#Al Boum Photo

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…

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…

Al Boum Photo: new Punchestown Gold Cup favourite following defection of Minella Indo Your guide to Wednesday's Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup (5.55), the feature race on day two at the Punchestown festival. The field was on Monday reduced to six following the withdrawal of hot favourite Minella Indo.

A town normally in carnival mode is eerily quiet. Where banners and marquees should herald the boisterous crowds to come, there is calm. For four days in March, the Cheltenham Festival usually welcomes thousands of visitors for its annual carnival. This year is different - no spectators or racehorse owners and a sport seeking a boost after negative…

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…

1pt win Stattler in Cheltenham Gold Cup at 14/1 (General) I unashamedly find it quite hard to take the plunge when it comes to antepost bets on the Cheltenham Festival. If you believe what you read elsewhere then the real value is only on offer around September/October time the previous year and there is, of course, a modicum of truth in…

It's the final day of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival and there's seven more races taking place. The Gold Cup is the feature contest at 3.30pm and Rachael Blackmore is bidding to become the first female jockey to win it. On her chances, she said: "The Gold Cup is what the whole week of Cheltenham builds around. It's the pinnacle of the racing year and…

What a week it has been! The racing has been phenomenal, the weather largely clear and most crucially of all, fans were back where they belong on the terraces. Cheltenham felt like it was truly back this week as a result. See you in 2023! It's the seventh Irish-trained winner from seven races on Friday! Mark McDonagh did an excellent job steering…

Gordon Elliott smashed the bookies with a massive priced four timer - Party Central (9/4), Mighty Potter (20/1), Felix Desjy (11/1) and Absolute Notions (25/1) all going in on the opening day for the Cullentra trainer. Energumene was one of the few Cheltenham Festival winners to stand up the form when he fended off Chacun Pour Soi in the Champion…

Racing expert Kevin Blake was the toast of many punters yesterday when his three selections won at the Cheltenham Festival. Blake picked Mrs Milner (12/1) in the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle, Telmesomethinggirl (6/1) in the Mares' Novice Hurdle and Mount Ida (9/2) in the Kim Muir Handicap Chase. One punter from Waterford wagered a €20 each-way treble…

The Challow Novices' Hurdle has a stellar roll of honour this century and Paul Nicholls, responsible for the last two winners, Bravemansgame and Stage Star, won it again with Hermes Allen (144p from 135p). This renewal combined both quantity - it was the first double-figure field since 2009 - with quality, though the testing conditions took their…

Clan Des Obeaux will face eight rivals as he goes for back-to-back victories in the Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup, the highlight on day two of the Festival meeting. Paul Nicholls' charge kept on strongly to outgun Al Boum Photo in the hands of Sam Twiston-Davies 12 months ago, but it is Harry Cobden who rides the 10-year-old time around. Having…

Picking up from my last column to cover the remainder of the holiday program (December 28 to January 1) in what was the busiest post-Boxing Day period for some time, the narrative seemed to me more of the same - some horses enhanced their reputations, a bigger number diminished theirs, and a standout performance to breathe new life into some…

The Cheltenham Festival is back this month and here's everything you need to know about the major horse racing event One of Britain's favourite showpiece horse racing events is just around the corner as the Cheltenham Festival is back to provide four days of enthralling jump racing. Cheltenham Racecourse will welcome the UK and Ireland's most…

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a horse race, it's a social gathering and it's a handsome 96-year-old trophy. But it's also the most prestigious National Hunt (ie horses which race over jumps) festival in the calendar. This year the Cheltenham Festival runs from Tuesday March 10 to Friday March 13, with the highlight, the Gold Cup race itself, is…

Altior powered to a brilliant win in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on a dramatic day at the Cheltenham Festival. The evens favourite, ridden by Nico de Boinville, shrugged off a late fitness scare to provide another big victory for trainer Nicky Henderson, who landed the Champion Hurdle with Buveur D'Air 24 hours earlier. Douvan fell at the…

Ruby Walsh has offered his expert insight into the upcoming Cheltenham Festival with the legendary jockey expecting another thrilling week of action in England. Walsh is no stranger to Cheltenham having been the leading jockey 11 times at the Festival, nabbing 59 winners and twice racing to Gold Cup glory. And previewing the races, Walsh is backing…

Minella Indo and A Plus Tard, last year's first and second, top 30 entries for the Cheltenham Gold Cup - the highlight of the Festival meeting in March. Trained by Henry de Bromhead, the duo were separated by just a length and a quarter in 2021, but it is A Plus Tard who is the ante-post favourite at this stage after winning the Betfair Chase…

