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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
John Brewin, with Tony Paley and Greg Wood (at Cheltenham)

Cheltenham Festival 2022: Honeysuckle wins Champion Hurdle again – as it happened

Cheltenham (Event) Festival Cheltenham Festival Constitution Hill (Facility) Greg Wood
Rachael Blackmore celebrates victory on Honeysuckle in the Champion Hurdle.
Rachael Blackmore celebrates victory on Honeysuckle in the Champion Hurdle. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

That’s it for the first day of the Cheltenham Festival, one that will be recalled for the brilliance of Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore in the Champion Hurdle, plus the promise shown by Constitution Hill in winning the Supreme Novices Hurdle.

On Wednesday we go again and Greg Wood looks ahead to the Champion Chase, probably the biggest race of the entire Festival.

Updated

17:30 - Ukraine Appeal National Hunt Novices’ Chase - result

  • 1. Stattler 2/1
  • 2. Run Wild Fred 15/8 fav
  • 3. Vanillier 11/4
  • 4. Beatthebullet 100/1
  • 6 ran

Stattler looked a decent chaser of the future in winning that race.

Stattler wins the National Hunt Challenge Cup!

This very small field takes its place in a race that is raising money for the victims of the war in Ukraine, and it’s one for the amateurs. Last year, Covid regs meant it was only the pros who could ride in it. It’s the longest race of the day. Vanillier jumps first but Beatthebullet, the outsider, takes up the early pace. Run Wild Fred wants to take it out, too and joins Beatthebullet in the lead. Run Wild Fred jumping well over the tenth but the chasing pack is never too far behind. Braeside smashes the fence and pulls up at the 11th, the open ditch. Run Wild Fred continues to lead as they go past the stands and the dregs of the crowd cheer them on for the last lap of the day. Over the 18th, it’s close between the entire field. Run Wild Fred maintains his lead as Vanillier attempts a move. Three out, and Jamie Codd takes on Run Wild Fred and down the hill. Run Wild Fred being chased by Stattler, who is pushing him all the way under PW Mullins and he goes well clear to win by ten lengths or so, with Vanillier in third. The first win for the Mullins stable.

5:30 – National Hunt Challenge Cup odds

  • Run Wild Fred – 2/1
  • Stattler – 2/1
  • Vanillier – 11/4
  • Pats Fancy – 14/1
  • Braeside – 22/1
  • Beatthebullet – 150/1
  • Latest odds at Oddschecker

5.30 National Hunt Chase preview

A very sparse turnout for a race that has attracted at least 20 runners eight times this century, but it is one of four novice chases at the meeting these days and one of the others – the Turners’ Novice Chase on Thursday – has just four runners, all from Ireland, after the final decs earlier today. The field here has been reduced still further by the scratching of Ontheropes, leaving six to go to post, including the big Irish-trained fancies Run Wild Fred, Stattler and Vanillier. They will be ridden by probably the top three amateurs around at the moment – Jamie Codd, Patrick Mullins and Derek O’Connor respectively – and the market is struggling to separate them. Vanillier took the Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle here 12 months ago on very similar ground and so has course form on his side, but Stattler was nearly 20 lengths in front of him in a Grade Three at Naas last time and so the return to Cheltenham will need to coax a fair bit of improvement from Gavin Cromwell’s runner if he is to turn that around. Run Wild Fred was second in a Grade One last time, which will probably be enough to see him head the market, but his jumping is not entirely secure at time and Stattler may be the one to benefit if it lets him down today.

16:50 - Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle result

  • 1. Brazil 10-1
  • 2. Gaelic Warrior 13-8 fav
  • 3. Bell Ex One 28-1
  • 4. HMS Seahorse 8-1
  • 14 ran

Updated

Brazil was the frequent victim of Gaelic Warrior’s jumping right, but ended up both the real and moral victor, with a canny ride from Mark Walsh. Even Paul Townend’s mastery couldn’t prevent Gaelic Warrior’s roguish tendencies losing him the race, which went to JP McManus, and trained by Padraig Roche.

Updated

Brazil wins the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle!

