Cheltenham Festival Races

This Grade 1 race named in memory of David Nicholson (1939-2006) who was a distinguished jockey and a trainer involved with National Hunt racing, with many victories recorded at the Cheltenham Festival – 17 as a trainer and 5 as a jockey. The race takes place on the Old Course, over 2 miles and 4 furlongs, with nine hurdles and is open to Mares over four years of age.

 

This race has been sponsored by OLBG since 2012 and dominated during previous years with Quevega winning six times in succession, with Apple’s Jade taking the trophy in 2017 with a win for Gordon Elliot. This year, the Mares’ Hurdle will take place on Tuesday 13^th March at 16.10 GMT, with a prize fund of £120,000.

 

Rivalry in 2018 is between Vroum Vroum Mag (Willie Mullins) and Apple’s Jade (Gordon Elliot), with a further 27 entrants hoping to be up to the challenge that the nine hurdles provide.

 

The very first Mares’ Hurdle race took place in 2008, with the contest gaining strength in recent years for mares and fillies over 4 years of age.

 

 

This 4^th race to take place on Tuesday 18^th March 2018, at 15.30 GMT, the Champion Hurdle, is always popular with racegoers and punters. For Horses aged four years and over, this Grade 1 National Hunt race over hurdles, covers over 2 miles and half a furlong, on the Old Course. With a prize fund of £370,000, this national hunt hurdle race is one of the most prestigious in the Cheltenham Festival programme.

 

The 2017 Winner was Buveur D’Air trained by Nicky Henderson at 5/1, with My Tent or Yours (Stablemate at 16/1 in second place, and Petit Mouchoir at 6/1 coming in third.

 

The race is a fantastic feat of jumping, despite the hurdles being smaller, the competition is based on the speed that the horses run. Favourite to win this year’s Champion Hurdle race again, is Buveur D’Air, who proved in 2017 that he has the ability to win the race again, especially with his speed and the skills to navigate the hill with drive and stamina. Second favourite is Melon, who, although he is still a young horse, has the capabilities to do very well this year.

 

The Champion Hurdle race is often the highlight of the Festival for many race-goers, as many fantastic horses battle it out to prove which one is the best.

 

 

This Grade 3 race takes part on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival, and is open to horses older than 5 years. With 19 fences to be negotiated, and a distance of 4929 metres (about 3 miles and 110 yards) this challenging Handicap Chase takes place on the Old Course and is run left handed.

 

Previously named the National Hunt Handicap Chase, and in prior years sponsored by The Ritz Club, Astec Buzz and the Steward Family Spinal Research Handicap Chase, since 2015 the race has been sponsored by Ultima Business Solutions. Last year’s winner, Un Temps Pour Tout, with jockey Tom Scudamore and trainer David Pipe, collected £59797 winnings, also having victoriously won the race in 2016.

 

As this Festival Trophy Race is a handicap race, there are no stipulations to the actual weight of the horses, with varying weights being added as a handicap, to make sure that things are run as equal as possible.

 

Many of these horses taking part in this Handicap Chase go on to achieve a win in the Grand National. Previous horses who have achieved this accolade include Royal Tan, Rough Quest West Tip, Seagram and Team Spirit, after taking part in this most thrilling of events at the Cheltenham Festival.

 

This second race at the Festival pays homage to one of the most well-known entrants, Arkle, the Irish thoroughbred racehorse. This two mile race is run at a break-neck speed, and requires the competitors to not only have speed but also a good jumping performance over fences. The race was previously named the Cotswold Chase, but Inaugurated in 1969, the Arkle Challenge Trophy celebrated Arkle’s three Cheltenham Gold Cup wins, during 1964 to 1966.

 

Previous winners of the Arkle Challenge Trophy were 2017 Altior 7 (N De Boinville) 1/4F, 2016 Douvan 6 (R Walsh) 1/4F and 2015 Un De Sceaux 7 (R Walsh) 4/6F.

 

This year’s race will take place on Tuesday, 14^th March 2018, at 14.10 GMT. Horses must be aged five years and over to take part in this Grade 1 national Hunt novices ‘ chase, with a race prize of around £175,000. The entrants for this event tend to be smaller than for the majority of other races at Cheltenham, but that doesn’t deter from it being an exhilarating competition.

 

The hot favourite to win the 2018 Challenge Trophy is Footpad, trained by Willie Mullins, after his win at the Irish Arkle in Dublin, closely followed by second favourite, Petit Mouchoir.

 

This thrilling race on day one at the Cheltenham Festival, is guaranteed to provide a gripping day for newcomers and novices to the challenging world of horse racing.