The National hunt season is now in full swing, as all roads lead to the Cheltenham festival. This is the pinnacle of the season and will taking place between the 10th – 13th of March. Much anticipation is already building, as connections begin their final preparations with just seven weeks to go. The Irish will be heading over in their numbers and looking to again land the Prestbury Cup. So here we cover the four upcoming days at the festival.
Day One – Champion Day
The opening day of the festival is known as Champion day and usually features the top card across the week. The day is headed up by the Champion hurdle, which is the feature race. The 2020 edition appears to be as competitive as ever, with the Nicky Henderson trained Epatante heading up the betting at present. She has been well backed by punters looking to get the best bones codes and offers available, with the Willie Mullins trained Saldier also proving popular.
Day Two – Ladies Day
The second day of the festival is Ladies day, with fashion also coming to the fore, as well as the top class racing. The day is headed up by the Queen Mother Champion chase, with the fast improving Defi Du Seuil at the top of the betting. Defending champion Altior is also prominent in the betting but has many questions to answer ahead of the race. Other key contenders include the likes of Chacun Pour Soi and A Plus Tard.
Day Three – St. Patrick’s Thursday
The penultimate day of the festival is known as St Patrick’s Thursday, which is the key day for the travelling Irish support. The feature race is the Stayers hurdle, in which defending champion Paisley Park is set to go off as one of the shortest priced favourites of the week. He has now won six races in succession and is going to take all the beating come the race. This run included a 2 3/4 length victory in the 2019 edition of the race.
Day Four – Gold Cup Day
The final day of the festival is Gold Cup day, which sees the leading staying chasers battle it out over the testing Cheltenham course. The race looks wide open at present, with defending champion Al Boum Photo heading up the betting. He won the Gold Cup for the first time for trainer Willie Mullins last year, who also has Kemboy sitting prominently in the betting. Other key contenders for the race look to be Clan Des Obeaux, Lostintranslation and Delta Work.