It’s a very antsy start, so antsy that they are recalled and Gaelic Warrior goes off like a rocket and almost jumps the hurdle. Three manage to do so, including HMS Seahorse. And they eventually go off at the second time of asking, with Gaelic Warrior well up there and goes clear as he jumps right, and a few, including Brazil are stymied by that rather wild jump. Over the third, Gaelic Warrior jumps the next, and the fourth he is still in the lead. This will be an attempt to lead from the get-go. Brazil is after him, as is Chester Williams. Bell Ex One up there, and Gaelic Warrior is still up there, jumping right with Brazil after him. Then he wobbles over the last, and Brazil gets to him to win. The favourite didn’t have enough nous to get the job done. Bell Ex One, a Paul Nicholls fancy dropped in, came third. Mark Walsh rode the winner.

Brazil beats Gaelic Warrior (right) in The Boodles Juvenile Hurdle.
Brazil beats Gaelic Warrior (right) in The Boodles Juvenile Hurdle. Photograph: Steven Cargill/racingfotos.com/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

Plenty of talk about Gaelic Warrior, the overriding favourite for the Boodles and who be-mulleted owner Rich Ricci claims never to have seen run and only ever seen a photo of him. The word is he is carrying 15 pounds on his mark of 129 and in the preliminaries he looks a powerhouse. He’s come from France and is a very, very short price for this particular race, the Fred Winter in old money.

Updated

Nicky Henderson, celebrating a second winner on the day, spoke to the BBC after Marie’s Rock won the Mares’ Hurdle. The horse was a favourite for the juvenile mares’ race a couple of years back only to suffer a setback. The Seven Barrows stable landed second places in the Supreme and the Champion Hurdles so that department is going well. Let’s see on Shishkin tomorrow.

I lost her last year - a bit like Epatante, but it is lovely when they come back. You’ve just got to get their confidence and belief back. Everything has gone right for her. I was very impressed with her at Warwick last time out so I was hopeful. The pressure was off after one winner earlier, so I’ll be able to enjoy it now.

4:50 – Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle odds

  • Gaelic Warrior – 15/8
  • The Tide Turns – 15/2
  • Brazil – 8/1
  • HMS Seahorse – 10/1
  • Ebasari – 14/1
  • Saint Segal – 14/1
  • Too Friendly – 16/1
  • Champion Green – 16/1
  • Doctor Brown Bear – 22/1
  • Forever William - 25/1
  • Bell Ex One – 28/1
  • Prairie Dancer – 28/1
  • Britzka – 33/1
  • BAR – 33/1
  • Latest odds at Oddschecker

Updated

4.50 Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle preview

A frankly impossible contest and a pin-sticker’s delight to match the Grand National, although with the caveat that there is far less form to go on here. A total of 21 will go to post after Petit Tonerre was taken out this morning, and all but three or four will do so with realistic hopes of success – or as much hope as any. The exception, according to the betting, is Willie Mullins’s Gaelic Warrior, who was allotted a weight after three starts in France and could conceivably be thrown in off a mark of 129. He could make a mockery of the handicap, but how anyone can take a price of around 9-4 in a race like this is beyond me and the personal pin has been steered much further down the list. Ireland is well-represented and any one of a dozen at least could easily find the required improvement to win, but the ex-Irish Bell Ex One, in first-time blinkers on debut for the Paul Nicholls yard, could be an each-way chance for the home team. Nicholls has won this race twice in the last seven years, has been happy to keep Bell Ex One at home and protect his handicap mark since he was sold in December, and the time of his win at Punchestown in October was solid. It’s a right old shot in the dark though, to be frank.

16:10 - Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle result

  • 1. Marie’s Rock
  • 2. Queens Brook
  • 3. Mrs Milner
  • 4. Stormy Ireland
  • 12 ran

Updated

That’s only the second win in the Mares’ Hurdle for the British in a race dominated by the Irish, specifically Willie Mullins. Rachael Blackmore limps home after that fall, and she will be looked over. That’s racing, to put it glibly. Rex Dingle, whose fall on Indefatigable contributed to that fall for Tellmesomethinggirl, is also up. At 18/1, Marie’s Rock is the longest-priced winner of the day.

Updated

Marie's Rock wins the Mares' Hurdle!

Stormy Ireland takes off first, and Western Victory, the outsider, is up there with her. It’s all pretty uneventful as they go past the stands, and it’s a consistent pace. Tellmesomethinggirl, the mount of Rachael Blackmore, makes a meal of a jump six out but then pushes up into the bunch which is most of the field. Down the hill they come with three jumps to go, and plenty of chances at the second last. Tellmesomethinggirl is brought down. Heaven Help Us and Queens Brook up there and Marie’s Rock takes it under Nico de Boinville. Rachael Blackmore is quick to get up, by the way.

