Now that racing season has entered 2024, excitement and anticipation are mounting for this year’s Cheltenham Festival, a four-day feast of horse racing. Big money is up for grabs, as is the prestige of winning a trophy at this major event in the horse racing calendar, an event that attracts some of the finest jockeys and racing horses from around the world. It’s also an opportunity for horses and jockeys to make a name for themselves in jump racing while the eyes of the world are on them.
This year, the festival takes place from Tuesday, 12 to Friday, 15 March and, as always, there are some huge races. Below is a look at the biggest races of the festival and at some of the favourites to win them.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the flagship race of the Cheltenham Festival and will be run on the final day of the festival. The horses and their riders will contest this steeplechase over three miles and 2.5 furlongs. The prize? At least £625,000 for passing the post first. Last year’s winner was French-bred thoroughbred Galopin des Champs. The horse has received Cheltenham odds of 6/5 to emerge victorious again this year in the race.
The Gold Cup has seen some prolific and popular horses over the years, such as Desert Orchid, Al Boum and Best Mate, but there have also been surprise victories. In 1990, 100/1 outsider Norton’s Coin shocked everyone to win the rider the biggest prize in jump racing.
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a two-mile chase and has seen some prolific horses win the event in the 21st century. Altior, Sprinter Sacre and, most recently, Energumene are all names you’ll recognise that have won this event more than once. Energumene was chasing a third historic win, but injury ruled the horse out for the season, leaving the door open for rivals El Fabiolo and JonBon to surge in front as favourites and continue their epic rivalry. El Fabiolo, trained by Willie Mullins, is the greater favourite of the two, with odds of 1/1, and also defeated JonBon, trained by Nicky Henderson, at the 2023 Cheltenham meeting’s Arkle Chase. Henderson is believed to be the one who will have the last laugh at this year’s Arkle Chase, however, as JonBon has odds of 11/4 to defeat El Fabiolo in the race.
Hurdling specialists love the Stayers’ Hurdle, which is over three miles long and puts the stamina of hurdlers truly to the test. The race first came to the Cheltenham Festival in 1972 and replaced the Spa Hurdle. When the race was switched from Tuesday to Thursday in 1993, Macer Gifford became the first jockey to win this inaugural race, which he did on Parlour Moor.
This year, Theleme and Teahupoo are joint favourites at 4/1 to win the race in March. Theleme is in fine form, having won six of his last seven races. Observers note, however, that these wins all came at Auteil and that the seven-year-old horse hasn’t been tested outside of France. Teahupoo receives his odds among some controversy. Dashel Drasher knocked the horse in the final flight last year and, after an enquiry by stewards, was promoted to second place behind Sire Du Berlais. After an appeal, Drasher was awarded second place again. Sire Du Berlais hasn’t run since finishing third in Grade 1 racing at Punchestown in April 2023.
The Champion Hurdle demands 2 miles and 87 yards of horses and asks them to hurdle eight flights. It’s a gruelling race that has been at the festival since 1927. If ever a course has seen multiple wins, it’s this one. The late 1940s to 1960s saw triple wins from Hatton’s Grace, Sir Ken and Persian War, whereas the 1970s was the decade of double wins and saw Bula, Night Nurse and Monksfield all past the post first twice in the event.
Constitution Hill is the favourite at 1/2 to win this year’s race. The six-year-old horse won the event last year and there had been hopes he would compete in and win both the Hurdle and the Gold Cup, but the decision was made to concentrate on hurdles rather than go down the chase route. Dawn Run is the only horse ever to have won both events.
The Cheltenham Festival is full of feature events such as the above and other gripping events. If you’re going to follow the festival in March, the Ryanair Chase is another race you might wish to catch. The race is 2 miles and 4.5 furlongs. It’s for five-year old horses for which the Queen Mother’s Champion Chase is a little too sharp and the Gold Cup is a step too far for the stage they’re at in their racing careers.
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