Day three report
I’ll leave you with Greg Wood’s report on a day packed with surprise winners, absent favourites, tetchy trainers and topped off with an awkward handshake. Join us again tomorrow. Bye!
It’s never too early to start prepping for Gold Cup day. I’ll be back to guide you through another day of drama.
Cheltenham 5.20 result
1 Ask Brewster (Mr S Cotter) 22-1
2 Road To Home (Mr P W Mullins) 9-1
3 Monbeg Genius (Mr J L Scallan) 18-1
4 Kim Roque (Mr J L Gleeson) 9-2
Also: 4-1 Fav Jeriko Du Reponet
23 ran. Non Runner: 12
Ask Brewster wins the Kim Muir
Ask Brewster has led from the front, but Road to Home offers a late challenge on the outside. Ask Brewster holds on to win by a nose!
Greg Wood informs me that: “The winner is trained by Cath Williams, who took over the licence at her Welsh stable after Evan Williams, her husband, was found guilty of assaulting a dog walker on their land with a hockey stick.”
Updated
Kim Muir Challenge Cup: Ask Brewster still leading the way but Daily Present is gaining ground and Sandor Clegane is getting involved. Still up for grabs with two to go …
Kim Muir Challenge Cup: Prends Garde A Toi is in a good spot on the outside, but it’s a tightly packed group. Hung Jury is one runner struggling to keep pace.
They’re off in the Kim Muir! Herakles Westwood and Ask Brewster among the early pace setters …
Fact to File owner JP McManus has backed up Willie Mullins’ earlier comments about the Cheltenham ground.
“I have to say I’m very strong on it,” said McManus. “I walked the course every day. I just always felt it needed more water. That’s how I felt. Particularly at the top of the course, it’s very beaten up from the previous runs and you’ve a crossover there.”
“You’re only as strong as the weakest link in the course and it doesn’t matter if 80% or 90% is right. If 10% of it isn’t right, that’s good enough for me. I was very happy when Willie agreed to take [Fact to File] out. It was for discussion because we were worried all week about it.
“Going forward they’ll have to pay more attention to parts of the track. You’re talking about winter horses in the first half of March, you’re not talking about racing in October, November or whatever. Everybody has a different view, but for me I think they could have done more.”
Updated
5.20 Cheltenham 17:20 Kim Muir Challenge Cup odds
Jeriko Du Reponet – 4/1
Waterford Whispers – 4/1
Kim Roque – 5/1
Herakles Westwood – 9/1
Gericault Roque – 12/1
Road To Home – 12/1
Prends Garde A Toi – 12/1
Sandor Clegane – 14/1
Daily Present – 18/1
Monbeg Genius – 18/1
Bar 18/1
Market Movers
Kim Roque (7/1 into 5/1)
Sandor Clegane (18/1 into 12/1)
Odds via Oddschecker. Market Movers from Midnite.
Updated
“In professional sport, you’re never satisfied,” says Harry Skelton, having followed a day-one win on Madara with some frustrating results. His older brother, trainer Dan, is impressed with how Harry delivered victory on the favourite. “Some people when you put them in the limelight, they crack under the heat, but he didn’t.”
Friday is Gold Cup day, and Harry Redknapp is seeking jump racing’s ultimate prize after 35 years as an owner.
Cheltenham 4.40 Result
1 Supremely West (Harry Skelton) 10-3 Fav
2 Lavida Adiva (B S Hughes) 22-1
3 Ikarak (S Bowen) 40-1
4 Letos (Danny Mullins) 22-1
24 ran
Supremely West wins the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle
Harry Skelton leads the favourite away for a comfortable victory, three lengths clear of Lavida Adiva. Ikarak takes third and there’s three or four horses in contention for fourth, with Letos claiming it by a nose.
Updated
Pertemps Handicap Hurdle: Supremely West takes the lead with Lavida Adiva emerging from a bunch of five or six down the home straight …
Pertemps Handicap Hurdle: C’Est Different leads from Red Dirt Road, with Melbourne Shamrock still in the mix and Supremely West travelling well. Ace of Spades is pushed on, with Lavida Adiva well placed too …
Pertemps Handicap Hurdle: Melbourne Shamrock and Staffordshire Knot are well placed on the outside, with Letos on the inside. C’Est Different edges into the lead, with Minella Emperor struggling a touch.
Pertemps Handicap Hurdle: Another false start but they get away at the second time of asking. Ace of Spades, Kikijo and Red Dirt Road at the front of the pack early on.
