Day One
The thunderous roar that greets the start of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is music to the ears of every National Hunt racing enthusiast. The race itself is a serious test of jumping at speed but you can normally rely on the Irish to pull out the winner.
This is followed by The Arkle, another 2m race but this time for novice chasers. Like the first, it is run at a breathless pace, so expect plenty of heart in mouth moments at each and every fence.
The Champion Hurdle is of course the feature race on the opening day and never fails to produce a thrilling finish as the best hurdlers from both sides of the Irish Sea do battle up the Cheltenham hill.
Despite its handicap status, the National Hunt Chase over 3m often goes to a fancied runner with plenty of 1’s by its name, and is thus your best chance of finding a winner on day one.
The Cross Country Chase is not everyone’s cup of tea. For some, it’s a real spectacle over cross-country style fences, but a serious betting heat it will never be.
The concluding Fred Winter Hurdle (named after the legendary trainer) is a handicap for juvenile hurdlers and comes with a wealth warning for punters. Watch out for something lurking down the bottom of the weights!
Day Two
Round 2 against the bookmakers opens with the Ballymore Properties Novices’ Hurdle. Run over 2m5f, this is much more of a stamina test than the Supreme Novices’ and often goes to one of the market leaders.
The Royal and SunAlliance Novices’ Chase over 3m usually goes to an out-and-out stayer. The winner is always touted for next year’s Gold Cup but, for some reason, they rarely progress as expected.
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is the showcase race for the fastest chasers from both sides of the Irish Sea. Favourites have a decent record, but sloppy jumpers need not even apply.
It’s no coincidence that the Coral Cup is bookmaker-sponsored as the race is fiendishly difficult to solve. Find the winner, however, and big odds are almost assured.
The Kim Muir Chase gives the amateur jockeys their chance to shine and usually throws up a big priced winner.
The Champion Bumper (flat race) is a race the Irish expect to win every year (and normally do!). They will lay horses out for the race from the start of the season and then back them as if defeat is out of the question. A great source of future winners!
Day Three
The opening Jewson Novices’ Chase is a relatively new race for up-and-coming chasers. As it’s a handicap, the betting has an opening look to it.
The Ryanair Chase has had several titles in recent years, but it is still essentially a championship race for two and a half mile chasers (actually run over 2m5f); those horses considered not quite fast enough to run in the Champion Chase, whilst not possessing the necessary stamina to see out the Gold Cup trip.
The feature race on day three is the World Hurdle over 3m; the ultimate stamina test for hurdlers. In 2008, Inglis Drever will be going for a unprecedented third crown
The Racing Post Plate is a handicap chase over 2m5f for five year olds and upwards and has been dominated by the bigger yards in recent years.
The National Hunt Challenge Cup for novice chasers is by far the longest race at the Festival - run over a gruelling 4m no less! Once again, amateur jockeys are in the plate so expect plenty of thrills and spills.
Each of the runners for the concluding Pertemps Hurdle Final has arrived here via one of the many qualifiers run throughout the season. Be warned, many of them have yet to show their true colours to the handicapper, which makes finding the winner a near impossible task.
Day Four
The pace is fast and furious for the Triumph Hurdle, which gets proceedings under way on the final day.
This is a race for juvenile hurdlers over 2m and it takes no prisoners.
Run at a more sedate pace, the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle is a relatively new race for staying novices over 3m. Next year’s World Hurdle contenders maybe?
Next up is the feature race of the entire meeting, the Cheltenham Gold Cup run over 3m2f. The roll call of past winners includes Arkle, Desert Orchid, Dawn Run, Best Mate and Kauto Star - some of the true greats of National Hunt racing.
The Foxhunter Steeplechase is the Gold Cup for the hunting fraternity, featuring horses that have been running in point-to-points and hunter chases. Although the race is for amateur jockeys, professional trainers have had had their say in recent years - Paul Nicholls has won two out of the past four runnings.
The Cheltenham Grand Annual is a cracking two mile handicap chase that is usually run at a break-neck pace meaning there is no room for jumping errors.
Hopefully, you will have found a winner or two by the time the County Hurdle is run. The odd gamble has been landed down the years but, with a maximum field of 2m handicappers on display, it’s more likely that the bookmakers will be cheering the winner home!