2025 Cheltenham Festival Preview: Races, Odds Favourites and More

The sun is beginning to shine a little brighter, and is that because we're getting to spring or because the Cheltenham Festival is around the corner? Either way, we're not complaining so let's dive in.

Day 1: Champion Day - Preview

In terms of horse racing, there are few things more anticipated than the first roar of the Cheltenham crowd on Day 1 of the festival. Months of ante-post selections, trainers' words and punters' predictions just pause for a minute whilst the first race takes place.

A feeling that, truthfully, cannot be replicated anywhere else, whether you're at the festival, at the pub, at home, or even abroad.

Anyways, we're not here to talk about where you might be watching the racing, instead, we're looking at why, and Day 1 is a beauty of a card, as it always is.

That aforementioned first race of the Day and Cheltenham is the Supreme Novices' Hurdle - which has been renamed the Michael O'Sullivan Supreme Novices' Hurdle for this rendition after his passing earlier this month, a beautiful touch and a very fitting reminder of the risk that the jockeys take each time they ride.

Betting for that race has been up and down beforehand, but the market has now picked itself a favourite - Kopek Des Bordes, who has been the short-price favourite in recent weeks with previous choices on the drift.

Following that, at 14:00, we have the Arkle Novices' Chase, which was shaping up to be a beauty of a race before the unfortunate news about Sir Gino's condition. Nevertheless, the race still has promise despite the short price favourite at the moment, which is currently Majborough, representing Willie Mullins.

Third on the day is the Ultima Handicap Chase, which is a really difficult race to call. At three miles long, and with no stand-outs yet, the market is still yet to pick a clear favourite - which represents a little bit of value for those still looking for any late ante-post selections.

The next two races are arguably the two most anticipated of the day - the Mares Hurdle and the Champions Hurdle.

With the Mares Hurdle, it has been a really strange picture for some time. On Monday morning, BrighterDaysAhead was confirmed to be going to the Champion Hurdle, but there is still some umming and ahing about Lossiemouth.

Should she also go to the CH, the race looks really open. However, it is once again a case of what will be the decision over the mare. A punter's mare in that sense (if you'll pardon the pun), however, a chance for value in the market maybe.

Without a doubt though, the biggest race of the day (and arguably festival) is the Champion Hurdle. Constitution Hill has the chance to return to his status as the undisputed best hurdler in the game, which would be a fantastic occasion in itself. A challenge from BrighterDaysAhead, and possibly Lossiemouth only further adds to the situation.

Following that race is never easy, but the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Chase offers a completely different prospect. Whilst the Champion Hurdle may seem slightly closed off, this race is still rather open, with punters not allowing one option to become the standalone favourite.

To end the Tuesday off, we have the National Hunt Novices Chase, which is slightly more closed off than the prior race, nevertheless, there are still some fantastic opportunities in the market, and it is a nice way to close off Day 1.

Day 2: Style Wednesday - Preview

As is expected, Day 2 hosts another fantastic card, with some great racing on the day - with most of the races being chases, including the highlight race of the day, which we will get to shortly.

We start with the Turners Novices' Hurdle at 13:20, which like most of the other Novice races at the Festival, has been heavily contested, but now has a clear favourite, and that is Final Demand, however, The New Lion, who was the long-time favourite, has not drifted too much in the backing.

Following that, we have the Brown Advisory Novice Chase, which is a huge race. The field is full of quality, but again, there are two standout options in the market - those being Ballyburn and Dancing City, who have both been well-backed by punters in the past few months.

Picking between the two is certainly difficult with many torn about their chances, which makes the anticipation for the race that much greater.

The quality does not stop there though, and the Coral Cup comes next. In recent years, it has been a race dominated by Langer Dan and Dan Skelton, who has often been criticised for his approach to the race, but it seems the two-time winner will head elsewhere.

Nevertheless, with a huge field preparing for the race and some fantastic odds still available, there may be a chance for punters to find some value in the race, maybe the Skelton's will strike again.

Following that, we have the Cross Country Chase, which again, is a very open race. At present, Stumptown leads the market quite healthily, but there are certainly a few that may look to cause him a threat during the race.

Number four is the headline of the day, and who could blame them. The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a phenomenal race at about two miles long, and Nicky Henderson's Jonbon is the leading favourite, and he has been for some time.

Having previously won the race with Altior and Sprinter Sacre, Henderson will hope that the race births another legend through Jonbon.

