Cheltenham Festival 2023 LIVE racecards, tips, free bets and results on day one

Gloucestershire Live

14 March 2023

Cheltenham Festival 2023 LIVE racecards, tips, free bets and results on day one

The Cheltenham Festival for 2023 gets underway today with Champions Day at Prestbury Park.

Tens of thousands of punters will descend on Gloucestershire on Tuesday to see the likes of Constitution Hill, Jonbon and Galopin Des Champs in action.

The feature race of the day is the Unibet Champion Hurdle (3:30pm) with the Nicky-Henderson trained Constitution Hill set to go off odds-on favourite.

Jonbon is also flying the British flag for Henderson and is set to do battle with the Willie Mullins-trained El Fabiolo in the Arkle (2:10pm) while the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle starts the day’s racing at 1:30pm with Facile Vega - another Mullins horse - expected to be the favourite.

Cheltenham beer prices

It's barely midday and many fans are already packing out the bars here at Cheltenham Racecourse - it will be an expensive day for those who have already started on the pints, with Guinness at £7.50 a pop...!

When I was here in 2019 it was just £6 for a pint of the black stuff, a 25.00% rise, albeit one which is lower than the UK rate of inflation of 28% over the same period.

This is according to data from investment platform Saxo, spokesperson Harry Leyburn, said:

"Surging inflation is being felt in all walks of life and its impact on food, energy and other staples means very few industries and major events can escape its grasp, with the UK’s biggest racing week no exception. Attendees will face inflated prices of almost 37% in just four years, 9% higher than the cumulative CPI inflation rate for that period.

“These costs reflect the current economic climate and there’s little anyone can do at this stage other than like it or lump it at events such as this.

“The 250,000 strong crowd descending on Gloucestershire should take note of the surge in price of some essentials, including train fares which have jumped 60%, racing newspapers which are up by half and refreshments for the day which are up a quarter, leaving the basics for the day costing over £175.”

Cheltenham Festival trainers on their best chances

Paul Nicholls, Nicky Henderson, Dan Skelton, John McConnell and Jonjo O'Neill jnr have all given their views on who could be their best hopes at this year's Festival.

Five fancies to make your week profitable

Our team has taken a look at five tips for the course of the week, with 28 races to be run around the iconic course here in the Cotswolds.

There are lots of interesting bets to be had, including a 16/1 shot in the Ultima Handicap Chase at 14:50 this afternoon.

How to watch Cheltenham Festival on TV

ITV1 will be showing five of the seven races live across each of the four days. The final two races of the day will instead be broadcast on Racing TV and on a bookies' live stream service.

Will Honeysuckle end on a high?

Honeysuckle is one of the most successful horses at Cheltenham in recent years, with an unbeaten career over hurdles until this season. However, having been beaten in recent months, owner Kenny Alexander has admitted that retirement could be on the horizon.

She will not defend her title in the Champion Hurdle this afternoon, with Constitution Hill the overwhelming favourite, and will instead run in a competitive Mares' Hurdle at 4:10pm. Marie's Rock, Brandy Love and Epatante will all provide stiff competition for what could be a stunning finale to a stellar Cheltenham career.

Non-runners for Champions Day

4.10pm Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 3f 200y

7 Midnight Ginger (Vet’s Certificate, Rash)

4.50pm Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)

13 Morning Soldier (IRE) (Self Certificate, Not Eaten Up)

Day one runners and riders

Constitution Hill heads up the list of runners on an absorbing day of racing to open the Cheltenham Festival. The Nicky-Henderson trained six-year-old is the odds-on favourite to win the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday having stormed to success in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle last year.

Constitution Hill will face six rivals in the two-mile showpiece at 3:30pm, including State Man who is considered to be the biggest threat. The Willie-Mullins trained horse is the Irish Champion Hurdle winner.

Tuesday’s racing action at Prestbury Park gets underway with the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at 1:30pm, with six more races to follow. The National Hunt Chase closes the day at 5:30pm.

Cheltenham Festival day one tips

There are few racing certainties at Cheltenham, with the exception of the domination of Irish trainers over their British counterparts. In the last two years Irish horses have won 41 of the 56 races, 12 months ago inspired by a record ten winners for Willie Mullins.

It's nine years since Cheltenham organisers introduced the Prestbury Cup as a made for TV showdown between the best trainers from either side of the Irish Sea.

Ireland have won it six times, British trainers twice and the 2019 contest was deadlocked 14-14. In this time there have been 250 Irish trained winners and just 101 from the home team.

And if there is to be no 'Greenwash' again in 2023, the first day will again be key for the hosts, who last year edged the opening days by four wins to three. If the Green Team get off to a flyer, there will be no dragging them back.

Diverge is the 'promising' horse for the 1:30 at Cheltenham

With soft ground, it could be a good day for Willie Mullins, with the Irish trainer having a good chance in the Supreme with favourite Facile Vega in addition to current 20/1 outsider Diverge.

Former National Hunt jockey Robbie Power has backed the French born six-year-old to go well in the opening race, telling Cheltenham Betting:

Facile Vega is probably the one to beat but would I go and back him? Probably not. Paul Townened got a lot of criticism last time for going too fast and battling with High Definition in the race, he cut out too quickly for my liking and I’d liked to have seen him finish the race better than he did and I wouldn’t be backing him.
Diverge each way looks a promising horse for Willie Mullins. He was very impressive winning his maiden. Willie is running four or five in this race so that tells you he isn’t too convinced in Facile Vega either, so Diverge could be a nice spare ride for somebody.

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Going latest on Champions Day

The Jockey Club have announced that the official going for day one is SOFT

After seven millimetres of rain in the last 24 hours, we can expect a further millimetre to fall today with light showers this morning. However, good news for those travelling to the raceecourse is that dry weather is expected for the afternoon.

Supreme Novices Hurdle odds

The first race of the opening day here at Cheltenham is the Supreme Novices Hurdle, with Facile Vega the favourite for Willie Mullins at present. It is always a fantastic start to the Festival and expect this to be no exception.

Here are the latest odds for the Supreme Novices Hurdle, courtesy of Betfair: