Cheltenham Festival Horses
The arrival of March is normally an exciting time for Gordon Elliott, a month where he routinely showcases his training brilliance at the Cheltenham Festival.
- Cheltenham Festival Horses Running
- Cheltenham Festival Race Card
- Cheltenham Festival Horse Racing Tips
The bookies are fearing five horses in particular ahead of this year's Cheltenham Festival. Willie Mullins has arguably his strongest ever team for Prestbury Park, while Henry de Bromhead is also. Some of the most competitive handicap chases and hurdles are also run at the Cheltenham Festival.The Cheltenham Festival is a unique race meeting. It brings together the best trainers, jockeys and horses from the UK and Ireland. We saw plenty of talented horses write their names in the headlines, and some even enforced their Cheltenham Festival credentials. We've picked out four horses who impressed during the Dublin Racing Festival that look worthy of backing at the Cheltenham Festival. 2021 Cheltenham Festival Ante-Post Tips.
Whether he gets the chance to add to his 32 Festival winners at Cheltenham 2021 is now in the hands of the racing authorities after Elliott admitted a picture of him sitting on a dead horse was genuine.
The horrific picture is hugely damaging for the sport’s image and is likely to have devastating consequences for Elliott that extend well beyond this year’s Festival.
But, as things stand, nine of the favourites or co-favourites for the 28 races down for decision between March 16 and 19 are stabled at Elliott’s County Meath base.
Among them are some of the highest-profile horses in National Hunt racing and the threat to their participation in the Cotswolds is now very real. Here’s 11 who could miss out.
Escaria Ten: Second to Eklat De Rire at Naas last time out, the seven-year-old is the clear favourite for the Ultima Handicap Chase, the opening handicap at the Festival.
Quilixios: While more likely to take on stablemate Zanahiyr in the Triumph Hurdle on Gold Cup day, the Grade One-winning four-year-old also has the option of Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, on day one.
Galvin: Last seen completing a four-timer when winning at Cheltenham in October, the talented seven-year-old has been put away for the National Hunt Chase.
Grand Roi: Last seen chasing home Bachasson in a Naas Grade Three, the five-year-old heads the market for the Coral Cup, a race Elliott has won twice before.
Tiger Roll:
A four-time Festival winner, the dual National hero has struggled since his second Aintree success but would still have a chance in the Glenfarclas Chase.
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Sir Gerhard: Unbeaten in two starts for Elliott, the son of Jeremy looked likely to go off favourite in the Champion Bumper until the Willie Mullins-trained Kilcruit usurped him at the head of the market with a visually stunning display at the Dublin Racing Festival.
Envoi Allen: A dual Festival winner, the unbeaten seven-year-old might just be the most talented horse Elliott has ever trained. The most recent of his five Grade One wins came at Fairyhouse in November and he has long been viewed as banker material for the Marsh Novices’ Chase.
The Bosses Oscar: Victorious at Thurles first time out this season, the six-year-old has since found one too good in two subsequent outings but still co-shares favouritism for the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle.
Farclas: Though he has yet to win this season, the 2018 Triumph Hurdle winner has run some eye-catching races in defeat, efforts that have propelled him to the summit of the Paddy Power Plate Handicap Chase market.
Zanahiyr: Unbeaten in three starts for Elliott, the son of Nathaniel has long looked the one to beat in the Triumph Hurdle. He could be a superstar.
Grand Paradis:
Elliott always likes to target Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, a race named in honour of his mentor, and Grand Paradis looks this year’s chosen one after a dominant victory in a Thurles Grade Three last time out.
Cheltenham Festival Horses Running
The Cheltenham Festival is one of British and Irish horse racing’s biggest events and its traditional running in mid-March means that it marks the beginning of the racing calendar each year.
It is one of the most attended and most prestigious horse race meetings of the year with more than a quarter of a million people attending each year. The highest attendance always occurs on Cheltenham Gold Cup Day, which saw 71,500 people pass through Cheltenham Racecourse’s gates in 2019.
The four-day Cheltenham Festival hosts 28 races, evenly spread across each day, with five feature races, the most prestigious being the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The others are the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Champion Hurdle, the Ryanair Chase, and the Stayers’ Hurdle.
With so many people attending and so many big races taking place, there are around 250 bookmakers at the racecourse each day to take the huge number of wagers placed. In more recent years, many bettors have also been placing bets through their smartphones through the growing number of online and mobile bookmakers. These brands offer an advantage over trackside bookies in that they’re able to provide horse racing tips and other insights to help people make more informed betting decisions.
So with this in mind, what can we expect from the Cheltenham Festival in 2021?
When is the Cheltenham Festival in 2021?
The Cheltenham Festival traditionally takes place over four days in the middle of March. In 2021, things will be no different with the meeting scheduled to begin on Tuesday 16th March 2021 and end on Friday 19th March 2021.
Day one will feature the Champion Hurdle race as well as six other hurdle and chase events. Day two will see another day of six races, beginning at 13:30 with The Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle Race, the feature race that day will be The Queen Mother Champion Steel Chase, a circa 2-mile chase for Grade 1 horses. Day two also coincides with St Patrick’s Day and will, as is always the case, be filled with people celebrating Ireland’s patron saint while they enjoy the races.
Day three sees two feature races: The Ryanair Steep Chase and The Stayers’ Hurdle, the latter being a circa 3-mile hurdle race. The final day rounds out the Cheltenham Festival with The Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase, a 3-mile 2.5-furlong chase that will see £625,000 awarded to the winning horse.
How to Watch the Cheltenham Festival in 2021?
As has been the case in previous years, you can follow all the action from the Cheltenham Festival from home if you’re not planning to attend in person. Free-to-air commercial broadcaster ITV will be showing all of the festival’s main races each day on its main channel ITV1. These three-and-a-half-hour live shows will include the feature race and several others, along with expert analysis, punditry and commentary.
If you want to catch all the action, then Racing TV will show every single race from each of the four days, so you won’t have to miss a thing.
Cheltenham Festival Race Card
Who Will Win The Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase in 2021?
The entry list for the Cheltenham Festival has not yet been released and likely won’t be for a little while yet. However, most online betting sites and major news outlets will all be covering the event in detail, offering up-to-date odds, their picks, and predictions.
While most of the attention will be placed on The Cheltenham Gold Cup because it’s the most prominent race of the festival. However, there are plenty of other great betting opportunities among the other races taking place over the four days.
Cheltenham Festival Horse Racing Tips
At this early stage, Al Boum is a clear front runner to win the Gold Cup after winning the race for the last two years. Many in the sport are asking whether he can make it three years in a row, joining Best Mate, Arkle, Cottage Rake, and Golden Miller.
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