See below the latest Cheltenham Gold Cup 2023 betting odds after Bravemansgame wins the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day, with his trainer Paul Nicholls saying he'll head straight to Cheltenham now. Plus, we've a stack of horse racing free bets you can claim to use on the 2023 Cheltenham Gold Cup, while the latest Gold Cup betting odds are…

Friday: Cheltenham Gold Cup, Cheltenham On a gleeful sun-kissed Cotswolds afternoon, Rachael Blackmore executed one of the most daring Gold Cup rides imaginable to avenge last year's narrow defeat and scale the sport's ultimate summit with an utterly mesmerising triumph on A Plus Tard. By the time they crossed the line, they had soared 15 lengths…

Rachael Blackmore will be hoping to write another chapter in her incredible racing career as she gears up for this year's Grand National. The 32-year-old made history last year, becoming the first female to win the world's most notorious steeplechase with Minella Times and the duo are back this year to retain their crown. Fresh from her Cheltenham…

Clan Des Obeaux is out to win a third King George. Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Minella Indo, the mount of Rachael Blackmore and stablemate Frodon are among the runners Clan Des Obeaux has had "his best preparation ever" for his bid to join the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase greats on Boxing Day. Paul Nicholls launches an awesome three-pronged assault…

Racegoers arrive for the first day of the Cheltenham Festival The finale of the Cheltenham Festival saw Rachael Blackmore make to become the first female jockey to win the blue riband event of jump-racing as Minella Indo's attempt to secure back-to-back victories fell short. Despite a bright and sunny day three, the going is soft again after the…

Cheltenham Festival is fast approaching with horse racing fans across the world eagerly anticipating how the events unfold over the four days. Despite concerns over the coronavirus, the Festival is scheduled to go ahead as planned on Tuesday March 10 until Friday March 13 where we will find out who will be crowned this year's Gold Cup…

It's time to get excited everyone as one of the highlights of the horse racing calendar, the Cheltenham Festival, is about to get underway. Jump racing's elite will descend upon Cheltenham this week with the 2022 edition kicking off on Tuesday and there are plenty of exciting runners to keep your eye out for. Fans will be back in their numbers to…

Tickets have been snapped up by fans eager to return to the Cheltenham Festival, after no crowds in 2021. Willie Mullins and Rachael Blackmore are two of the big names chasing winners Chris Hughes takes a tour of Dan Skelton's racing stables before Cheltenham Fans are counting down the days to the 2022 Cheltenham Festival. One of the biggest weeks…

Frost and snow has hit hard in Britain and Ireland but over the festive period ITV are planning on covering action from 14 race meetings, featuring 41 races in total, across six joyous days of high-octane racing. From Boxing Day right through to New Year's Day, the Christmas jumpers are out in force and here we highlight the full schedule including…

It was a whirlwind half hour for Christian Williams as he followed up his Eider Chase success at Newcastle with a one-two in the Coral Trophy Handicap Chase at Kempton. Before that, though, Knight Salute impressively maintained his unbeaten record over hurdles when justifying 15-8 favouritism in the Coral Adonis Juvenile Hurdle, his third Grade 2…

The Grade One-winning hurdler was brilliant in winning three times over fences last season and would have been four from four had he not crashed out at the final fence in the Turners' Novices' Chase at the Festival in March. He is a best priced 11/4 to provide trainer Willie Mullins with a third Gold Cup success following the back-to-back wins of…

One careful step at a time, like a cat stalking a bird, Galvin has been creeping up the tree ever since winning a modest Roscommon bumper in the summer of 2018. Now, almost four years on, he's reached the very top branch and is ready to pounce on his choice prey in what promises to be a pulsating ­ Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday afternoon. Gordon…

THE Gold Cup is the big race at this year's Cheltenham Festival. Can you find the winner from the quality-packed field? The Gold Cup racecard is below. Gold Cup odds (correct at time of writing) 10-3 A Plus Tard 7-2 Galvin 9-2 Minella Indo 8-1 Allaho, Protektorat 10-1 Al Boum Photo 11-1 Conflated 12-1 Tornado Flyer 16-1 Chantry House, Royale…

Ahead of the highly-anticipated WellChild Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday, we cast our eye over each runner including hat-trick chasing Al Boum Photo and Santini Al Boum Photo, the Willie Mullins-trained chaser bidding to join Cottage Rake, Arkle and Best Mate as a three-time winner of the Gold Cup, heads the dozen runners declared for Friday's…

Get ready to place your bets and cheer your horses home - the 2022 Cheltenham Festival is here. Fans return to the four-day meeting after missing out last year, with sales hitting record levels. Over 60000 people will watch the thrilling sporting action from the grandstands during the week. The feature Gold Cup, sponsored by Boodles, is wide open…