Marie’s Rock wins the Mares’ Hurdle.
Marie’s Rock wins the Mares’ Hurdle. Photograph: Steven Cargill/racingfotos.com/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

Honeysuckle’s trainer, Henry de Bromhead, spoke to ITV.

Unreal. It is incredible to get the roar and I just hoped that she would get it. I’m delighted for the owners - they are amazing supporters of ours. She’s incredible - it is the never-ending fairytale. I always prepare for myself for it to end but it never does. If goodwill and all the good lucks could win you a race she’d have won by a furlong because I think most people here will willing her to win. The support we get for her is just mental. You have to pinch yourself with how lucky you are to train a horse like her.

4:10 – Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle odds

  • Stormy Ireland – 4/1
  • Tellmesomethinggirl – 9/2
  • Queens Brook – 9/2
  • Echoes in Rain – 9/1
  • Burning Victory – 9/1
  • Maries Rock – 14/1
  • Mrs Milner – 12/1
  • Heaven Help Us – 14/1
  • Martello Sky – 16/1
  • Indefatigatable – 28/1
  • Western Victory – 125/1
  • Nada to Prada – 200/1
  • Latest odds at Oddschecker

4.10 Mares’ Hurdle preview

It will be an upset if this heads anywhere other than Ireland, as the top five in the betting are all from the “away” team and they include a couple that have attracted significant support this morning. Queens Brook (Gordon Elliott) and Stormy Ireland (Willie Mullins) are now vying for favouritism at around 9-2 while Telmesomethinggirl, the favourite when the decs arrived on Sunday, is on the drift out to 5-1. Queens Brook was one-and-a-half lengths behind Burning Victory at Punchestown last time and is 3lb better off today, but it is still a surprise to find Burning Victory on offer at 10-1 to give Willie Mullins a first win in this race since 2018. Her strike-rate has been a little disappointing on the face of it, and her Grade One success in the Triumph Hurdle here two years ago came courtesy of Goshen’s famous last-flight departure, but Mullins has suggested that she “could be a serious mare” when she gets her hurdling up to scratch and her latest win suggested that it is getting better all the time.

Updated

Here’s our story on a historic win for Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore.

The plaudits are flying in.

15:30 - Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy result

  • 1. Honeysuckle
  • 2. Epatante
  • 3. Zanahiyr
  • 4. Saint Roi
  • 10 ran

Updated

Epatante was close up going into the last, the winner in 2020, also a mare, but fluffed the last under Aidan Coleman and had nowhere near the pace of Honeysuckle climbing up the hill. She’s a superstar, as is Rachael Blackmore, confirming the form of last year and an 11th grade one win of that unbeaten 15.

Rachael Blackmore after victory on Honeysuckle.
Rachael Blackmore after victory on Honeysuckle. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Updated

Rachael Blackmore speaks to ITV after her second Champion Hurdle win.

It is just incredible. Walking out in front of the stands with all the people, it’s such a special place. I’m so lucky to ride winners here and this mare. She’s just incredible. She kind of decides in a race when she’s happy to go and I haven’t stopped her yet. She’s an incredible mare. The work that goes into at home is just unbelievable and they deserve all the credit as well.

Updated

Honeysuckle wins the Champion Hurdle!

Appreciate It and Not So Sleepy take it up as Honeysuckle takes it wide from the start. It’s a steady pace as they go past the stands, and the pack bunches up. Honeysuckle stays wide, and Adagio goes up from the back. Epatante also in the mix at the third last as Appreciate It tries to win wire to wire. Honeysuckle sees a gap and joins Appeciate It, and she moves into the lead to the last, with Epatante giving chase but Honeysuckle holds on to win from Epatante and Zanahiyr. That’s a 15th win out of 15, she looks unbeatable, her second win in the Champion Hurdle.

A faultless performance from the star of jump racing.
A faultless performance from the star of jump racing. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Rachael Blackmore (centre) rides Honeysuckle to a magnificent victory at a packed Cheltenham.
Rachael Blackmore (centre) rides Honeysuckle to a magnificent victory at a packed Cheltenham. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Updated

3:30 – Champion Hurdle odds

  • Honeysuckle – 8/11
  • Appreciate It – 7/2
  • Teahupoo – 9/1
  • Epatante – 16/1
  • Adagio – 22/1
  • Zanahiyr – 25/1
  • Tommy’s Oscar – 28/1
  • Saint Roi – 33/1
  • Not So Sleepy – 100/1
  • Glory and Fortune – 150/1
  • Latest odds at Oddschecker

Peter Scudamore, who is assistant trainer to his partner, Lucinda Russell, and a 13-time Cheltenham winner as a rider, spoke to ITV about Corach Rambler, for whom he has been work rider.