It’s time for the penultimate race of the day: the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle. Twenty-four runners, a pinsticker’s paradise, but Supremely West is a well-backed favourite.
4.40 Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle
Supremely West – 10/3
Bold Endeavour – 6/1
Cest Different – 7/1
Absolutely Doyen – 8/1
Electric Mason – 9/1
Kikijo – 14/1
Ace Of Spades – 16/1
Yeah Man – 20/1
Staffordshire Knot – 20/1
Champagne Chic – 20/1
Bar 20/1
Market Movers
Kikjijo (16/1 into 12/1)
Absolutely Doyen (14/1 into 13/2)
Odds via Oddschecker, Market Movers from Midnite.
Updated
4.00 Cheltenham result
1 Heart Wood (Darragh O’Keeffe) 9-2
2 Jonbon (N de Boinville) 2-1 Fav
3 Banbridge (S Bowen) 3-1
7 ran. Non Runners: 2,3
Also: 18-1 JPR One 4th
Jockey Darragh O’Keeffe: “He jumped well, got a great rhythm … he was second last year, so I thought he could do it again this time. Sure look, it’s unreal, I wanted to get [trainer Henry De Bromhead] a winner this year. These [Robcour] colours have always been good to me.”
Heart Wood wins the Ryanair Chase!
JPR One can’t maintain his pace and Heart Wood takes charge, bolting clear to lead by a distance, and once safely over the last, there’s no stopping him. Jonbon comes home second, Banbridge in third.
Updated
Ryanair Chase: Heart Wood moves alongside JPR One as they head up the hill, with Jonbon trying to stay with them. Impaire Et Passe has been pulled up.
Ryanair Chase: Impaire Et Passe is at the back of that second group, behind Matata and Banbridge. JPR One still leads from Jonbon, who clips a fence but stays in the hunt …
Ryanair Chase: Jonbon joins JPR One at the front of the pack, with Master Chewy struggling at the back. Heart Wood leads the group in midfield with nine to jump.
Ryanair Chase: The field of seven runners get away first time, with JPR One and Heart Wood the early pace-setters. Still a full 15 fences to go …
Here we go with the second of today’s feature races, the Ryanair Chase. Can Nico De Boinville lead the new favourite, Jonbon, home? Will Sean Bowen earn a first festival victory on Banbridge? We’re about to find out.
4.00 Ryanair Chase
Jonbon – 2/1
Impaire Et Passe – 5/2
Banbridge – 3/1
Heart Wood – 6/1
Matata – 25/1
Jpr One – 25/1
Master Chewy – 60/1
NR – Croke Park, Fact To File
Market Movers:
Jonbon (4/1 into 15/8)
Impaire Et Passe (6/1 into 5/2)
Odds via Oddschecker, Market Movers by Midnite
Some strong words from Willie Mullins on the ground, after his decision to withdraw Fact to File from the Ryanair Chase.
“Looking at the ground, I thought it looked too good for Bambino Fever, and so it proved. We waited for rain that hasn’t come, so we’ve made a decision. These horses are too hard to find, it’s jump racing, we’d like to have soft in the ground.”
“Good ground is not good enough for the individual we’re trying to race, at the best festival,” Mullins adds. “If the ground’s going to be like this, we’re not going to bring them. We were promised watering, and I’m not sure that’s been done, so I’m a little bit annoyed about that.”
All of this delivered in a measured, articulate manner by a man who appears to be absolutely fuming on the inside.
Updated
Cheltenham 3.20 result
1 Home By The Lee (J J Slevin) 33-1
2 Ballyburn (Paul Townend) 11-2
3 Bob Olinger (Darragh O’Keeffe) 13-2
10 ran. Non Runner: 4
Also: 9-4 Fav Teahupoo, 4-1 Kabral Du Mathan 4th
Home by the Lee wins the Stayers’ Hurdle!
Well, 33-1 shot Home by the Lee doesn’t get reeled in by the favourites, holding on and even finding a bit extra down the home straight. Victory on his fifth attempt in this race.
Updated
Stayers’ Hurdle: The field fans out approaching the last, with Home by the Lee still leading from Kabral Du Mathan, and Ballyburn switching to the inside …
Stayers’ Hurdle: As the name suggests, this is a race where stamina is required, so the presence of the three bookies’ outsiders at the front – Doddiethegreat joining the fray – probably won’t last. Ma Shantou and Honesty Policy are the best placed behind.
