2023 Cheltenham Festival has arrived!

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (13:30)

As mentioned earlier, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is set to open proceedings as the first race of the festival.

The 2022 winner was Constitution Hill, ridden by legendary jockey Nico de Boinville after beating competition from Mighty Potter, Kilcruit and Dynamic Dynamo. The Willie Mullins trained horse initially led the way, but after a superb race, no-one was able to keep pace with Constitution Hill in the end.

Facile Vega is the favourite for this race in the opinion of Eventmasters’ Horse Racing Ambassador Matt Chapman, but the horse will be looking to get back to winning ways in this race after a poor performance in the 2023 Dublin Racing Festival, but there has been some recent good form over hurdles.

Arkle Chase (14:10)

The Arkle Chase follows the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle on the first day.

Edwardstone (Great Britain), ridden by Tom Cannon was the winner of this race in 2022. The initial leaders of the race last year were Riviere D’etel and Magic Daze, but by the second to last hurdle Edwardstone managed to take the lead, going on to take the victory in a tense race.

Ultima Handicap Chase (14:50)

Corach Rambler (Ireland) was declared the winner of the most recent Ultima Handicap Chase at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival.

The horse, ridden by Derek Fox, was able to secure his first ever victory at the Cheltenham Festival after beating competition from the likes of Gericault Roque (France) and Oscar Elite (Ireland). Corach Rambler broke through into first place at the second to last hurdle.

Champion Hurdle (15:30)

The Champion Hurdle is arguably the highlight of the Cheltenham Festival’s opening day, and if the race in 2022 is anything to go by, this year should see yet another enthralling race.

Honeysuckle (Great Britain), ridden by Rachael Blackmore and trained by Henry De Bromhead, won the previous Champion Hurdle. They were also the favourites to win the race, and they did not buckle under the pressure, securing the victory ahead of Epatante (France) and Zanahiyr (Ireland).

The favourite to win the 2023 Champion Hurdle is Constitution Hill, ridden by Nico de Boinville.

Mares’ Hurdle (16:10)

Nico de Boinville also found success in the Mares’ race in 2022, riding Marie’s Rock (Ireland) who is trained by Nicky Henderson.

This was a particularly notable win, with this being the first time that the English had won this race.

Whilst it was Western Victory who led early on, it was to by Marie’s Rock who came out on top, beating competition from Queens Brook (Ireland) and Mrs Milner (Ireland).

Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (16:50)

It was Brazil (Ireland), ridden by Mark Walsh, who were victorious in the 2022 Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, beating fierce competition from the likes of Gaelic Warrior (Germany) and Bell Ex One (Ireland).

It was also yet another win for trainer JP McManus, who was victorious at the Cheltenham Festival once again.

National Hunt Chase (17:30)

The National Hunt Chase is set to bring the action on day one to a close. Stattler, trained Willie Mullins, was victorious in emphatic fashion, taking the win with eight clear lengths separating Stattler and the competition!

Gaillard Du Mesnil is the favourite to emerge victorious in the 2023 edition of this race.

Day One of the Cheltenham Festival is set to be enthralling with some fantastic horses going head to head in some of the highest profile races on the calendar.

With the 2023 Cheltenham Festival getting underway today, we are already looking forward to 2024! Check out our VIP Hospitality Packages for next year’s event.