We got lucky today - it was a magnificent ride by Derek. I hate dropping horses in, but I felt he came better of a good pace. He does nothing but he’s got a load of speed. It’s not a bad omen for Ahoy Senor tomorrow.

3.30 Champion Hurdle preview

Silence greeted Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore as they galloped up the hill in splendid isolation in this race last year, but the full hullabaloo that a winning Festival favourite deserves will be theirs if they can repeat the feat this afternoon. Sharjah, the runner-up for the last two seasons, has been sidelined by a hip injury this year, but Epatante, the 2020 winner, who was nearly 10 lengths behind Honeysuckle last year, is back for another crack, along with Not So Sleepy, who was fifth. Neither really seems likely to give Honeysuckle much trouble though if she is anywhere close to last year’s form and the opponents she is meeting for the first time this afternoon are probably the ones to focus on if you are trying to find one to beat the favourite. Appreciate It romped away with the Supreme 12 months ago but has not been seen on a racecourse since. Willie Mullins has few peers when it comes to getting them ready for the Festival, though, and Appreciate It has been attracting steady support today at around 4-1. If pressed for an each-way alternative to Honeysuckle I’d probably opt for Teahupoo, who posted a decent time when winning a Grade Three at Gowran Park in February, but he’s on the drift this morning and is out to 10-1 in a few places. The romantics, meanwhile, will home in on Tommy’s Oscar, who 70-something owner/trainer combination of Ian and Ann Hamilton have put together one of the most impressive strike rates in the game over the last two seasons.

Can Rachael Blackmore and Honeysuckle repeat their success from twelve months ago?
Can Rachael Blackmore and Honeysuckle repeat their success from twelve months ago? Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Updated

Derek Fox, the 29-year-old from Sligo, who rode the winner of the Ultima, speaks to ITV after his first ever Cheltenham winner.

I got left at the start. But he has loads of ability. Delighted. I just had to keep trying to find my way. He is a very clever horse. He has been brilliant for me.

Updated

14:50 - Ultima Handicap Chase result

  • 1. Corach Rambler 10-1
  • 2. Gericault Roque 9-1
  • 3. Oscar Elite 22-1
  • 4. Tea Clipper 12-1
  • 5. Our Power 11-1
  • 25 ran

Updated

That was a win for Lucinda Russell and Peter Scudamore, who trained One For Arthur to the 2017 Grand National, on whom Derek Fox was the rider. Corach Rambler won that as a novice.

Corach Rambler wins the Ultima!

There’s a restart to the Ultima as they went off too quick and a standing start is called for by Robbie Supple, the starter. No, he’s sent them back out again to start properly. Then there’s further muddling around, it’s shambolic and anxious. And then all of a sudden they go, and all get over the first. Vintage Clouds, the Trevor Hemmings grey, is prominent, while Frodon goes mid-division. It’s pretty quiet as they get to 12 out and go down a long straight. Vintage Clouds then makes a mess and drops back. Lostintranslation makes a mistake, too. Frodon is not taking it up in his usual style as Gericault Roque and Does He Know are towards the front. Gericault Roque leads and Tea Clipper moves up. There’s plenty of chances as they go three out. Gericault Roque still leads. Gericault Roque Oscar Elite and then Corach Rambler comes through to win, the Scottish horse takes it, having stayed on and picked his way through. Derek Fox, the veteran, with quite a ride.

Corach Rambler leaps to victory in the Ultima.
Corach Rambler leaps to victory in the Ultima. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Reuters
We’re off in the Ultima.
We’re off in the Ultima. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Reuters

Updated

Frodon and Lostintranslation two familiar names in this Ultima field, with Bryony Frost riding the former, and expected to take up the pace as is her and his style on the King George and Ryanair Chase winner.

Alan King, the delighted Edwardstone trainer, spoke to ITV.

I was trying to get my binoculars in focus and I thought had he gone or not! He has a huge amount of ability but it hasn’t happened overnight. He has got far more relaxed now and he is a very good horse.

