#the festival

Only once since 2010 has the Cheltenham Festival top trainer title been won by a British handler. Proof, as if needed, that the best horses are in Ireland was there for all to see last year. Willie Mullins heads Cheltenham top trainer odds once again with the bookies with what looks a top Festival team. These are our five best betting sites for…

Willie Mullins and Paul Townend after Impaire Et Passe won on his hurdling debut at Naas in December Impaire Et Passe was cut for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle over 2m and the longer Ballymore Novices' Hurdle over 2m5f after impressing at Punchestown. Which race at the festival do our experts favour? If he were mine it would be the Supreme…

Can Al Boum Photo join Golden Miller, Arkle, Best Mate and Cottage Rake to become only the fifth horse to win the Gold Cup on three occasions? It's the main event that everyone's talking about: the Gold Cup. Last year's winner, Al Boum Photo, will head to Cheltenham Festival on 19 March with just one start under his belt this season, having won the…

Colin Tizzard can sign off in style with a win for Eldorado Allen in the Betway Bowl (2.55). The top trainer is soon to hand over the reins to his son Joe and the grey has a fine chance of victory at Aintree. He stayed on determinedly behind star chaser Allaho in Cheltenham's Ryanair Chase last month and is in an upward curve. Earlier, Pied Piper…

Sheikh Mohammed winning the Champion Hurdle with a horse who'd been first past the post in the Gold Cup at Ascot... Barry Hills and Robert Sangster combining to land the Stayers' Hurdle... Saeed Manana's silks carried to victory in the Sun Alliance Hurdle and a Gold Cup that caused such a rumpus it ended with a Jockey Club Enquiry at Portman Square…

After a week of action, elation, tears and turmoil, the Cheltenham Festival concluded with the Gold Cup. The Gold Cup is one of the richest races in Britain, and this year's crown went to A Plus Tard as Rachael Blackmore created history. Blackmore had a dream 2021 though she made the decision to go with A Plus Tard last year when stablemate Minella…

The seven-year-old has been ultra-consistent for the Newmarket yard, winning six of her 12 starts over hurdles and finishing runner-up in three others. Those placed efforts have all been in her three runs this term and her latest effort saw her 13 lengths behind the impressive Love Envoi in a Listed race at Sandown last week. Though beaten less…

Trainer Willie Mullins' nine-year-old returned to action with a win on New Year's Day at Tramore. He is one of 17 Irish entries for the Festival feature Dual winner Al Boum Photo heads 41 entries for this year's Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup. Willie Mullins' chaser could join Best Mate, Arkle and Cottage Rake as the fourth horse to record a hat-trick…

We've got everything you need to know about the famous races in June has returned for five days of high quality racing. Each day has six flat races, including eight Group One races. Thursday includes the main event of the festival - the coveted Gold Cup race. Order of St George, rode by Ryan Moore, won last year's Gold Cup and is the favourite to…

By Andrew Asquith, Saturday 14 January 2023 Posted in: Cheltenham Festival Tips Andrew Asquith looks ahead to the 2023 Mares' Hurdle and picks out his best ante-post bet. It is hard to get away from Willie Mullins' record in the Mares' Hurdle, winning it a total of nine times since its inception in 2008, and he has five horses entered in this…

By Andrew Asquith, Saturday 14 January 2023 Posted in: Cheltenham Festival Tips Andrew Asquith looks ahead to the 2023 Champion Hurdle. The Champion Hurdle is the main race on day one of the Cheltenham Festival and this year's renewal revolves around one horse, and one horse only, Constitution Hill, who produced the best performance by a novice…

By Andrew Asquith, Saturday 14 January 2023 Posted in: Cheltenham Festival Tips Andrew Asquith looks ahead to the 2023 Stayers' Hurdle and picks out his best ante-post bet. At this stage the Stayers' Hurdle looks wide open and that is reflected by the betting with most firms going 5/1 the field. The obvious place to start is with one of the…

Haddex Des Obeaux: could be just the sort for a big handicap following his win at Warwick On a busy day of action across Britain and Ireland, there were plenty of clues on offer looking ahead to some of the major handicaps at Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown this spring, but who caught the eyes of our judges? As Tony Blair might have said, the…

Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh hold the records for the most wins by a trainer and jockey respectively at the Cheltenham Festival. Walsh, who was leading jockey at the meeting on 11 occasions, retired in 2019 having taken his Festival record to 59 when successful for the final time at Cheltenham on Klassical Dream in the Supreme Novices' earlier…

Galia Des Liteaux never put a foot wrong as she jumped her rivals into submission in the eventmasters.co.uk Hampton Novices' Chase at Warwick. Dan Skelton has made no secret of the regard in which he holds the seven-year-old mare, and when she won a Listed event for mares on her chasing debut the sky looked the limit. Upped to Grade One level for…

All eyes were on the course as Day Three of Cheltenham Festival got underway. That wet course has had more rain overnight, and the going already described as tacky by some jockeys yesterday. After a fourth Coronavirus case was confirmed in Gloucestershire yesterday, racegoers can can expect increased hygiene measures, including extra hand sanitizer…

