National Hunt enthusiasts on both sides of the Irish Sea are excitedly ticking off the days until the 2024 Cheltenham Festival. The tape goes up for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, the annual Festival opener, at 13:30 on Tuesday March 12th. Just one of 28 thrilling contests over 4 days, with £4.5 million in prizemoney up for grabs.
Here we check out the four feature Championship races: Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle, Wednesday’s Champion Chase, Thursday’s Stayers’ Hurdle and Friday’s Gold Cup.
Embed from Getty ImagesCheltenham Festival: Champion Hurdle (Tuesday March 12th)
Wonder horse Constitution Hill returns to Prestbury Park to defend his Champion Hurdle crown. Nicky Henderson’s 7-year-old is a huge favourite to notch a 9th straight victory and maintain his 100% record over hurdles. His combined aggregate winning distance from his 8 previous successes is an astonishing 98.5 lengths (an average of over 12 lengths per win). No one will forget his 9 lengths win in the 2023 Champion Hurdle (the 3rd biggest winning distance in the event this century after Espoir d’Allen (2019) & Rooster Booster (2003).
Constitution Hill’s 9 length romp was Henderson’s 9th triumph in the most prestigious hurdles event of the year. The Seven Barrows’ handler will be hoping ‘Constitution’ can follow in the hoof steps of his former stars, Buveur d’Air & See You Then. Both successfully defended their Champion Hurdle titles. Nicky Henderson has proved to be the British hero in the race. Without him, the Irish would have notched 11 straight wins in the Day 1 feature.
Will Constitution Hill live up to his Arkle Comparisions?
Constitution Hill shot to Cheltenham Festival stardom when blazing to a 22-length victory in the 2022 Supreme Novices. He never frets, has a wonderful temperament, with many knowledgeable racing enthusiasts comparing him to the great Arkle. He may have only had the one prep race coming into the festival this time around, compared to the two last year. However, despite taking a keen early hold, his defence of the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton couldn’t be faulted.
The Irish threat, if there is one, looks to be from State Man. Who himself hasn’t put a hoof wrong (4 straight wins) since a well-beaten second to Constitution Hill at Cheltenham last year. The question seems not to be, will Constitution Hill win again, but how far he wins by? Then the (nice) dilemma arises for Nicky Henderson whether his star’s future lies over fences. Seeing whether he can repeat Dawn Run’s feat of completing the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup double in the coming years.
Check out all the latest Champion Hurdle odds here
Embed from Getty ImagesCheltenham Festival: Champion Chase (Wednesday March 13th)
So, the British look to hold the ace card in the big race on the opening day, but the Irish have one of their own in Wednesday’s short distance feature over fences. Willie Mullins’ El Fabiolo hasn’t tasted defeat over fences. He beat Jonbon by 5 ½ lengths when winning the Arkle at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival, and the pair reoppose once again. Despite winning well, El Fabiolo’s jumping wasn’t fluent that day, as has been the case in a number of his races. It may be a factor that puts some off backing him at such short odds.
Jonbon is the only horse to have beaten El Fabiolo previously. That defeat came at Aintree in 2022 and was El Fabiolo’s final race over hurdles. In terms of prep races, Jonbon blotted his copybook a tad when failing to land the Clarence House Chase at Cheltenham in January at very short odds. It’s been plain sailing for El Fabiolo on the other hand, apart from some iffy jumping at times. He was at his ruthless best at Leopardstown earlier this month. The jockey/trainer partnership of Paul Townend and Willie Mullins are looking for their third straight win in the Champion Chase. If El Fabiolo does the business, it will be the first time that’s happened since Robert Earnshaw and Michael Dickinson did it in the mid-1980s.