2.50 Ultima Handicap Chase blog

  • Flouer – 8/1
  • Coach Rambler – 11/1
  • Tea Clipper – 12/1
  • Our Power – 12/1
  • Gericault Roque – 12/1
  • Death Duty – 12/1
  • Fantastikas – 12/1
  • Frodon – 11/1
  • Grumpy Charley – 16/1
  • Does He Know – 16/1
  • Full Back – 18/1
  • Noble Yeats – 18/1
  • Grumpy Charley – 16/1
  • Lostintranslation – 22/1
  • Vintage Clouds – 25/1
  • Latest odds at Oddschecker

2.50 Ultima Handicap Chase preview

The first of the meeting’s handicaps and a race that has resisted the Irish tidal wave in recent seasons with no runner from across the sea successful since Dun Doire in 2006. Just six of the 24 runners hail from Ireland, though those do include Gordon Elliott’s Floueur, who has taken over from the drifting Does He Know as market leader since the declarations on Sunday as the ground has quickened up. This is despite Elliott nominating Death Duty as possibly his best-handicapped runner of the meeting when the weights were published earlier this month, but that one is also prominent in the betting at around 12-1. Corach Rambler and Tea Clipper, for Lucinda Russell and Tom Lacey respectively, both have plenty to recommend them but I’m sticking with Sam Thomas’s Our Power, who was possibly a little unlucky when I tipped him for a valuable race at Kempton in February. He got caught behind horses a couple of times there but it was his first attempt at three miles and he ran on really well in the closing stages, leaving little doubt that he gets the trip. He would be racing off the same mark here were the former King George winner, Frodon, not topping the weights, but he is only 2lb out of the handicap and while it will be magnificent to see Frodon skipping along at the head of affairs, Our Power could be the one to see off Paul Nicholls’s popular chaser at the business end.

Tom Cannon spoke to ITV in the aftermath of a very popular victory.

I had a couple of hairy moments. [Charlie] Deutsch[ie] almost brought me down. Then a dream run round. Delighted really. I have a better relationship with him than any human being put it that way! It is great. All boats rise on a high tide and I am lucky I am one of those boats.

Updated

14:10 - Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase result

  • 1. Edwardstone 5/2 fav
  • 2. Gabynako 25-1
  • 3. Blue Lord 4-1
  • 11 ran.

Should you be interested in the Prestbury Cup, it’s UK 2-0 Ireland. Alan King’s drought as a trainer at Cheltenham is over, and Edwardstone’s win came after he sidestepped the fall that brought down two horses early in the race. That’s also a first ever Cheltenham win for Tom Cannon. Blue Lord, by the way took third behind Gabynako in second.

Updated

Edwardstone wins the Arkle!

The horses are indeed delayed on their way down to start, and a very open race awaits. Edwardstone goes off favourite at 5/2 having drifted before that. A big ride ahead for Tom Cannon and they go quickly in this one. Magic Daze, the mare, takes it up. Edwardstone sits in fourth and has to sidestep Brave Seasca who came down, no such luck for Saint Sam who unseats his rider and with seven out there’s a loose horse. Riviere D’etel is up at the front with Magic Daze with four out, and is jumping well. Haut En Couleurs and Blue Lord are both in the mix. Edwardstone goes to the outside at the third-last. Riviere D’etel and Edwardstone go to the second last, as Edwardstone goes away, what a ride from Alan King’s horse. Gabynako comes in second but the British horse took that one with style.

Edwardstone, ridden by Tom Cannon wins the Arkle.
Edwardstone, ridden by Tom Cannon wins the Arkle. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Reuters
A glorious view of the Gloucestershire countryside as the Arkle gets underway.
A glorious view of the Gloucestershire countryside as the Arkle gets underway. Photograph: Molly Darlington/Reuters

Updated

Sad news about Shallwehaveonemore, the five-year-old.

Shallwehaveonemore, trained by Gary Moore and ridden by his son Josh, sadly took a heavy fall in that first race and in front of the stands. He is receiving treatment and that looks likely to delay the Arkle.

The Constitution Hill jockey, Nico de Boinville, spoke to the BBC.

He’s a very straightforward horse. You just have to sit and point. The first two hurdles were probably the quickest he’s ever gone. I probably got there a bit earlier that I wanted to but he was just carrying me there. It was dead to the world last year and it was a very strange feeling. It’s fantastic to everyone back and to feel the crowd’s emotion.

