Feature race explainer: Cheltenham 2024

Ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, Irish racing pundit Emma Nagle offers readers her guide to the Championship races in the Cotswolds.

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Cheltenham Festival 2024 offer

The countdown to the most eagerly anticipated four days in the National Hunt calendar is almost over and the 2024 Cheltenham Festival starts on Tuesday afternoon.

There are sure to be new winners of the Champion Hurdle and the Queen Mother Champion Chase, with both defending champions ruled out, while Sire Du Berlais and Galopin Des Champs will look to be crowned kings again in the Stayers’ Hurdle and the Gold Cup respectively.

Assessing their chances and the hopes of the pretenders for big Cheltenham Festival prizes, Emma Nagle takes us on a whistle-stop guide to the four feature races.

Champion Hurdle (Tuesday): State Man poised to pounce

The news that Constitution Hill will miss the defence of his crown in the day one feature has left Willie Mullins’ dual Irish Champion Hurdle winner State Man as the odds-on favourite to add the Cheltenham version to his glittering CV.

The seven-year-old fell on his stable bow for Mullins in December 2021 but has won 10 of his 11 races since, with the aforementioned superstar the only horse to beat him in that time.

Emma says: “Second last year to Constitution Hill, State Man has been absolutely rock solid in all his Irish starts since. He’s probably been unlucky in bumping into Constitution Hill but it’s very hard to see him getting beat in what looks like a great opportunity for him to put his name on the trophy."

The likes of stablemate Lossiemouth and Gordon Elliott’s Irish Point could now be aimed at this race with the defending champion out, but Emma isn’t confident either can take down State Man.

“Irish Point was a good novice hurdler, he’s very versatile tripwise and has been good in graded contests at two to three miles, but I’d say that second best is as good as he can hope for.”

Queen Mother Champion Chase (Wednesday): El Fabiolo the pick of the bunch

For many, the Champion Chase is as good as it gets at the Cheltenham Festival, an intense two-mile test of fast, accurate jumping from the best in class at the discipline.

Last year’s Arkle winner El Fabiolo remains unbeaten over fences after adding two Grade 1 wins in Ireland to his resumé this season. Arkle winners have a terrific record when coming back for this race and El Fabiolo bids to become the eighth horse this century to complete the double.

His main rival Jonbon was no match when second in last year’s novice championship and his three career defeats have all come at Cheltenham. Jonbon also fluffed his lines here in the Clarence House Chase on Trials Day in January and has it all to do to turn the tables on the market leader.

“I would really expect El Fabiolo to emphatically confirm last year’s Arkle form,” Emma says. “I would have serious concerns about Jonbon’s jumping considering the bad mistake he made last time.

“I saw some schooling videos of him since and they didn't look great to me. Going at this pace, his jumping could really come under pressure.”

Edwardstone leads the British charge but came up short in this race last year and Emma feels a repeat of his recent front-running tactics could “set the race up for Paul Townend and El Fabiolo”.

Stayers’ Hurdle (Thursday): Same again for Sire Du Berlais?  

Sire Du Berlais was a shock winner of the Stayers’ Hurdle last March but he proved it was no fluke by following up at Aintree. He is now 12 years old and time is surely against him, and his trainer Gordon Elliott holds a very strong claim with last year's third, Teahupoo, who has been prepared for this race.

“Sire Du Berlais comes to life in the spring,” Emma says. “But while it might be foolish to rule out the old boy at big prices, Teahupoo looks like the young, progressive horse.

“He has been kept fresh for this, he has only run once this season, beating Impaire Et Passe in the Hatton’s Grace. That’s strong form. He should be in peak form.”

Emma also thinks Crambo will go close to giving Fergal O’Brien a first Festival winner. “He's probably the best of the British here,” she adds. “He has been progressive this season; came up through the handicap ranks and was good in the Long Walk Hurdle. He definitely has a big fighting chance.”

Gold Cup (Friday): Galopin to push Shishkin in his place

Emma describes the Blue Riband event of the Festival, jumping’s most sought-after prize, as the race “we like to build up to all year long”.

Galopin Des Champs will defend this crown and is favourite to emulate Mullins’ only previous Gold Cup scorer – Al Boum Photo – by landing back-to-back successes.

His regular sparring partner, the Martin Brassil-trained Fastorslow, joins Elliott’s Gerri Colombe among their key rivals, although Galopin Des Champs beat both when they last met. 

British hopes of a first Gold Cup win since 2018 rest with the likes of the enigmatic Shishkin, L’Homme Presse and last year’s second, Bravemansgame.

Emma believes Galopin Des Champs will be hard to beat if arrives at the start in top form, although she suspects Fastorslow will be a tough rival again.

Another worth considering at big odds in the Gold Cup betting is Gentlemansgame for Mouse Morris.

“He is an incredibly unexposed horse,” Emma says. “He went to Wetherby this season and got the better of Bravemansgame and that was only his third start over fences.

“Having so little experience is a little bit of a worry but he’s a horse who might have any amount of ability, so he could be one to keep in the notebooks.”

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