Check out all the latest Champion Chase odds here
Embed from Getty ImagesCheltenham Festival: Stayers’ Hurdle (Thursday March 14th)
The Irish raiding party also look to have a strong hand in the Thursday feature, the Stayers’ Hurdle. Gordon Elliott’s pair, Teahupoo and Irish Point, currently head the market. Both are owned by Brian Acheson’s Robcour Racing outfit. Bob Olinger famously won in their colours at both the 2021 & 2022 Festivals. Gordon Elliott claimed the event last year with Sire Du Berlais, who clinched the narrowest of victories at large odds. At 11 years of age, he was the oldest winner of the long-distance hurdle event for 37 years.
Teahupoo was the Stayers’ Hurdle favourite last year too. He would finish the season sick of the sight of Sire Du Berlais, as he failed to place in the Punchestown Stayers’ Hurdle because of the elder statesman. Teahupoo will come out gunning for glory again though and defended his Hatton’s Grace Hurdle crown at Fairyhouse in December. However, the fact he got beaten heavily in the 2022 Champion Hurdle, may have persuaded some that he’s not a fan of Cheltenham.
Stablemate Irish Point is making his Cheltenham debut and heads to the festival in fine fettle. He’s racked up 4 wins on spin, including cantering to an 11-length victory in the Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown in December. The grey has only raced on English soil once before, when winning the Mersey Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree last year.
Crambo will be carrying English hopes. He was the winner of the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot, a race that has seen six winners go on to seal Stayers’ Hurdle honours since 1971. That list includes the great Big Buck’s and Paisley Park. Theleme is flying the French flag. He has dazzled on the Auteuil scene over the previous couple of years. With him, memories of Baracouda’s double-win (2002 & 2003) come flooding back.
Four of the last five winners are set to line up again. Flooring Porter, the 2021 & 2022 winner, was going well last year before a mistake two out. Sire Du Berlais and Paisley Park are both now 12 years young, but are still aiming for another shot at Cheltenham Festival glory. Throw in the 2022 Grand National winner, Noble Yeats, who won the Cleeve Hurdle in January and we have one of the most intriguing and open contests of the whole Festival.
Check out all the latest Stayers’ Hurdle odds here
Embed from Getty ImagesGold Cup (Friday March 15th)
And so, we reach the flagship event of the whole Cheltenham Festival, Friday’s feature, the Gold Cup. The Irish have held a stranglehold on the race recently with five successive wins. Willie Mullins celebrating three of those, including last year’s winner Galopin Des Champs, who has a terrific Cheltenham pedigree. The Gold Cup winner last year, the ‘Martin Pipe’ victor in 2021. He was also romping clear when dramatically falling at the last in the ‘Golden Miller’ in 2022.
Fastorslow will have his admirers, having twice beaten Galopin Des Champs at Punchestown in the last 12 months. However, Galopins Des Champs would avenge those losses when comfortably beating Fastorslow in the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown earlier this month. Fastorslow is also yet to taste Cheltenham Festival glory having finished second on both his previous Prestbury Park visits.
Nicky Henderson’s Shishkin finally returned to form, winning the Denman Chase at Newbury this month after some early season mishaps. He refused to race at Ascot and then unseated Nico de Boinville in the King George at Kempton. Like Galopin Des Champs, Shishkin has a good Cheltenham Festival pedigree, winning both the Supreme Novices (2020) and Arkle (2021). There will be worries his best Festival days are behind him though, after he pulled up in the 2022 Champion Chase and finished second in the Ryanair Chase last year after not travelling well.
Gerri Colombe has never finished out of the first two in seven previous chase runs. Though was well and truly beaten (23 lengths) by Galopin Des Champs in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown in December. Hewick who finished like a train at Kempton, will be aiming to complete the King George & Cheltenham Gold Cup double in the same season. A feat ten other horses have achieved. Famous equine names such as Arkle, Desert Orchid, Best Mate, Kicking King and Kauto Star. The last to complete the double was Long Run in 2011.
Check out all the latest Gold Cup odds here
ITV will be screening the first five races of the Cheltenham Festival live each day from Tuesday March 12th. Keep up with the ITV Racing schedule. Racing TV will be showing all 28 races live.
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Image Credit: Deposit Photos