2.10 Arkle Trophy odds

  • Edwardstone – 11/4
  • Riviere D’etel – 4/1
  • Blue Lord – 11/2
  • Haut En Couleurs – 7/1
  • Saint Sam – 10/1
  • Magic Daze – 12/1
  • Couer Sublime – 14/1
  • Gabynako – 22/1
  • War Lord – 40/1
  • Brave Seasca – 50/1
  • Red Rookie – 150/1
  • Latest odds from Oddschecker

The Arkle is up next, and a very open Arkle according to Greg Wood’s preview.

Another live chance for the home team in a Grade One – the last one for some time, quite possibly – as Edwardstone attempts to shift his dominance of the two-mile novice chasers on this side of the Irish Sea up a gear by beating the best from the other side too. He has been impressively consistent this season, running to almost exactly the same, very high, rating for each of his last three wins, a Grade One and a pair of Grade Twos. He is trading at around 11-4 to give Alan King his first Festival winner since Uxizandre took the Champion Chase in 2015, with Riviere D’Etel and Blue Lord, runner-up and winner respectively in the Irish version of this race at Leopardstown in February, next in the list at 4-1 and 5-1. Blue Lord looked like a slightly fortunate winner last time, as Riviere D’Etel made a bad mistake at the last and still went down by just half a length having rallied all the way up the run-in. As a mare, she gets a very useful 7lb from Blue Lord and Edwardstone too. All three are strong contenders, but I’m taking a chance here on Haut En Couleurs, a stable companion of Blue Lord at the Willie Mullins yard. He lacks the experience of the principals, having only one completed start in the book, but that was in a strong beginners’ chase at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting and he beat Gentlemen De Mee, an impressive winner of his next two starts by an aggregate of 40 lengths, with some ease. He did not get any further than the third behind Blue Lord and Riviere D’Etel last time, but was prominent in the betting beforehand and could be worth chancing each-way at around 8-1.

The verdict so far seems to be that Constitution Hill is something very special indeed. Nico de Boinville was puffing out his cheeks in the paddock as he spoke to Barry Geraghty. “That was awesome,” says Nicky Henderson. “I know the second horse, I’m surprised anyone could do that to Jonbon. He must be an exceptional animal.”

Winning owner Michael Buckley spoke to the BBC: “That was pretty amazing, I have to say. He’s a very, very good horse. To do it like that on this stage - it was a shame that Willie’s horse [Dysart Dynamo] fell but he’d have needed to be good to beat us. I’m shaking like a leaf.”

Updated

1.30 Supreme Novices Hurdle result

  • 1. Constitution Hill 9/4 CF
  • 2. Jonbon 5-1
  • 3. Kilcruit 6-1
  • Nine ran
Nico de Boinville on Constitution Hill celebrates a big win.
Nico de Boinville on Constitution Hill celebrates a big win. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Updated

That a thrilling performance from Constitution Hill, and he left Jonbon in his wake, with Kilcruit chasing down Jonbon but never getting there. The gap to the winner was many, many lengths. Dysart Dynamo is OK after his fall, and he looked a little bit keen in racing. Trained by Nicky Henderson, bred by Barry Geraghty, ridden by Nico de Boinville, the winner was a triumph for the Seven Barrows connections.

Constitution Hill romps home to win the opening race at the 2022 festival.
Constitution Hill romps home to win the opening race at the 2022 festival. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA

Updated

Constitution Hill wins the Supreme Novices Hurdle!

The race goes off with talk of a £250,000 bet being placed on Constitution Hill, and with the famous Cheltenham Roar given full voice; last year, it was done synthetically. The Roar gets two goes, as Dysart Dynamo gets excited and jumps the start for a restart. They’re off. Dysrart Dynamo and Jonbon take up the pace and one hell of a lick. Another roar as they take off past the stands. Constitution Hill sits in third with four to go, the rest of the field sitting four lengths or so back with Kilcruit struggling. It looks like these three will contest it with three to go. Dysart Dynamo goes down with three out. It’s two Henderson horses with Constitution Hill taking it up and taking a lead almost immediately. He clears it to huge roars, what a win for Henderson and Nico de Boinville.

A packed Grandstand sees Constitution Hill streak away to win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
A packed Grandstand sees Constitution Hill streak away to win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. Photograph: Javier García/REX/Shutterstock
And we’re off!
And we’re off! Photograph: Nigel French/PA

Updated

The horses are being led through the paddock as the first race approaches. It’s a very open field for the Supreme, which often has an overriding favourite and in recent years, usually from the Mullins stable. This time, Dysart Dynamo is second-fav of three Mullins horses in the race, and Nicky Henderson saddles the favourite in Constitution Hill, which currently trades at 2/1. The worries about Jonbon in pre-race are unfounded as he goes down pretty calmly.