Stayers’ Hurdle: All 10 runners are closely grouped together, with outsider Hewick leading from Home By The Lee and Ma Shantou. Ballyburn currently bringing up the rear with six to jump.
Stayers’ Hurdle: Off they go at the first time of asking – the jockeys were in formation, almost like they’re taking matters into their own hands.
4.00 Ryanair Chase Preview
With the favourite, Fact To File, now a late non-runner, the ever-popular Jonbon may well now set off as favourite for the feature in the same green-and-gold colours of JP McManus. Jonbon is not just one of the best chasers in training but also one of the most consistent – everywhere but Cheltenham, that is, as he has won just two of his six starts here. Willie Mullins has already had a couple of second-string winners this week and Impaire Et Passe is around 5-1 to be another, while Banbridge, touched off by one of tomorrow’s big Gold Cup fancies, The Jukebox Man, in the King George last time, is the only other runner at a single-figure price. He took the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle over two-and-a-half miles back in 2022 and his chance should not be lightly dismissed.
Timeform Top-Rated: Jonbon.
Selection: Banbridge.
ITV have had a chat with Towie legend Gemma Collins, who reveals she won £5,000 betting on Meetmebythesea. “I just had a feeling … it was intuition,” adds Collins, who also encourages more women to attend Cheltenham. “It’s not just for the men – ladies, the money to be won is unbelievable.” You’ve got to love the GC, and I’m not being sarcastic.
Fact to File a non-runner in Ryanair Chase
As was widely expected, Fact to File has been confirmed as a non-runner in the Ryanair Chase, with Willie Mullins unwilling to send out the favourite on drying ground.
Updated
3:20 Market Movers
Teahupoo (3/1 into 85/40)
Impose Toi (9/1 into 13/2)
Market Movers from Midnite
3.20 Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle
Teahupoo – 3/1
Kabral Du Mathan – 4/1
Ma Shantou – 5/1
Ballyburn – 6/1
Impose Toi – 7/1
Bob Olinger – 8/1
Honesty Policy – 10/1
Home By The Lee – 40/1
Hewick – 50/1
NR - Gwennie May Boy
Odds via Oddschecker.
“It’s been a frustrating couple of days, but with a mare like this, you’ve got a real shot of getting on the board,” says Kennedy. “It was a long, long way up the straight, but she’s so honest, she’s got me out of a hole here.”
Ten out of 11 race wins for Wodhooh now, her only defeat coming at the hands of Lossiemouth at last year’s Aintree Hurdle.
Updated
Cheltenham 2.40 result
1 Wodhooh (Jack Kennedy) 5-6 Fav
2 Jade De Grugy (Paul Townend) 2-1
3 Feet Of A Dancer (Sean O’Keeffe) 8-1
7 ran. Also: 12-1 Take No Chances 4th
Updated
Wodhooh wins the Mares’ Hurdle! Jade De Grugy offers a late surge but Wodhooh has enough in the tank to win by a length. Jack Kennedy delivers Gordon Elliott’s first winner of the week!
Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle: Feet of a Dancer and Jade De Grugy at the back, and need to keep up the pace. They do so, with all six in contention approaching the final hurdle – but Wodhooh is making her move …
Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle: Wodhooh moves up to join the leading pair, and Sunset Marquesa goes down at the fifth last. Take No Chances is, appropriately enough, waiting in the middle of the pack.
Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle: Dream On Baby the early leader, although outsider Jetara takes up the running at a decent pace. Six hurdles left to jump …
Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle: Just seven runners in this one, bunched together against the wind and rain behind the starting line. Spring in south west England.
Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle: This race has moved from Tuesday on the old course to a new slot on Thursday. Last year it was won by Lossiemouth, who claimed the Champion Hurdle in style this year.
'All is forgiven': Queally and De Boinville settle row
On that subject, the two jockeys have just appeared together on ITV, and are shaking hands. “All sorted, just a heat of the moment battle,” says Queally. “All is forgiven, and I wish Nico the best for the future.”
“I appreciate Declan and wish him the best, and big thanks to Davy Russell for sorting this out,” adds De Boinville. There’s another handshake, and that’s that – something of an uneasy truce, but a truce nonetheless.
Updated
Nico de Boinville has denied the allegations of racial abuse made by fellow jockey Declan Queally after the Turners Novices’ Hurdle on Wednesday.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, De Boinville said: “The stewards are gathering all the evidence they can from all the video footage. From my point of view, I deny all the allegations against me. I can categorically say there wasn’t any racial slurs or anything like that. Let’s let it play out.”
