Champion Day at the Cheltenham Festival is a fascinating mix of open races and established greats going-head-to-head.
The main attraction of the day is the tightly contested Champion Hurdle. Apple’s Jade is primed to dethrone Buveur D’Air, who is aiming to match Istabraq’s record of three wins in this famous race.
Apple’s Jade has the form over her English-trained rival with four wins from four this season, but Buveur D’Air’s Cheltenham credentials has it leading the market.
Elsewhere, Sam Twiston-Davies says his best chances of a Festival winner is in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, and Lizzie Kelly is confident about her chances of retaining the Ultima Handicap Chase.
LIVE: Latest results and updates from Cheltenham day one
Selections: 1.30 Klassical Dream 9/2. 2.10 Hardline 5/1. 2.50 Coo Star Sivola 10/1. 3.30 Apple’s Jade 9/5. 4.10 Benie Des Dieux EVS. 4.50 A Plus Tard 6/1. 5.30 Ballyward 13/5.
1.30 Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
Sam Twiston-Davies said Al Dancer is his best chance of a Cheltenham winner this week and the favourite for this race has the form to justify its price. There is plenty of competition, however, in Angels Breath, Fakir D’oudairies and Klassical Dream.
The formidable Ruby Walsh-Willie Mullins combination has won the Cheltenham curtain raiser in four of the last eight years and they stand a good chance of continuing that form here. Klassical Dream showed fine progress in France before joining the Mullins stable in late in 2018 and has won two from two under his guidance.
Itchy Feet will make for a good each-way bet if the rain forecast to hit Cheltenham leaves the ground good or good-firm.
2.10 Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase
Hardline has tumbled in price and will be Glen Forsa’s biggest challenger in what may be a sub-standard Arkle. Beating Getabird at Limerick on Boxing Day after finishing ahead of Us And Them by 10 lengths at Navan makes the Gordon Elliott-trained horse a very attractive bet.
Glen Forsa poses a significant threat and has the form and ability to justify its billing as favourite. It powered its way into contention with a fine win at Sandown, beating Kalashnikov, who just lost out to Summerville Boy in the Supreme last year.
Us And Them offers decent each-way value and should not be ruled out to place given its high official rating.
2.50 Ultima Handicap Chase
Give Me A Copper is not one of the favourites you should be looking at this week. It’s held in high regard but it’s hard not to look past its last three races. Since its last win in April 2017, the Paul Nicholls-trained favourite has unseated its rider, won a two-horse race and finished fourth at Sandown. There’s certainly some historic form to be tapped into and it may well deliver.
Coo Star Sivola stands a good chance in defending its Ultima title and Lizzie Kelly said any concerns over its fitness have been addressed after just three outings this season, the latest a disappointing finish at Cheltenham in December.
With the maximum number of horses, 24, entered there is a chance we may see an unlikely winner in a gruelling 3m1f chase on the old course. Light stakes are likely to be the way forward here.
3.30 Unibet Champion Hurdle Trophy
Tuesday’s feature race has the billing of a classic. Apple’s Jade will try and dethrone the untouchable Buveur D’Air, who is looking to win for the third time.
Apple’s Jade has freakish form having won its four races this season by a combined 73 lengths, and against some serious Grade 1 opposition too. The usual case against the Gigginstown horse has been its tendency to verge towards the right when jumping, but Gordon Elliot seems to have corrected this, and a win in the Champion Hurdle will a huge reward for his work
What seems to separate these two is the disbelief that Buveur D’Air can maintain its Cheltenham record. There are also some signs of regression this season in the Nicky Henderson-trained horse. The jumping has been slightly below its brilliant best, with two costly errors this season, and mistakes in a high-calibre race will be punished
Willie Mullins-trained Laurina deserves an honourable mention too. The six-year-old announced itself to racing loud and clear with a stunning 18-length win in the Mares’ Novices Hurdle last year and it will be a close-run race if it can reproduce a similar performance
4.10 OLBG (David Nicholson) Mares’ Hurdle
Willie Mullins dominates the short odds in this race having trained the winner on nine of the last 11 occasions. So, take your pick from Benie Des Dieux, Limini and Stormy Ireland. Ruby Walsh opting for Benie Des Dieux has put it ahead of its stablemates in the betting and its unbeaten form this season cannot be ignored either.
Mia’s Storm is the one to watch outside of the top three and could well place with a good performance. Beating Elegant Escape in the past shows just how good this horse can be, but two races since April means this has been given longer odds.
4.50 Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase
This is another race be careful with your stakes. A Plus Tard arrives with decent form against good opposition, but this is its biggest test on its Cheltenham debut
Movewiththetimes has been carefully prepped by Paul Nicholls to run at Cheltenham and Barry Geraghty get the best out of it here
5.30 National Hunt Challenge Cup Amateur Riders’ Novices’ Chas
Strong entries mean there’s a great race to finish the first day of the Festival. Ballyward and OK Corral lead the betting, and there are good claims for Discorama and Impulsive Star. Ballyward has been entered into this race over the RSA and has shown good form in competitive fields.
Itchy Feet will make for a good each-way bet given the rain that is falling.
Ian Renton, regional director of Cheltenham and the South West for Jockey Club Racecourses, says it is also cracking down on excessive drinking.
"We have a pretty large security presence here for the Festival, both from the police and security companies.
"As people might be aware we cracked down a couple of years ago on the availability of alcohol to try to discourage any excessive drinking.
"We'll continue with that policy to ensure all our racegoers can come and have a fun time without any sign of rowdiness.
"We don't want anybody to destroy the enjoyment of anybody else, we're happy with the measures we have in place and hopefully we'll have a trouble-free four days."
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