Updated

1:30pm – Supreme Novices Hurdle Odds

  • Dysart Dynamo – 9/4
  • Constitution Hill – 13/5
  • Jonbon – 5/1
  • Mighty Potter – 9/1
  • Kilcruit – 9/1
  • Bring On The Night – 28/1
  • Shallwehaveonemore – 50/1
  • Silent Revolution – 125/1
  • JPR One - 150/1
  • Latest odds from Oddschecker

Updated

2.10 Arkle Trophy preview

Another live chance for the home team in a Grade One – the last one for some time, quite possibly – as Edwardstone attempts to shift his dominance of the two-mile novice chasers on this side of the Irish Sea up a gear by beating the best from the other side too. He has been impressively consistent this season, running to almost exactly the same, very high, rating for each of his last three wins, a Grade One and a pair of Grade Twos. He is trading at around 11-4 to give Alan King his first Festival winner since Uxizandre took the Champion Chase in 2015, with Riviere D’Etel and Blue Lord, runner-up and winner respectively in the Irish version of this race at Leopardstown in February, next in the list at 4-1 and 5-1. Blue Lord looked like a slightly fortunate winner last time, as Riviere D’Etel made a bad mistake at the last and still went down by just half a length having rallied all the way up the run-in. As a mare, she gets a very useful 7lb from Blue Lord and Edwardstone too. All three are strong contenders, but I’m taking a chance here on Haut En Couleurs, a stable companion of Blue Lord at the Willie Mullins yard. He lacks the experience of the principals, having only one completed start in the book, but that was in a strong beginners’ chase at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting and he beat Gentlemen De Mee, an impressive winner of his next two starts by an aggregate of 40 lengths, with some ease. He did not get any further than the third behind Blue Lord and Riviere D’Etel last time, but was prominent in the betting beforehand and could be worth chancing each-way at around 8-1.

The day’s big race sees Rachael Blackmore and Honeysuckle attempt to repeat the majesty of last year.

Last year’s Festival was something of a triumph considering there were no spectators there, and that was mostly down to the heroics of Rachael Blackmore and a demonstration of the high quality racing in National Hunt. This year will be very different, and the pictures of Guinness being supped and bacon sandwiches inhaled are already coming in. It’s been a very long, and strange wait to return to normal. Those of us there two years ago felt like we were a) in the eye of the coronavirus storm, b) trying our best to ignore the coronavirus storm and c) living the last days of Pompeii. Cheltenham 2020 became symbolic of the UK’s slow reaction to the gathering storm, and having been there had a certain stigma attached to it, something akin to a loss of innocence. Last year undid some of the damage and a safe passage through this year’s four days might do the same. Full stadiums and concert venues are part of life again, and so Cheltenham takes its turn.

Drink is being taken.
Drink is being taken. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Reuters

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Ireland are expected to dominate, even if there are a couple of heavy British fancies in the Supreme Novices Hurdle.

The full strength of the green tide should be apparent by the middle of Wednesday afternoon. Two of the three Grade One favourites from British yards – Constitution Hill in the Supreme Novice Hurdle and Edwardstone in the Arkle – run in the first two races while the mighty, unbeaten Shishkin goes up against Energumene in the Queen Mother Champion Chase the following day, in what promises to be the highlight of the week.

The Supreme will have to go some way to match the quality the 2016 renewal featured.

1.30 Supreme Novice Hurdle Preview

A small(ish) but select field for the opening race of the meeting will be sent on their way by the traditional roar from the heaving grandstands. About a dozen of us tried our best to match it last year, by the way, but it just wasn’t the same. Anyway, the 2022 renewal has all the strands you would hope for in the opening race, including an early chance for the Brits to get a winner on the board, as Constitution Hill, from the Nicky Henderson yard, is one of no more than three home-trained horses that could start favourite for a Grade One race this week. It is “could” rather than will, as Dysart Dynamo has replaced him as the narrow favourite this morning, though it is still very tight – 9-4 versus 5-2 – and either or both could head the market at 1.30pm. Jonbon, a stable companion of Constitution Hill, is also in with a big shout – all three horses are unbeaten so far – while Mighty Potter (Gordon Elliott) and Mullins’s second-string Kilcruit, runner-up when odds-on for the Bumper here last year, are also priced up at single-figure odds. For me, it came down to a straight choice between Constitution Hill and Dysart Dynamo, and the latter made slightly more appeal as a) the Irish Grade Two form could be on a slightly higher level than Constitution Hill’s Grade One win on heavy ground in January, and b) the time of Dysart Dynamo’s wide-margin success last time lends a little weight to that theory. It’s a fascinating contest though, and victory for any of the top five in the market could not be classed as a surprise.