2.40 Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle
Wodhooh – 10/11
Jade De Grugy – 9/4
Feet Of A Dancer – 8/1
Take No Chances – 14/1
Dream On Baby – 33/1
Jetara – 40/1
Sunset Marquesa – 100/1
Market Mover: Jade De Grugy (4/1 into 2/1)
Odds supplied by Oddschecker
Market Mover from Midnite
Cheltenham 2.00 result
1 Meetmebythesea (Ben Jones) 9-1
2 Gold Dancer (Sean Cleary-Farrell) 25-1
3 Regent’s Stroll (H Cobden) 5-1 Jt Fav
4 King Alexander (Danny Mullins) 20-1
18 ran. Non Runners: 2,15
Also: 5-1 Jt Fav Slade Steel
Ben Jones: “It’s just a dream come true … I grew up watching great jockeys in these silks. Riding a winner for JP at the festival, it doesn’t get much better.” Victory for Jones and trainer Ben Pauling, who team up with The Jukebox Man in the Gold Cup tomorrow.
Updated
Meetmebythesea wins the Jack Richards Handicap Chase! It’s a two-horse race once they clear the last, and Ben Jones leads Meetmebythesea comfortably home in the JP McManus colours, defying recent drift in the markets. Gold Dancer is second, Regents’ Stroll third.
Updated
Jack Richards Handicap Chase: Up the hill with two to go, and Gold Dancer and Meetmebythesea start to pull clear, with Regents’ Stroll in third …
Jack Richards Handicap Chase: Moon Rocket losing touch, while Regent’s Stroll looks well placed on the outside. Wingmen and Jordan’s Cross just behind the leaders, after recovering from a poor start.
Updated
Jack Richards Handicap Chase: An early mistake from Ol Man Dingle at the back of the field, while Slade Steel joins the leaders on the inside track. A steady pace, and the field still tightly bunched.
Jack Richards Handicap Chase: They get away at the second time of asking after an awkward first attempt. Gold Dancer and Meetmebythesea make the early running.
Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase: Jordans Cross looks set to go off as favourite, but Slade Steel is closing in the betting. What are the odds on a clean start?
5.20 FULKE WALWYN KIM MUIR CHALLENGE CUP HANDICAP CHASE
AMATEUR RIDERS, 3M 2F 70YD
As if the challenge of the Pertemps Final were not enough, the “getting-out” race on Thursday pits 23 amateur riders and their closely-handicapped mounts against the full Gold Cup course of three-and-a-quarter miles. Some amateurs, of course, are more equal than others, and the outstanding Derek O’Connor, who has two wins in the last seven runnings of this race, has obvious chances of another aboard Nicky Henderson’s Jeriko Du Reponet, while there has also been money this morning for another JP McManus-owned runner, Waterford Whispers, the mount of Alan O’Sullivan. Kim Roque, from the Joseph O’Brien stable, is another big runner for the Irish, but the home team have some promising chances too, including Herakles Westwood, from the Warren Greatrex stable that took the 2018 renewal with Missed Approach.
Selection: Herakles Westwood
Updated
Time for the Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase. Which jockey will find a winner, and potentially find love? Romance is in the air.
ITV have a chat with Sue Bellamy, mother of winning jockey Tom – and she’s keen to find her son a girlfriend. “Anybody out there ... He’s a nice lad!” she says. Hardly a ringing endorsement, but nice all the same.
Updated
2.00 Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase
Jordans Cross – 4/1
Regents Stroll – 5/1
Slade Steel – 6/1
Stencil – 8/1
Meetmebythesea – 8/1
The Bluesman – 10/1
Kiss Will – 10/1
Wingmen – 10/1
Kdeux Saint Fray – 18/1
Western Knight – 25/1
Bar 25/1
NR – Sixmilebridge, Old Cowboy
Market Movers
Jordan’s Cross (6/1 into 4/1)
Stencil (11/1 into 7/1)
Wingmen (12/1 into 17/2)
Odds via Oddschecker, Market movers via Midnite.