Possibly the most open race of the festival is the next race, and that is the Grand Annual Chase. At present, the favourite is priced at 8/1, which certainly represents a bit of a chance for punters to get some value.

To round off the Wednesday, we have the Champion Bumper, which again has quite a wide field. Despite the favourite, Gameofinches, currently being 7/2, there are five horses below the 10/1 mark, and this again is a race which is still quite open.

Day 3: St Patrick's Thursday - Preview

As you may guess from the name, St Patrick's Day is a celebration of Irish culture, with punters rocking green a little more often than they may on other days. For the English trainers, though, there will be no generosity offered.

The Thursday offers us another seven races with two headline races once again, and there is plenty of quality for us to dig our teeth into.

Starting with the Mares Novices' Hurdle, racing gets off to a good start, and this is shaping up to be a really nice race with Sixandahalf and Maughreen currently being the two market leaders. With that being said, though, the duo is far from certain.

Following that, we have the Jack Richards Novices' Handicap Chase, which looks to be a really open race once again. Over 2m4f, the market is really wide at present with the favourite still being available at 5/1, though with a few other options coming in before the 10/1 mark, there is plenty of value on offer here.

The Pertemps Network Final is scheduled for 14:40 and is the second-joint longest race of the day at 3m. Technically, a handicap hurdle, the picture is quite wide, but the market has a few fancies, as is to be expected. At present, Nicky Henderson and Gordon Elliott have the two favourites in Jeriko Du Reponet and The Wallpark, respectively.

Then, we have the first headline race of the day, the Ryanair Chase, which has some huge names fighting for the £375,000 purse. Headlined by Irish-trained Fact To File, there is a huge amount of quality set to be on show, though whether anyone will be able to contest the Mullins powerhouse is to be questioned.

If that wasn't good enough, we also have the Stayers' Hurdle, which is seemingly quite a closed race, but this is not always a bad thing. Sometimes, it is just nice to watch the quality of a horse, whilst hopefully winning a little bit of money, and Teahupoo - the market favourite by a long way - offers a chance at that.

Following that is the TrustATrade Plate, which is a handicap chase race. As expected with handicaps, things are still quite open, and they will be until the start of the festival, imaginably, so there is no need to rush to make a selection at good value just yet.

Finishing off the day is the Kim Muir Challenge Cup. A 22-hurdle race over three miles and two furlongs, this is set to be a fantastic finisher to the Thursday. Once again, there is a ton of value left for us to take advantage of in the market, with the favourite Sa Majeste currently priced at 7/1.

Day 4: Gold Cup Day - Preview

Finally, we come to Gold Cup day, and there are some fantastic races that I am looking forward to, even if it is the last day of racing at the festival. Nevertheless, let's dive straight in.

We start with a really exciting race, the Triumph Hurdle, which is looking to be heavily contested this season. Not only are there a few decent options for the market, but the odds have shifted quite a lot in recent weeks, so there is a chance that the prices move again before the start of Friday's action. A race with a lot of potential certainly, and a very exciting start to a great day of racing.

The County Hurdle follows after, and this is another really well-contested race, with a few horses that are not certain just yet. For example, the favourite Kopeck De Mee is also the favourite for the Coral Cup, so there is really no sign of who could win this race just yet.

Number three on Friday is the Mares Chase, which is shaping up to be a competitive race. Dinoblue is the clear favourite at this point, after being heavily contested by Bioluminescence in recent weeks, but the latter has now drifted slightly.

Following that is the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle, which has a few big names within it from this season. Final Demand and The Yellow Clay are the two big favourites in this race, though more support has come for the former as of late, but the latter could not be ruled out at all. It is a fantastic warm up for the following race.

It needs no introduction, the Gold Cup follows next. Some see this as the biggest race in the racing calendar, others may look elsewhere, but its status cannot be overlooked, and this is where one of the best horses in running will look to show his class.

Galopin. Des. Champs. Perhaps, the best horse of a generation, maybe slightly better. The Irish-trained great has a chance to win his third consecutive Gold Cup, which will cement him as one of the best ever in his division. A real spectacle and a fantastic reason to watch the Friday racing alone.

The penultimate race of the festival is the Hunters Chase, and following the Gold Cup is certainly a very difficult challenge. Nevertheless, there are currently three horses contesting one another around the 5/1 mark.

Finally, to wrap up the festival we have the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle, which again seems to be quite an open race as we approach the week before the Festival. Kopeck De Mee and Woodhooh, again, take the fancy for punters and are the market leaders at this point, but it is by no means a closed-off race.