There are some surprising names still left in the 28 entries for the Stayers' Hurdle, particularly the name of star 2 mile chasing veteran Chacun Pour Soi for Willie Mullins. The master of Closutton is not averse to making multiple entries for the Festival, and has also thrown in last season's Ballymore hero Sir Gerhard. The betting is wide open…

Is it pro road racing season already? It seems like only the other day that we were watching Annemiek van Vleuten take the inaugural Tour de France Femmes, or Remco Evenepoel's joyful World Championships win. Heck, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel are still racing cyclocross. But along with English Premier League and NASCAR, the 10-month…

Perseus Way (Jamie Moore) jumps the final flight to win the Chatteris Fen Friday: Huntingdon Perseus Way got another wheel back on Gary Moore's Cheltenham bandwagon when running out a very impressive winner of the feature Weatherbys Chatteris Fen Juvenile Hurdle. Rather than bolster Moore's strong hand in the Triumph Hurdle, the 10-11 chance could…

IT was just after 9pm last night when the racing world briefly went into meltdown as Davy Russell's astonishing return was confirmed. Only 23 days earlier, after riding one final - final at that time, at least - winner, he was back. A two-time Grand National hero, a man who doesn't suffer fools gladly, a man Elliott still needed. Russell released a…

Ohio - where sports betting launched on 1 January - is the third US state in which Bet365 is live, following New Jersey and Colorado. The partnership lands as the Guardians bid to retain the American League (AL) Central title, which was the franchise's first since 2018. Ted Baugh, the Guardians' vice president of corporate and premium partnerships,…

Honeysuckle is set to be an odds-on favourite for the Champion Hurdle. We are a week away from the Cheltenham Festival, and as final preparations begin to take place across the UK & Ireland, punters are beginning to finalise their ante-post positions ahead of the imminent entries.

Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore will aim to bounce back from her first defeat at Fairyhouse to win a fourth consecutive Irish Champion Hurdle This year's Dublin Racing Festival looks set to play host to a star-studded line-up after early entries for the two-day Irish calendar highlight at Leopardstown were revealed on Thursday. Eight Grade 1s…

Okay, it wouldn't be quite as dramatic as Lester Piggott at the 1990 Breeders' Cup. "I have decided to come out of retirement and ride for the short period while Jack [Kennedy] is on the sidelines," Russell said in his statement. But, with Kennedy breaking his leg for a fifth time at Naas on Sunday, the Cheltenham Festival, just two months away,…

Shark Hanlon has never been one to shy away from the big occasion and believes it will take a "fair one" to beat bet365 Gold Cup winner Hewick in next week's Galway Plate. The trainer is readying the seven-year-old for a tilt at the €270000 contest on Wednesday, July 27 (6.40) on his first start over fences since a dominant display on the final day…

Planet Sport's tipsters and betting experts have been studying the form to give you the best chance of success at the Festival. First up we'll give you a quick list of the horses with the best chances for the main five races that are being shown on ITV this Tuesday afternoon. Then for those of you that like a bigger price we have a handful of juicy…

Justify, ridden by jockey Mike Smith, crosses the finish line to win the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5, 2018, in Louisville, Kentucky. Rob Carr/Getty Images The 145th Kentucky Derby takes place this weekend at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The first event of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, the…

Nicky Henderson's Jonbon was safely tucked away in his Seven Barrows box at Christmas but he still got some festive cheer when Boothill won the Wayward Lad at Kempton. Before that boost - he had easily seen off Harry Fry's horse in the Henry VIII at Sandown - his chasing form had little substance to it (in terms of what he had beaten), even if he…

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Guardians have made bet365 their exclusive mobile sports betting partner following the launch of legalized sports gambling in Ohio on Jan. 1. The gaming site announced the multi-year partnership in a Wednesday press release. The club is set to reveal planned upgrades to Progressive Field during a Thursday press conference at…

The Churchill gelding was a neck superior to Dixon Cove in the Grade Two event at Chepstow over Christmas. The JP McManus-owned four-year-old had previously finished third at Fairyhouse to Triumph Hurdle favourite Lossiemouth, who subsequently franked that form by winning a Grade Two at Leopardstown on Boxing Day. The Owning Hill handler is keen to…

MONSTER hurdler Constitution Hill is already on track to beat a Cheltenham Festival record - nine weeks before it begins. Nicky Henderson's superstar two miler is 1-4 to win the Champion Hurdle on the first day of the Festival. Nothing has got within 12 lengths of Constitution Hill in his five runs under rules. And his 17-length demolition job of…

Nicky Henderson's dual-purpose star has won five times for owners Thurloe Thoroughbreds since being bought out of Hughie Morrison's yard, capturing the racing public's attention when landing both the Cesarewitch and Ascot Hurdle in quick succession in 2021. That set up the Motivator gelding for a tilt at the Long Walk Hurdle, but he suffered a…