White Noise wins the opener at 40-1
1.20 Cheltenham result
1 White Noise (Thomas Bellamy) 40-1
2 Oldschool Outlaw (Mark Walsh) 15-2
3 Place De La Nation (Danny Gilligan) 28-1
22 ran. Also: Evens Fav Bambino Fever, 28-1 Charme De Faust 4th
Updated
“I can’t believe I won!” is Bellamy’s succinct verdict. Full result coming up …
4.40 PERTEMPS NETWORK FINAL HANDICAP HURDLE, 2M 7F 213YD preview
After the three shorties in the first five races on the card, it’s back to the big-field handicaps for the final two events and the Pertemps Final is as daunting as always. Supremely West looks like setting off favourite for the Dan and Harry Skelton team, which boasts a superb record in handicap hurdles at this meeting but not, as yet, a winner in this one, while Bold Endeavour is also popular with the punters, not least as Nicky Henderson has three on the board already this week including the big handicap hurdle on yesterday’s card. C’Est Different bids to give Sam Thomas, Denman’s jockey for his famous Gold Cup triumph in 2008, a first winner at the meeting as a trainer, while the performance of Ma Shantou in the Stayers’ will be an interesting guide to the chance of Electric Mason, who was less than three lengths behind him in second in the qualifier for this race at the track’s October meeting.
Selection: Electric Mason.
Updated
White Noise emerges over the last and holds on, Tom Bellamy keeping him clear of Place de la Nation and Oldschool Outlaw! No sign of Bambino Fever in the final running.
Updated
Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle: At the second last, Full of Life leads from Kingston Queen and Oldschool Outlaw, with Paul Townend asking Bambino Fever for more effort and White Noise pushing forward …
Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle: It takes a while, but we do eventually get under way with a starting tape, and they’re off around a very drizzly New Course. The favourite, Bambino Fever, is in midfield with Full of Life leading the way …
Here we go, with the day’s opening race, the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. And it’s a false start! Boos ring out from the distant grandstand.
1.20 Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle
Bambino Fever – 1/1
Oldschool Outlaw – 6/1
Carrigmoornaspruce – 8/1
La Conquiere – 12/1
Echoing Silence – 14/1
Kingston Queen – 16/1
Charme De Faust – 18/1
Future Prospect – 22/1
Place De La Nation – 28/1
Manganese – 28/1
Bar 28/1
Market Movers
Bambino Fever (11/10 into 5/6)
Carrigmoornaspruce (10/1 into 8/1)
Manganese (50/1 into 25/1)
Race odds provided by Oddschecker
Market movers provided by Midnite
“I’m sad about the jockey row, but furious about the accepted chaos of starts,” writes Paul Moody. “It’s not acceptable.” Hopefully things will be different on the New Course today, but we’ll have to wait and see.
The lads from ITV are out on the New Course and discussing the start issues, plus the Queally-De Boinville spat yesterday.
“It should have been left at the start, these things happen more times than you know but you just get on with it,” says Ruby Walsh. AP McCoy: “No-one knows the full story, everyone has the right to be there, if Declan had the inside position then Nico shouldn’t be giving out to him. But in defence of Nico, Declan Queally did get banned.”
Walsh is unhappy that jockeys are being suspended while the BHA hasn’t taken swift action over some of the farcical starts, like Wednesday’s BetMGM Cup. “The starting mechanism hasn’t worked for 20 years,” he adds.
Updated
4.00 RYANAIR CHASE, GRADE ONE, 2M 4F 127YD preview
This is the potential third leg of the short-priced treble that the bookies’ reps are talking up as a potential nightmare result. Fact To File was expected to be a warm favourite to follow up his imperious success in this race last season, but has drifted in the market amid concerns over drying ground. His main opposition today comes from Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon, in the same green-and-gold colours of JP McManus. Jonbon is not just one of the best chasers in training but also one of the most consistent – everywhere but Cheltenham, that is, as he has won just two of his six starts here. Willie Mullins has already had a couple of second-string winners this week and Impaire Et Passe is around 5-1 to be another, while Banbridge, touched off by one of tomorrow’s big Gold Cup fancies, The Jukebox Man, in the King George last time, is the only other runner at a single-figure price.
Key form:
G1 Irish Gold Cup, Leopardstown, 2 Feb 26, 3m 100yd (Fact To File)
G1 Ryanair Chase, Cheltenham, 13 Mar 25, 2m 4f 127yd (Fact To File)
G1 King George VI Chase, Kempton, 26 Dec 25, 3m (Banbridge)
G1 Ascot Chase, Ascot, 14 Feb 26, 2m 5f 13yd (Jonbon)
Updated
Get ready for Thursday’s action with Greg’s day three tips …
Much like in his days as a football manager, where he could talk endlessly through a car window about transfer prospects, Harry Redknapp loves to chat about racing. It’s fair to say he’s excited about The Jukebox Man running in the Gold Cup on Friday.
