by The four-day Cheltenham Festival continues at full speed this evening with plenty to keep the punters interested.
When is the third day of the Cheltenham Festival?
The meeting started on Tuesday and continues today (Thursday, March 14), and Willie Mullins is already having a week to remember, bringing up his 100th Festival winner on Wednesday. The first of seven races will start today at 1.30pm. Scroll down for full schedule.
How can I watch the Cheltenham Festival?
The first five races of each day of the meeting will be broadcast live free-to-air on ITV1 and streamed via ITVX. For coverage of the entire card, including the final two races of each day, Racing TV is the place to go.
What races are on day 3 of the Cheltenham Festival?
1. 30: Turners Novices’ Hunt (Grade 1)
Best bet: Facile Vega
2.10: Pertemps Network Final Hurdle Hurdle (Main Hurdle)
Best bet: Gaoth Chuil
2.50: Ryanair Chase (Grade 1)
Best bet: Ahoy Senor
3.30: Paddy Power Stayers Tags (Grade 1)
Best bet: Teahupoo
4.10: TrustATTrader Plate Barrier Hunt (Main Barrier)
Best bet: Theater Man
4.50: Ryanair Mares Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2)
Best bet: Brighterdayahead
5.30: Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Jockeys Cup Poor Challenge
Best bet: Inothewayurthinkin
The day will start dry but there will be showers in the Cheltenham area in the afternoon. The temperature is expected to be between 10 and 14C. Visibility is expected to be good.
The latest current report is a soft evening on the New Course.
Cheltenham Festival 3 tips
Marcus Armytage’s best bet
Teahupoo (Side of Phones, 3.30): A light campaign so far this season can pay off handsomely here for the connections of Teahupoo, who clearly emerges on the official rankings and, attractively, has the potential to rate even higher. He is still an undiscovered driver and looks set to take this race off a superb 3rd place finish in last year’s renewal. Jack Kennedy has an excellent record aboard the horse and, in a race with little depth, Teahupoo is strongly fancied to go all out in this year’s Stayers’s Hurdle.
Telegraph Sport’s best bet
Ahoy Senor (Ryanair Chase, 2.50): This race looks wide open, with the rain seeing long-time favorite Bridgend have a chance. Envoi Allen, Stage Star and Capodanno have serious chances but at the prices Ahoy Senor should be backed. This is the time of year he tends to come into his own and he will benefit from a return to the left hand track, after a good run at Ascot last month. Expect Derek Fox to jump out to the front and provide a severe test of stamina over two and a half miles. If his jump hit up, he should be hitting there with a chance at the bottom of the hill.
Back to Crambo to lead Britain’s much needed fight back
By Marcus Armytage, at Cheltenham
Is Thursday the day when the British finally come good at this year’s Cheltenham Festival? You could argue that their luck is just a change of horses but the home-trained Crambo has a great chance of keeping the Paddy Power Stayers Hurdle at home and so does Ga Law with the Ryanair Chase.
The hurling division still has a rising star and Crambo, an improving seven-year-old who makes the minimum in his races, can surprise winner Dashel Drasher’s old guard, Paisley Park last year’s Sire was expelled. Du Berlais and previous winner Flooring Porter have been involved in a less strenuous pursuit of the Racehorse Retraining classes.
Fergal O’Brien, one of the most local trainers on the course, is yet to celebrate the winner of the Festival. Apart from Long Walk Hurdle winner Crambo, fresh from running at Ascot at Christmas, he has the useful unbeaten Dysart Enos in Thursday’s maiden race, his two best ever chances at the meeting and will hope. for some return.
Willie Mullins runners Asterion Forlonges and Sir Gerhard are of course worth noting, while Emme’s nephew Noble Yeats’ 2022 Grand National winner is bidding to give owner Robert Waley-Cohen a second win in the race after Rustle in 1989. Do not rule any of them out.
Cheltenham specialist Ga Law for the Ryanair Chase is Jamie Snowden. The trainer says the horse is flying at home and could be the one to break the barrier of short-priced winners at this meeting.
“He’s coming into the race in much better form than he was when he was fifth last year and only won by nine and a half lengths,” explained Snowden. “If he jumps better than he did last year, he will be corrected.”
Another Mullins-trained runner Capodanno, winner of the Cotswold Chase last time out, looks like Pick of Ireland, although Banbridge Joseph O’Brtien and Envoi Allen Henry de Bromhead will all have their backers.
Gray Dawning, a great winner at Warwick last time, should do well for the Skelton brothers in the Turners and top weight Gavin Cromwell Inothewayurthinkin looks set for the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Chase for amateur riders . Derek O’Conner, winner of Tuesday’s National Hunt Chase on Corbett Cross, is not a negative.
My morning routine this week was to start my day riding out for Gordon Elliott and on Wednesday I sat on Riaan, a wonderful seven year old gelding for Gordon Elliott. He is a 20-1 shot for the TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase.
My ride on Monday and Tuesday, The Goffer, ran fifth in the Ultima but I didn’t quite get home in the mud. He had little air to see that he had been here before but, in contrast, all the way down the slope to the fitness center in the middle of the course, Riann’s eyes were on stallions at surveying the dust carts with orange flashing lights. and people preparing the course for the day.
You don’t need to know that it was Dr Dolittle’s first visit to Cheltenham but it was a lovely trip and when we managed to give them a pick of hay, his focus turned between the far stands and the 100 horses or so. out and around him. His character won me over and luckily for him.
This might be Elliott’s day though. Teahupoo, who will be enjoying the conditions in the Stayers Hurdle, has a huge chance, as does the stable banker leading the Ryanair Mares’ Novice Hurdle.
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