With the Cheltenham Festival coming fast upon us, we’re looking at the main races over the four days to help you understand what to look out for and help you be the informed punter your mother always knew you could be! For more detailed breakdowns of each day, check back as we’ll be going through individual races including jockey previews and betting odds.
Cheltenham Festival 2016 kicks off on Tuesday 15 March (2016 of course), which sees the Arkle Novice Chase and Champion Hurdle as the two main events of the opening round. The former will see Douvan up against his nemesis L’Ami Serge in a race that is open to horses aged five years or older. Covering two miles and a furlong, there are 11 fences to be cleared before a winner is found. The Champion Hurdle, meanwhile, is the other Grade I race for the day and open to four-year olds and above. A little bit shorter at two miles and half a furlong, there are only eight hurdles in this one.
On to Wednesday, which sees the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the RSA Chase event. The Champion Chase is a steeplechase race for five-year olds and up, and over just two miles but with 12 hurdles it is the leading minimum-distance race on the calendar for all National Hunt followers. The RSA is also held on the second day, and is also a Grade I event. Coming in at almost five kilometres (three miles and 110 yards), it is a gruelling 19-jump journey.
The two big races on the Thursday – the World Hurdle and the classily-named Ryanair Chase – are both Grade I events with the former held on the new course at Cheltenham (over a three-mile stretch). Open to horses aged four and over, it is the leading long-distance hurdle event and has 12 hurdles to overcome. Ryanair’s affair is also on the new course and is for horses a year older than the World. It’s run over two miles and five furlongs, but has a mammoth 17 fences along the way.
Finally, finally, we reach Friday and the celebrated Gold Cup. Whilst there is also the traditional Foxhunter’s Chase on the day – a race known by many as the ‘amateur Gold Cup’ as it’s run on the same course as the feature event – and the Triumph Hurdle – a Grade I race run over two miles and one furlong – both are overshadowed by Cheltenham’s showpiece moment. That is of course the Gold Cup, run over three miles and two-and-a-half furlongs (well over five kilometres) and with 22 hurdles to boot. This is the moment that punters will be waiting for, and you can see a full breakdown of odds right here!