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Am led to believe this refers to the declarations for the Grade 1 Turners Novices’ Chase on Thursday, which features just four runners: Bob Olinger, Busselton, El Barra, Galopin Des Champs. That’s a good clash between two talking horses in the first and last of that list is keenly awaited but such a slim field is the latest argument against the five-day festival that has been debated ad infinitum.

As well as Greg, Guardian Sport have sent another reporter...

Greg Wood spoke to Rachael Blackmore, who made history last year and rides Honeysuckle, the overriding though now drifting favourite for today’s Champion Hurdle.

Honeysuckle, of course, is the star turn on Tuesday, as she attempts to extend her unbeaten career to 15 races and retain her champion’s status. At around 4-6, she is one for the heavy-hitters, but £5 and £10 punters – not to mention Lady Gaga fans – will be doubling up with Telmesomethinggirl, last year’s Mares’ Novice Hurdle winner, when she lines up as likely favourite for the Mares’ Hurdle 40 minutes later. At current odds, the double would pay a much more rewarding 7-1.

Donald McRae spoke to Nico de Boinville, who will be riding for Nicky Henderson for the most part, and who will be riding Constitution Hill in the Supreme Novices Hurdle. And Shishkin in the Champion Chase, set to be the biggest race of this year’s Cheltenham.

De Boinville used to be the work rider for Sprinter Sacre before he graduated to being his race jockey and they won the Champion Chase together in 2016. How do Sprinter and Shishkin compare? “Sprinter was a flamboyant showboater. He was your Naseem Hamed whereas Shiskhin is not as flash. But he’s got an incredible talent.

As Greg mentioned, it’s been a long two years since punters were allowed onsite at Prestbury Park during the Festival. Steven Morris spoke to the people in the town.

Lindsey Holland, who runs the Cleeve Hill hotel near the course, said her regulars were bitterly disappointed that they couldn’t come last year. “It’s lovely to be welcoming back old friends again. This is the first week for months the hospitality industry has been able to go at it full throttle,” she said. Despite last year’s hiatus, Holland said most Cheltenham businesses had survived. Only one of a 45-strong collective of independent hospitality businesses – a small restaurant – has shut down. “People have proved to be very resilient,” said Holland.

Updated

Good morning from Cheltenham

The gates were flung open at 10.30am and one lucky individual became the first paying punter to set foot on the hallowed tarmac leading to the bar since the last one left in 2020.

Around 69,000 more are expected to follow him or her through the door today, and what an afternoon awaits them in the natural amphitheatre of Cheltenham racecourse, a venue which gathers up the noise and sends it swirling around and inside your head like nowhere else.

The official attendance on each of the four days 12 months ago was around 41, and without wishing to sound in any way ungrateful, watching it from your sofa was very much the way to go. The Festival is not the Festival without the atmosphere, and it felt as though historic achievements – like Rachael Blackmore lifting the prize for the meeting’s top jockey for the first time – effectively went unacknowledged. The race, you realised, is only a part of the experience. The reception afterwards is what makes it complete.

I can still remember the bedlam as Like-A-Butterfly and Charlie Swan came up the hill in the Supreme Novice Hurdle 20 years ago almost to the day, in the first Festival race after the 2001 meeting was lost to foot-and-mouth. The pent-up energy and frustration of 24 months away exploded from the stands, and we can expect something similar shortly after 1.30 today, not least if Dysart Dynamo and Constitution Hill, the big hopes for Ireland and Britain respectively, jump the last together.

Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore will also get the huge ovation they deserved 12 months ago if they can repeat their success in the Champion Hurdle. The British runners’ attempt to keep at least within shouting distance of their Irish counterparts will be another theme of the day, as Alan King’s Edwardstone goes to post as favourite for the Arkle Trophy (2.10) against a host of Irish challengers, while the two handicaps on the card, at 2.50 and 4.50, both have full fields and offer the kind of challenge that few punters can resist.

The first race – and the traditional roar to send them on their way - is at 1.30, picks for all seven races are here and all the news, results and gossip will be here on the live blog as soon as it drops. Happy Festival!

Updated

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