We are now less than 2 weeks away from the start of The Cheltenham Festival and the pinnacle of the horse racing jumps calendar. The festival is host to an electrifying 4 days of racing, and this year it kicks off on Tuesday 11/03/2025. Last week we ran through Day One racecard, so now let's dive into Day 2 - Ladies Day.
13:20 - Turners Novices' Hurdle
This is a Grade 1 race, and is one of the premier races of the season for novice hurdlers. It is run over 2m 5f and we often see winners of this race dropping back in trip in the future to compete in the Champion Hurdle. Topping the market this year is Final Demand (13/8) for Willie Mullins and the Irish who is unbeaten in 2 starts. The New Lion (11/4) for Dan Skelton appears to be the best British hope and is unbeaten in all 4 of his starts so far, including a Grade 1.
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14:00 - Brown Advisory Novices' Chase
Now over fences, this race puts the young steeplechasers to the test over a 3m 1/2f distance, much longer than the chase for the novices' on Day 1. It's yet another Grade 1, with winners of this race often moving on to competing in the Gold Cup in years to come. The favourite this year is Ballyburn (7/4) for Willie Mullins, who made his chasing debut in November last year. He has won 8 of a total of 10 starts and won 2 of his 3 starts over fences. This will be the longest distance he's tackled so far.
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14:40 - Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle
This is one of the most competitive handicaps of the Cheltenham Festival and is open to horses aged 4 years or older. It is run over a 2m5f trip and often turns into an extremely tight finish after a final sprint up the Cheltenham hill. Be Aware (8/1) and the French import Kopeck De Mee (8/1) currently top the market. Dan Skelton is the trainer of Be Aware and is aiming to win this race for the third successive year. Langer Dan has won the last two renewals of the race, though the handicapper has taken no chances with him this season and he is now instead likely to run in the Grade 1 Stayers Hurdle on the Thursday.
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15:20 - Cross Country Chase
This race sees our equine superstars put to the test over a mixture of obstacles and differing terrain on the cross country course. It is open to horses ages 5yo+. It is run over 3m6f with a an abundance of jumps, turning this into a real stamina sapper. Famous winners of this race include double Grand National winner Tiger Roll, who has won it 3 times and the late Delta Work who won it back to back in 2022 and 2023. Stumptown (5/2) is the strongly fancied favourite this year, perhaps driven by his win over the cross country course back in December. He's been put away and saved for this race since.
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16:00 - Queen Mother Champion Chase
This an open company Grade 1 race and is the top contest of the Cheltenham Festival for our 2-mile chasers. Open to horses aged 5yo+, this often turns into a thriller. Previous winners of the race include legends such as Sprinter Sacre and Altior. This year the market has Jonbon as the odds-on favourite (10/11), with Energumene (8/1) in the field looking for another roll of the dice having been well beaten by Jonbon in their head to head at Ascot in January this year. Other contenders include Gaelic Warrior (6/1) and Marine Nationale (8/1).
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16:40 - Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase
This is a 2m handicap, often run at a fierce gallop. This year it seems a wide open affair with Libberty Hunter (10/1), Unexpected Party (11/1) and Firefox (12/1) currently topping the market. There will be lots of Course winners in the line up, and we're probably looking for a seasoned handicapper who thrives in the big field scenario.
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17:20 - Weatherbys Champion Bumper
For the only time across the four day festival we wave goodbye to the hurdles and fences in this race. Designed for horses who are yet to start their jumping career, this is the starting point for many of our newest entrants into our great sport. This year's favourites are Gameofinches (4/1) and Copacabana (5/1), who are both trained by Willie Mullins. The Irish have completely dominated this race in recent seasons.