nicky Henderson on all-time great Sprinter Sacre

Jonbon, Constitution Hill and Lulamba are among the superstar horses heading to this year’s Cheltenham Festival, following in the hoofprints of so many racing greats to have come out of Seven Barrows. Among the likes of Remittance Man, Binocular and Altior, it’s Sprinter Sacre that stands out, says Nicky.

“In the first half of his career Sprinter Sacre was unbeatable,” says Nicky. “Then he got ill and he had this heart problem, he was out for 18 months. But he came back, it was last chance saloon, and he won the Shloer Chase and came back and won another Champion Chase at Cheltenham. It was a great day for British racing, the atmosphere that day was just amazing. It’s very special when the crowd appreciates these great warriors. The horses really are the main ingredient.”

Chasing the Grand National dream

Having won nearly every major prize in the sport during his glittering career, Nicky Henderson admits the Grand National is the dream he’s still chasing.

“We actually finished second in it the first year and thought it was going to be easy,” says Nicky. “There’s no point going there and running very good races though, you’ve got to win it.”

To hear more about Nicky Henderson’s insight on his many top horses, how his role has changed over the past 50 years and some remarkable comebacks, listen here to episode 162 of The Horse & Hound Podcast – or search for “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your favourite podcast app.

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The Horse & Hound Podcast 162: multiple champion trainer Nicky Henderson

Gemma Redrup — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 06:45:09 +0000

On our 162nd episode of The Horse & Hound Podcast, which is sponsored by a new campaign from British racing called HorsePWR, we speak to six-time champion jumps racing trainer, Nicky Henderson. He reflects on his greatest moments on the racecourse, plus his favourite horses and he talks about what he has learnt during 30 years as a trainer. We hope you enjoy listening.

Episode 162, of our popular audio service The Horse & Hound Podcast, which is sponsored by a new campaign from British racing called HorsePWR, is now live.

Each episode is available for H&H fans to listen to via your favourite podcast app, as well as here on the website. Search for “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your preferred podcast app and click subscribe to be notified about each new episode.

View all episodes of The Horse & Hound Podcast

On our 162nd episode of The Horse & Hound Podcast, we speak to six-time champion jumps racing trainer, Nicky Henderson ahead of the upcoming Cheltenham Festival. He reflects on his greatest moments on the racecourse, plus his favourite horses and he talks about what he has learnt during 30 years as a trainer.

“We’ve had to change with the times – there’s no point in me carrying on in the same old way we were training in 1978. You’ve got to keep your eyes and ears open, else you’ll get overtaken by everyone” – Nicky Henderson on keeping up with the times during his lengthy period as a trainer

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Horse & Hound Podcast: episode 162

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