Cheltenham Festival 2026: Essential Guide To Jump Racing's Big Week

12 March 2018


By.
Cornelius Lysaght


BBC horse racing reporter


Cheltenham Festival


Venue: Cheltenham Racecourse Date: 13-16 March


Coverage: Full coverage on BBC Radio 5 live; continued BBC Radio 5 live sports additional; live text updates on BBC Sport site


It's upon us: the Cheltenham Festival, the most essential week of the jump racing year when the majority of the finest national hunt horses do battle for champion honours.


Nowadays, nevertheless, the Festival is no longer just a major horse racing event; it has actually secured its own significantly significant position in the British sporting calendar as a whole.


One illustration: I am celebrating my 35th anniversary of working there. Back in 1983 trainer Michael Dickinson managed what was considered a hardly reputable 1-2-3-4-5 in the Gold Cup - the order's a good one for certain pub quizzes, so here goes: Bregawn, Captain John, Wayward Lad, Silver Buck and Ashley House - and, that year, the average presence was only about 24,000 per afternoon over 3 days.


In 2018, the 14th Festival set up to be staged over 4 days, that average will be more than 60,000 individuals. Additionally, the amount of airtime given over by radio and TV, plus the space for editorial and promos on-line and in papers, has outgrown all acknowledgment.


Perhaps the greatest single change from 1983 is the amount of success for Irish stables. Then it was five wins from 18 races, although that figure wasn't equalled for ten years, and in 1989 the visitors withstood 'nil points'. Today, hopes of an improvement on 2017's success in the BetBright Anglo-Irish obstacle, with a record 19 wins from 28 races, is considered practical.


Podcast: 5 live Cheltenham preview


Cheltenham race schedule & BBC protection


Here's my guide to the week ahead ...


First things initially: the weather


It is typically said that because of its position nestling in the foothills of the Cotswold Hills, the health club town of Cheltenham has its own micro climate.


That may often hold true, however it didn't apply when the 'Beast from the East' and Storm Emma had their current encounter in Britain; as somewhere else, snow drifts collected, some five-feet deep around the fences and difficulties, and temperatures at one point plunged to -17 C.


It's approximated 500 tonnes of snow had actually to be cleared from the track and public locations combined, and the impacts of that precipitation, plus further rain, indicates the Festival is set to start on the softest racing surface area seen for the first day in more than 25 years.


The storm from Ireland: Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott look stronger than ever


Willie Mullins is the champion trainer of Irish dive racing, while his arch-rival Gordon Elliott was the titleholder at the 2017 Cheltenham Festival for the very first time, with six of his home nation's successes. Between them, the set have 15 of the 19 Irish-trained most likely favourites this time.


The Elliott team - lots of with jockeys using the maroon and white silks of the Gigginstown House Stud operation, owned by airline tycoon Michael O'Leary - consists of Gigginstown's Samcro, who appears at arrivals with the thickest cloud of buzz.


The horse was intentionally called Samcro by his breeder - after the Sons Of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original from the US tv series Sons of Anarchy - in an effort to bring in O'Leary, who is stated to like names with effective undertones.


Unbeaten in 7 races, consisting of a point-to-point, Samcro is an Irish 'banker' in day 2's Ballymore Novices Hurdle as he heads the list of Elliott runners in addition to Apple's Jade - trained by Mullins prior to a prominent fallout with O'Leary in 2016 - who goes for a repeat in the OLGB Mares Hurdle (day one).


Meanwhile, Mullins has something of a 'banker' of his own in Getabird, all the rage for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices Hurdle, the opening race of the entire week, the moment when that well-known 'Cheltenham holler' goes up from the crowd as months of anticipation finally comes to an end.


Like a majority of the stable's most significant hopes, Getabird will be the install of Ruby Walsh, the Festival's most effective jockey with 56 wins, and leading rider for 11 of the last 14 years; he's simply back from a lack of more than 3 months since of a broken ideal leg.


The Mullins difficulty likewise consists of 3 prominent runners wanting to regain their mojos: Faugheen, Yorkhill (both Unibet Champion Hurdle) and Douvan (Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase).


Faugheen, the injury-ravaged Champion Hurdler of 2015, has actually suffered 2 recent beats and will wear cheek pieces to aid concentration; Yorkhill, last season's JLT Chase winner, has rather lost his way; while Douvan, twice a Festival winner, will be racing for the first time considering that flopping in the 2017 Champion Chase, when encountering Altior in the race this time or lining up in the Ryanair Chase.