Our top tipster Newsboy has cast his eye over each runner ahead of the highly-anticipated Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday Al Boum Photo returns to defend his crown after ending Willie Mullins' long wait for a Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup winner 12 months ago. Mullins has followed the same preparation which worked so well for Al Boum Photo last season…

THE CHELTENHAM Festival is here...and we count down to the marquee race, the Gold Cup TODAY. The prestigious race caps a stunning week at Prestbury Park, as punters return for the first time since 2020. A Plus Tard remains top of the pile after his runaway success in the Betfair Chase at Haydock earlier this season. He was beaten narrowly by Galvin…

The Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup is perhaps the most prestigious race in the National Hunt calendar All of the runners and riders for this year's race have been confirmed, with the race itself set to start at 3.30pm on Friday afternoon. Jack Kennedy won it last year on the Henry de Bromhead-trained Minella Indo. Here's a complete list of all the…

We're now just a day away from one of the biggest events in the British sporting calendar - the Cheltenham Gold Cup. It is the main race of the final day at the Festival and sees horses race over a distance of 3 miles 2½ furlongs (3 miles 2 furlongs and 70 yards, or 5294 m). The winner in 2021 Minella Indo received a prize of £263766 and will race…

Reigning champion Minella Indo will be hoping to make it successive Gold Cup wins toward the end of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, but will face plenty of competition from the likes of last year's National Hunt Chase winner Galvin and previous two-time winner of this race Al Boum Photo. That all comes after four full days of racing though, with…

ONE of the biggest days of the year is finally here. Yeah, yeah Christmas Day was OK - but it's really all about the amazing racing on Boxing Day. Sun Racing brings you all need to know for a massive few hours of action, all shown live on Sky Sports Racing, Racing TV and ITV. And don't forget to see our free bets page too. This is a list of all the…

The most prestigious National Hunt race is set to take place this Friday (18 March 2022) at the Cheltenham Festival where crowds have returned for the first time in two years. Tickets for the southwest festival sold in record time and around 60000 people are expected to attend each of the four days. The Gold Cup is the most highly anticipated race…

Get the most interesting trends and statistics from today's horse racing with the free Stat Selector tips and best bets. American Mike - 13:20 Navan Smart Stat: 6 - Gordon Elliott's number of winners in past 10 runnings American Mike was sent off at prohibitive odds on his hurdling debut at Down Royal earlier this month and duly obliged with the…

The first Grade 1 chase of the National Hunt season, the Betfair Chase over three miles at Haydock, takes place on Saturday. First run in 2005, it has been won by some of the greats of the modern era. The most successful horse in the history of the race is Kauto Star, with four wins between 2006 and 2011, while Cue Card triumphed three times in…

With last year's renewal of the Cheltenham Festival being such a fantastic, breakout meeting for Irish trainer Henry de Bromhead, who most notably won the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Gold Cup, it is easy to forget that it was, in fact, his compatriot Willie Mullins who took home the Leading Trainer award - albeit on the…

PADDY POWER have stumped up a massive £125000 bonus to anyone who can complete the Irish and Cheltenham Gold Cup double. The Irish bookmaker has issued a direct challenge to UK trainers to come and have a go in their big race at Leopardstown next month. Henry de Bromhead, Willie Mullins and Co helped account for the 23-5 mauling of the home team at…

THE Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup is the most prestigious National Hunt race in the calendar. And all the runners and riders have been confirmed. Jack Kennedy won it last year on the Henry de Bromhead-trained Minella Indo. It was heartbreak for Rachael Blackmore, as she gave up the ride on the winner for eventual runner up A Plus Tard. But she jumps…

Further intrigue has been added to an already sublime Punchestown clash between Monkfish and Envoi Allen as Cheltenham heroine Colreevy has been confirmed for the Grade 1 Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase - a race that looks set to be her final start. Willie Mullins will attempt to plunder a third top-level win with Colreevy before her…

Minella Indo with trainer Henry de Bromhead. YOU CAN START the countdown to the Cheltenham Festival wherever you wish: 361 days beforehand if you want, on the Friday night, looking back on the four days that have just flashed past, trying to assimilate it all with the 20-20 vision that is hindsight and project to the future. Or you can start it at…

Former winners Al Boum Photo and Minella Indo with Gold Cup victor A Plus Tard (left) Robbie Power does not think any horse in training could have beaten A Plus Tard in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup this month and admitted he thought it was going to take something special to catch him on Minella Indo when he quickened clear off the final…

It's not news, but it's still worthwhile noting the Willie Mullins Punchestown thing, because the degree to which the champion trainer dominates the Punchestown Festival these days is unprecedented. Think Dermot Weld in his pomp at Galway, think Martin Pipe at Cheltenham's November meeting and multiply it by something large enough. Willie Mullins…