The week just gone over jumps was a welcome pause after the unrelenting Christmas and New Year action, but it has nevertheless thrown up several Festival clues in the last few years. The feature event at Sandown, the Unibet Tolworth Hurdle, has gone to subsequent Sky Bet Supreme winners Constitution Hill and Summerville Boy in recent seasons, while…

Be in the chance to win two tickets to watch the Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival plus hotel accommodation by subscribing to our betting newsletter Be in with the chance to win to watch the Gold Cup during Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham The Mirror are giving readers the chance to enjoy one of horse racing's greatest races - the Cheltenham…

The Albert Bartlett has thrown up some wild results in the last decade and an average winning SP of 18-1 reminds us that rewards can be reaped by ignoring the obvious. Experience tends to be one of the most important factors as the average Albert Bartlett winner ran 5.4 times over hurdles before arriving at the festival, compared with 3.4 for the…

A lot can change in a decade and the growing dominance of the Irish at the Cheltenham Festival is becoming all too potent to ignore. Irish trainers have won more festival races than their counterparts in Britain in three of the last four seasons, drawing on the other occasion last year. Such is the depth of jumping talent in Ireland, it is hard to…

LEGENDARY jockey Davy Russell has not ruled out a sensational return to the saddle. The two-time Grand National winner retired at Thurles on December 18 after a brilliant 25-year career. But the door for an incredible comeback was left ajar after the luckless Jack Kennedy, 23, broke his leg for a FIFTH time on Sunday. Gordon Elliott's stable jockey…

Jack Kennedy: took a heavy fall from Top Bandit at Naas on Sunday X-rays have confirmed that Jack Kennedy has broken his leg for a fifth time following a fall from Top Bandit at Naas on Sunday, but Gordon Elliott is hopeful his number one jockey will be back in time to ride at the Cheltenham Festival. The 23-year-old leads the Irish jump jockeys'…

Twice early in its history the Cheltenham Gold Cup fell foul of the weather, both times in the 1930s. The atrocious winter of 1962/63 abated just in time for Cheltenham to go ahead as normal that March but snow on the final day of the 1978 Festival resulted in that year's Gold Cup, won by Midnight Court, being postponed four weeks until…

Numerous races have been talked up as contenders for Cheltenham's race of the week this year, but there is one that has the potential to be the race of the decade. The Queen Mother Champion Chase, run over the minimum distance of two miles, is often regarded as the best Festival contest in any year, requiring as it does of every winner a…

Register for FREE to read this article. Already have an account? You have article views left. Register for FREE to read more articles. Already have an account? Remind me next time Bo Zenith, Love Envoi & Chianti Classico all to win - 2pt Win - 1.69/1 (William Hill) singleSelectionsingleSelectionsingleSelection These three horses should simply win…

1pt win Ballygriffincottage in Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at 16/1 (Coral, Unibet, Ladbrokes, bet365) There might not be a huge amount of strength in depth when it comes to the British novice chasers this year but Sporting Life Arkle favourite Jonbon obviously looks the real deal, while the likes of Thyme Hill and The Real Whacker have thrown…

Love Envoi was an ultra-impressive winner of the Listed Unibet 3 Uniboosts A Day Mares' Hurdle at Sandown and propelled herself towards the head of the market for the David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle at Cheltenham. The Harry Fry -trained seven-year-old travelled supremely well throughout in the two-and-a-half-mile contest and pulled herself to the…

Full replay: Wishing And Hoping triumphs in £100000 prize The most valuable race at Sandown Park today was the £100000 Unibet Veterans' Handicap Chase Final, which saw a 50-1 shock result courtesy of Wishing And Hoping. One of four 13 year olds in the 18-runner field, Wishing And Hoping was always at the head of affairs under regular partner Alex…

Tahmuras gave Paul Nicholls a fifth Unibet Tolworth Novices' Hurdle in sauntering to an easy success at Sandown. A stylish winner of a Listed contest at Haydock on his previous run, Harry Cobden's mount travelled supremely well throughout in the two-mile contest, and was content to allow Colonel Harry to make the running under Gavin Sheehan. Though…

Love Envoi was an ultra-impressive winner of the Listed Unibet 3 Uniboosts A Day Mares' Hurdle at Sandown and propelled herself towards the head of the market for the David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle at Cheltenham. The Harry Fry-trained seven-year-old travelled supremely well throughout in the two-and-a-half-mile contest and pulled herself to the…

A THOROUGHBRED racehorse who drinks Guinness and rocks up at his local is being backed to win the most prestigious jumps race of all. Superstar Hewick has what it takes to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup, according to trainer John'Shark' Hanlon. Hewick, an eight-year-old gelding, was bought for just £750 in October 2017. Since then he has gone on to…

THERE is one jockey all punters need to keep on side in a Pinch. That's the in-form Lilly Pinchin, who has been tearing it up this winter for her new boss Charlie Longsdon. It helps that nice guy Longsdon is doing his best Midas impression at the moment - everything he touches turns to gold. But you still have to get the job done in the saddle, and…