We are now less than a week 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. We have run through the racecards for Day 1 and Day 2, so now let's take a look at Day 3 - St Patrick's Day.
13:20 - Mares' Novices' Hurdle
A race just for the fillies and mares aged 4yo+, run at slightly over 2m. Current favourites for the race are Sixandahalf (10/3) and Faugheen relative Maughreen (7/2). They are both 1 from 1 over hurdles.
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14:00 - Jack Richards Novices' Chase
This is another Grade 1 novice chase and is run over 2m4f. Topping the market currently is Jagwar (11/2) for the Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerrerio partnership and Nurburgring (7/1) for Joseph O'Brien. Jagwar has some winning Cheltenham form to his name after his win in January. Nurburgring will be looking to get off the mark for the first time over in Britain. However, Jagwar is also listed to run in the 16:40 Festival Plate Handicap later in the day, so watch this space!
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14:40 - Pertemps Handicap Hurdle
This is the culmination of races run throughout the jumps season and is the final decider after the 21 prior qualifying races. It is run over the 3m trip, and some of the younger horses that do well here go on to have good careers over fences. Favourites for this year's race are The Wallpark (6/1) for Gordon Elliot, Jeriko Du Reponet (7/1) for Nicky Henderson and Will The Wise (7/1) for Gavin Cromwell. The Wallpark is on a hot streak of form, winning 4 of his last 5 races, including 1 at Cheltenham.
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15:20 - Ryanair Chase
This is the feature race on Day 3 of the Cheltenham Festival and is run over 2m4f. It is ideal for horses whose preferred distance sits between the Champion Chase and the Gold Cup. The market leaders for this year's contest are Fact To File (6/4) and Il Est Francais (7/2). Also a potential entrant is Banbridge (10/1), although if the ground continues to dry Joseph O'Brien may unleash him at the Gold Cup instead.
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16:00 - Stayers' Hurdle
This is a Grade 1 hurdle race run over 3m. It is the premier contest of the season for long distance hurdlers and has been won by the legendary Thistlecrack and crowd favourite Paisley Park in previous years. This year Teahupoo (4/5) will be looking to go back to back, after winning the race last year. Home By The Lee is the next favourite at 11/2.
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16:40 - Festival Plate Handicap
This is a handicap chase run over 2m4f. The current favourite is Jagwar (7/1) who is still listed to run in the Novices' Chase earlier in the day. Next up is Crebilly (8/1) and Springwell Bay (10/1).
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17:20 - Kim Muir Handicap Chase
The final race on Day 3 is a long distance handicap chase and is restricted to amateur jockeys and horses with ratings up to 145. Current favourite is Midnight Our Fred (8/1) followed by Sa Majeste (10/1).