“I’m trying not to get carried away. I never dreamed I would have a runner in the Gold Cup, so to have one with a chance is a dream. It would be great to have a winner. Let’s face it, it’s the Champions League, the World Cup of championship racing.
“People ask me about The Jukebox Man more than football! If I see the boys who used to play for me, they all talk about it. Whenever I’ve bashed into any of the lads who I’ve managed or whatever, they always ask about it.”
“It would be fantastic and I would sing all the way home in the car. I’m so lucky to own such a good horse. We go there with a chance which is all you can ask for. I grew up with racing, I remember listening to the Grand National and my mum winning the sweep in the cake factory where she worked by picking Foinavon.
“You could say a part of my sporting blood is in jumping and I feel incredibly lucky to have a horse of this stature going to the races with such a real chance.”
3.20 STAYERS’ HURDLE, GRADE ONE, 2M 7F 213YD preview
A competitive renewal of the Stayers’ with plenty for the punters to weigh up as the old guard – including Teahupoo, the 2024 winner, and Bob Olinger, who beat him into second 12 months ago – take on a promising contingent of improving younger rivals. Teahupoo is the top-rated runner, despite his defeat last season, having won Grade One events on all three of his subsequent starts. He is only 6lb or so in front of the likes of Ma Shantou, Kabral Du Mathan and Honesty Policy, however, and all three have shown form to date that gives them every chance of making the minimal further progress required. The trip is a slight question mark for Kabral Du Mathan, however, while Ma Shantou’s course-and-distance form in the Cleeve Hurdle in January is a big positive, and personally I’ll be cheering on Emma Lavelle’s runner as he bids to emulate the stable’s memorable success with Paisley Park in 2019.
Key form:
G1 Stayers’ Hurdle, Cheltenham, 14 Mar 24 (Teahupoo)
G1 Stayers’ Hurdle, Cheltenham, 13 Mar 25 (Bob Olinger, Teahupoo)
G2 Relkeel Hurdle, Cheltenham, 1 Jan 26 (Kabral Du Mathan)
G2 Cleeve Hurdle, Cheltenham, 24 Jan 26 (Ma Shantou)
G1 Mersey Novice Hurdle, Aintree, 5 Apr 25 (Honesty Policy)
G1 Long Walk Hurdle, Ascot, 20 Dec 25 (Impose Toi, Honesty Policy)
G1 Christmas Hurdle, Leopardstown, 28 Dec 25 (Teahupoo, Bob Olinger, Ballyburn, Home By The Lee)
Timeform Top-Rated: Teahupoo.
Selection: Ma Shantou
Updated
“The enquiry into yesterday’s start debacle won’t be concluded until the festival is over?” asks Michael Murphy. “Horse racing is in enough trouble as it is without stringing this spat out over the full week.” That and the review into starts in general, which are causing a lot of frustration. What’s that phrase about the stable door?
And with that, I’ll hand over the reins to Niall McVeigh. Have a great afternoon and hope you back a winner or two …
BHA announces review into Cheltenham starts
One of the biggest issues for a number of years now at the Cheltenham festival has been the starts of races and this week has been the same so far with a number of unsatisfactory starts so far. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has now announced that a full review will take place into the starts of races at the Cheltenham festival following its conclusion.
The BHA’s statement reads: “Following several false starts in 2025, the BHA worked with the PJA and the Jockey Club to discuss the issues that were contributing to the starts. Measured alterations were subsequently made to some starting locations. At the same time, work was undertaken with jockeys to ensure that the rules and procedures were understood by all participants ahead of the start of the 2026 Festival.
“The review will consider factors such as the configuration of the course, the perspectives of riders from differing jurisdiction and licence types, the process of starting the race including the preliminaries and starting process, technology, the penalties and deterrents for rule breaches and the other, varied contributing factors which are unique to the Cheltenham Festival.”
Brant Dunshea, chief executive of the BHA, said: “It has been a tremendous two days of racing so far at the Festival, but we share the frustrations of jockeys, trainers and punters regarding the starts.”