Altior just one star in Henderson difficulty


Just as Messrs Elliott and Mullins dominate the Irish assault, the stable of Nicky Henderson, based at Lambourn in Berkshire, has a majority of the infantryman manning the home defences.


Henderson, who's won more Festival races than any other fitness instructor - 58 - has the major players in 3 of the week's 4 principal features, and is fancied to complete what would be an unprecedented treble.


Buveur D'Air, owned by JP McManus, looks impressive as he defends his Champion Hurdle title, although Henderson and McManus are also represented by serial runner-up in the race My Tent Or Yours; Altior and jockey Nico de Boinville seek their third Festival successes together in the Queen Mother Champion Chase; while Might Bite and de Boinville effort to sign up with an elite band who have actually won leaping's King George VI Chase and Timico-sponsored Gold Cup in the same season.


To blend metaphors, Might Bite, owned by the Knot Again Partnership headed by Kent County Cricket Club chairman Simon Philip, is a fantastic all-rounder, although is vulnerable to near run-outs.


The nine-year-old has twice almost got defeat from the jaws of success when drifting off a straight line late on at Cheltenham, especially in the RSA Chase of 2017; were these antics guaranteed not to be duplicated, his big-race chances would be substantially shorter as he handles Native River, Our Duke and co. - although not last year's winner Sizing John, who is hurt.


Talking of the Gold Cup, here's a stat for you: Willie Mullins, who is due to run last year's fourth Djakadam, Total Recall and the well-touted Killultagh Vic, has actually never ever won the race, and has - pretty extraordinarily - had horses finish runner-up six times including Djakadam two times.


Day 3: move over St Patrick, the people's horses are in town


They call it St Patrick's Thursday, but, not least due to the fact that it's on 15 March, day 3 could almost be re-named 'old heroes' Thursday this year as Cue Card and The New One strut their things at their seventh Festival.


For Cue Card, a two-time Festival winner - although maybe best-known for falling at the third-last fence in the last two Gold Cups - his appearance in the Ryanair Chase is most likely to be his swansong at the fixture.


The dive racing public has actually taken the 12-year-old to their hearts for his success in landing a total of 16 races, naturally, but also for his capability to recuperate in the face of hardship, like the falls.


Success for the veteran, trained by Colin Tizzard for octogenarian owner Jean Bishop, and the install of jockey Paddy Brennan, versus protecting champ Un Des Sceaux and the rest would, as they state, raise the roofing system.


Unlike Cue Card, who missed a number of years, the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained The New One, who lines up with the trainer's jockey child Sam in the Sunbets Stayers Hurdle, has actually not missed a Festival since taking in his first in 2012; his CV includes a beginners' hurdle success and type figures of 3-5-4-5 in successive Champion Hurdles.


Any other organization


Britain's youngest trainer Amy Murphy, 26, doesn't have ammunition to equate to a few of her competitors, however she does have up-and-coming hurdler Kalashnikov, one of the favourites for the Supreme Novices Hurdle (the first day).


Rising-star jockey Bryony Frost is because of restore her respected partnership with Black Corton in the RSA Chase (day 2).


Some bookmakers' price quotes of how much will be bet throughout the Festival seem a bit wild, and ₤ 350m is most likely an affordable call: the bookmakers seem to a lot of fear Footpad, well-backed for the Racing Post Arkle Trophy (the first day).


Champion racehorse-turned-stallion Frankel has his first runner at the Cheltenham Festival when the Dan Solo Saxophone lines up in the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle (day 2).


In a year dominated by the larger names, owners Caron and Paul Chapman, fitness instructor Jedd O'Keeffe and jockey Joe Colliver fly the flag for those with a lower-profile, with Sam Spinner in the Stayers Hurdle (day 3).


Sam Spinner and Gold Cup hope Definitly Red (named by a bad speller, obviously), both Yorkshire-trained, look for to continue the current resurgence of jump racing's northern circuit.


And finally...109-year-old racing fan Ralph Hoare finally gets the possibility to tick the Cheltenham Festival off his pail list of things to do when he attends Gold Cup day.


Coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio live sports extra and the BBC Sport website all week.


Joseph O'Brien targets Cheltenham


10 March 2018


Cheltenham Festival 2018 day-by-day round-up


16 March 2018


2017 winner Sizing John out of Gold Cup


8 March 2018


5 live Sport Special: Cheltenham Festival Preview