With a history dating
back to as far as 1860, the Cheltenham Festival showcases the finest
British and Irish trained horses each year. Less than two weeks
remain to start of the 2018 edition of the Festival.
The Cheltenham Festival
As one among the two
major National Hunt Racing events of the year, the Cheltenham
Festival is a 4- day haven for racing enthusiasts, punters &
casual fans alike. A total of 28 races will be run over the 4-day
period, kicking off with the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Race &
wrapping up with the Grand Annual Handicap Steeple Chase Challenge
Cup.
Prize money in excess
of £4.6 million is up for grabs, with the majority of the money
being split between the five major races’ of the event:
Stayers’ Hurdle -
£325,000
Ryanair Chase -
£350,000
Champion Chase -
£400,000
Champion Hurdle -
£400,000
Cheltenham Gold Cup –
£625,000
When & Where
13th
March, Tuesday – Champion Day
13:30 – Supreme
Novices’ Hurdle Race
14:10 – Arkle
Challenge Trophy Steeple Chase
14:50 – Ultima
Handicap Steeple Chase
15:30 – Champion
Hurdle Challenge Trophy
16:10 – Mares’
Hurdle Race
16:50 – National Hunt
Steeple Chase Challenge Cup
17:30 – Novices’
Handicap Chase
14th
March, Wednesday – Ladies’ Day
13:30 – Novices’
Hurdle Race
14:10 – Steeple Chase
14:50 – Coral Cup
Hurdle
15:30 – Queen Mother
Champion Steeple Chase
16:10 – Cross Country
Steeple Chase
16:50 – Fred Winter
Juvenile Handicap Hurdle Race
17:30 – Champion
Bumper
15th
March, Thursday – St.Patrick’s Thursday
13:30 – JLT Novices’
Chase
14:10 – Pertemps
Network Final
14:50 – Ryanair
Steeple Chase
15:30 – Stayers’
Hurdle
16:10 – Mildmay of
Flete Challenge Cup
16:50 – Dawn Run
Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle
17:30 – Fulke Walwyn
Kim Muir Challenge Cup
16th
March, Friday – Gold Cup Day
13:30 – JCB Triumph
Hurdle
14:10 – County
Handicap Hurdle Race
14:50 – Albert
Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle
15:30 – Cheltenham
Gold Cup
16:10 – St James’
Place Foxhunter Chase
16:50 – Martin Pipe
Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle
17:30 – Johnny
Henderson Grand Annual Chase
Tickets
With the event fast
approaching, the tickets to the 4-day festival are selling out hot &
fast, if you are planning on a visit then you might want to hop over
to the racecourses’ website where tickets will be available if they
aren’t Sold Out already.
Dress Code
Unlike some of the
other events, the Cheltenham Festival doesn’t have a strict dress
code as such. However, if you don’t want to stick out like sore
thumb & don’t want all the attention it’s better to suit up
for occasion.
Where can I watch?
If you are someone who
prefers to enjoy the race from the comfort of your home, there will
be live coverage of event on all 4 days on ITV Racing. While
the first five races each day are shown on TV, the 8 remaining are
available to watch exclusively on Racing UK, Sky Channel 432.
Top Contenders
With the final fields
for all the Cheltenham Festival races available only two days before
the race, the Bookies, like William Hill have focused on providing
ante-bet opportunities with greater odds.
Supreme Novice’s Hurdle
Getabird with odds of
11/8 is a strong contender to win the first race of the 4-day
festival. Its performance in the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle earlier
in the year was too dominant to ignore.
Other Contenders: -
Kalashnikov (9/2), Summerville Boy (10/1)
Cheltenham Gold Cup
Defending champion,
Sizing John hopes to become the first horse since 2003 to complete a
Gold Cup double does not start as the favourite among the bookies
with the odds of 6/1. Might Bite with odds of 3/1 & Native River
with odds of 11/2 rank head in the eyes of the bookies.
Champion Chase
Altior,
with odds of 8/11 stands as the favourite among a competitive field
in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, already being a two time winner
at the festival (2016 – Novices’ Hurdle, 2017 – Arkle Challenge
Trophy), Altior has the experience & pedigree to notch up a third
title at the event.
Other Contenders: - Min
(11/4) & Douvan (9/2)
Some of the bookies
like William Hill have provided Non-Runner Insurance, for more
information check out williamhill.