Updated
2.40pm DAVID NICHOLSON MARES’ HURDLE preview
The first of the card’s three Grade One events and, depending on the outcome of the opening race, the potential middle leg of a short-priced treble on the day as Wodhooh, the Martin Pipe winner 12 months ago, attempts to take advantage of Lossiemouth’s diversion to the Champion Hurdle after winning this race in both 2024 and 2025. She could well set off at odds-on, and while Majborough, the first odds-on shot of the meeting, proved bitterly disappointing on Wednesday, Gordon Elliott’s mare does not have the history of occasional jumping blunders that Majborough brought to the party. Willie Mullins’s Jade De Grugy, the runner-up behind Lossiemouth 12 months ago, is her principal rival according to the betting, and reverts to the smaller obstacles for the first time this season having taken a Grade Two over fences at Thurles in January.
Key form:
G3 Kerrymount Mares’ Hurdle, Leopardstown, 29 Dec 25, 2m 4f 103yd (Wodhooh)
https://youtu.be/hrpGU14El4o?si=yAyk1ptHK6hC2d4N
G2 Mares’ Novice Chase, Thurles, 18 Jan 26, 2m 4f 198yd (Jade De Grugy)
https://youtu.be/YiufIddPHPw?si=ZQspAs4Xh2r89FZg
G1 Mares’ Hurdle, Cheltenham, 11 Mar 25, 2m 3f 200yd (Jade De Grugy)
https://youtu.be/iY0-sYhjwpA?si=z4RCkjLElE5ZxpG1
Timeform Top-Rated: Wodhooh.
Selection: WODHOOH
2pm JACK RICHARDS NOVICE HANDICAP CHASE preview
Just the 18 runners for the handicap that replaced the Grade One Turners Novice Chase in the festival schedule, which almost makes you hanker for the days when there were just half a dozen or so and an odds-on favourite. Almost. All bar two or three are in with some kind of a chance (and let’s not forget that we had a 66-1 winner in a handicap chase here yesterday), but Jordans Cross has emerged as the likely favourite this morning for the Anthony Honeyball stable. The five-year-old landed a similar contest at the Trials meeting here in January which has an exceptional record for highlighting future festival winners, and while he is up 6lb having won that race by just a nose, the runner-up was Quebecois, who went very close in the Ultima here on the opening day. Regents Stroll, representing the same connections as last year’s winner of this race, Caldwell Potter, is also attracting plenty of support, while the pick of the Irish-trained contingent could well be Henry de Bromhead’s Slade Steel, who many punters will remember as the winner of the Supreme Novice Hurdle two years ago. He has yet to add to that win in six subsequent starts but has been keeping excellent company and drops into handicap company for the first time here.
Selection: JORDANS CROSS
If you think it’s breezy at Cheltenham spare a thought for those horses and staff who made the long tip to the north east as Hexham is off owing to high winds.
‼️RACING ABANDONED‼️
— Hexham Racecourse (@HexhamRaces) March 12, 2026
Unfortunately due to very high winds we have had to abandon racing.
We will be in touch with everyone who has purchased tickets/hospitality.
Updated
1.20pm DAWN RUN MARES’ NOVICE HURDLE preview
A huge field for the opener, which will add to the pressure on the starting team to get them underway with the minimum of fuss, but two standouts in terms of form in Bambino Fever and Oldschool Outlaw. The pair have met before, in a maiden hurdle at Naas back in December, when Bambino Fever, last season’s Champion Bumper winner here, was making her debut over timber at the cramped odds of 1-4, and the backers came unstuck as Gordon Elliott’s mare ran out a half-length winner. Bambino Fever then made short work of 11 rivals at odds of 1-10 in another maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse, and will be a strong favourite today to reverse earlier form with her most obvious rival. The only other runner at a single-figure price is Carrigmoornaspruce, a six-year-old that is trained by Declan Queally but, unlike I’ll Sort That in yesterday’s opener, will be ridden by James Bowen. She was five lengths behind the winner in a Grade One at Leopardstown in December but still has something to find with the favourite on ratings.
Selections: BAMBINO FEVER
Updated
The action moves to the New Course today, with the first two days having taken place on the Old Course with the going officially derscribed as Good, Good to Soft in places. It’s very breezy out there on track this morning and there is a distinct possibility of some rain later. It was dry overnight and there was selective watering overnight, with 3-5mm of moisture applied. Precipitation (2-3mm) is predicted for later with wind speeds forecast to build throughout the day, with gusts reaching 40-45mph.
Here are the horses you can put a line through as they will not be lining up:
NON-RUNNERS TODAY
2pm Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase
2 Sixmilebridge (Reason: unsuitable going)
15 Old Cowboy (Temperature)
3.20pm Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle
4 Gwennie May Boy (Lame)
4.00pm Ryanair Chase (Grade 1)
2 Croke Park (Bruised Foot)
5.20pm Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase
12 Uncle Bert (Going)
Updated
Fact To File, the headline act and hot favourite in the Ryanair Chase (4pm), is very much on the drift in the betting this morning and connections have expressed doubts about him running this afternoon owing to the drying ground. AP McCoy, who works for owner JP McManus told TalkSport this morning: “I don’t know if Fact To File is definitely running,” while McManus’s racing manager Frank Berry added: “I’m very worried about the ground, it’s up in the air at the moment.” The horse’s trainer Willie Mullins also expressed his worries while talking to Racing TV presenter Nick Luck. “He’s a good mover but the ground is lively,” said the concerned handler.
Doesn't sound promising for Fact To File backers pic.twitter.com/mwik2ORC7L
— Tote (@ToteRacing) March 12, 2026
Updated
BHA investigation into alleged abuse ongoing
The stewards’ inquiry into alleged racist abuse by leading jockey Nico de Boinville, which was lodged by an Irish amateur, Declan Queally, after Wednesday’s opening race at the Cheltenham festival will not conclude until after the meeting’s final day on Friday, the British Horseracing Authority said on Thursday.
The inquiry was opened on Wednesday after Queally complained that he had been subjected to verbal abuse, some of it racist in nature, by De Boinville as a big field jostled for starting positions before the two-mile, five-furlong Turners Novice Hurdle.
Some of the verbal exchange between the two riders could be seen on ITV Racing’s live coverage. Queally subsequently told Matt Chapman, an ITV Racing reporter, as he returned to weigh in that “being abused by an English rider, Nico de Boinville, is not very nice. I’m an amateur, I’m coming over here riding in front of my kids and that, horrific.”
An initial update on the progress of the stewards’ inquiry stated that after hearing initial statements from Queally and De Boinville, it had been adjourned “to obtain further evidence”.
A BHA spokesman said on Thursday that “the process of gathering evidence will continue over the course of the coming days and will involve speaking to jockeys and reviewing broadcast footage. This process will take some time and will therefore not be concluded during the Festival.”
Updated
Preamble
Good morning from Cheltenham on day three of the 2026 Cheltenham festival, and on a day when there will be a laser-sharp focus on: a) the starts; and b) Nico de Boinville, following the allegations of racial abuse levelled against Nicky Henderson’s stable jockey by the Irish amateur, Declan Queally, after a chaotic start to the Turners Novice Hurdle, the opening race on Wednesday.
The stewards’ inquiry into the incident is expected to resume at the course this morning and there could presumably be a result well before De Boinville heads out for the first of his two rides on the card: Impose Toi in the Stayers’ Hurdle at 3.20pm (all times GMT), and the ever-popular Jonbon in the Ryanair Chase at 4pm.
Before we get that far, though, there are a couple of big fields that need to be sent on their way, with a maximum line-up of 22 in the Mares’ Novice Hurdle at 1.20pm and 19 going to post for the Jack Richards Novice Handicap Chase at 2pm.
The starts for both the Turners Novice Hurdle and the BetMGM Cup yesterday, with maximum fields of two-and-a-half mile hurdlers jostling for position, were far from satisfactory, and the fall-out included a suggestion by Max McNeill, the co-owner of the beaten favourite in the opener, No Drama This End, that “the Irish jockeys know what they are doing and they are going to make it as difficult for the class horses in the race as possible”.
There are two very obvious “class horses” in the opener today and both, as it happens, are trained in Ireland: Bambino Fever, last year’s Champion Bumper winner from the Willie Mullins stable, and Gordon Elliott’s Oldschool Outlaw. All eyes will be on them as they circle at the start as Paul Townend and Mark Walsh, their riders, try to get a decent racing position on mares that like to race up with the pace.
Elsewhere on today’s card, there are three Grade One events, although the Mares’ Hurdle is short on quality after Lossiemouth’s diversion to the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday and Wodhooh will be very hard to beat. Fact To File, the Irish Gold Cup winner, will also be short in the Ryanair Chase, but there is much more depth to the competition in the Stayers’ Hurdle, where seasoned campaigners including Teahupoo and Bob Olinger will take on several very promising up-and-comers including Ma Shantou and Dan Skelton’s Kabral Du Mathan.
You can, as ever, keep on top of all the news, views, results, betting moves and more here on the blog, from the first race at 1.20pm to the finale, the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir for amateur riders, at 5.20pm (and, if it’s anything like Wednesday, for several hours afterwards, too.
