Good day for the Brits, in fairness. Four winners for four different trainers and four different jockeys, spread far and wide. Great to see.
Leading Jockey
2 Paul Townend
1 Nico De Boinville, Patrick Wadge, Lorcan Williams, Mark Walsh, Ben Jones
Leading Trainer
2 Willie Mullins
1 Nicky Henderson, Lucinda Williams, Jeremy Scott, Joseph O’Brien, Rebecca Curtis
Prestbury Cup
GB 4 Ireland 3
So there we have it. Day One is in the books. Hard to remember a more dramatic Cheltenham Tuesday - you’d probably have to go back a decade to the Annie Power fall to find one to compare. Kopek Des Bordes looks the real thing, Majborough surely will be too once Willie Mullins sorts out his jumping. But the true heroes are the connections of Golden Ace, who only decided over the weekend to go for the Champion Hurdle and have been rewarded with the best day of their lives.
Brian O’Connor has covered countless Champion Hurdles over the years - his account of one of the wildest ones ever is here.
National Hunt Novices’ Handicap Chase
1 Haiti Couleurs 7/2
2 Rock My Way 16/1
3 Will Do 12/1
4 Resplendent Grey 10/1
5 Transmission 7/2
Lots of fallers there in the final knockings - Hasthing had hit a few on the way round and found one mistake too many at the last, Now Is The Hour looked like giving Keith Donoghue a huge shout but fell late on, taking out Duffel Coat in the process. Patrick Mullins might have overdone the waiting tactics there - Transmission stayed on up the hill for fifth.
Haiti Couleur wins for Rebecca Curtis! Rock My Way second and Will Do is third. That’s a Weslsh winner to go with those for Ireland, England and Scotland earlier in the day! Can’t have happened too often, you’d have thought.
Haiti Couleur and Jupiter Allen have company now. Rock My Way and HAsthing are coming through to challenge.
Jupiter Allen and Hait Couleur take them down the back straight for the last time. Hasthing is making progress, Geriqualt Roque is going steady along. No sign of Transmission yet with three to jump.
Jupiter Allen takes them down the hill as they come around to head out onto the final circuit. The pace is steady enough and the field is bunched - Captain Cody is a faller there.
They pass the stands for the first time - two more circuits to go. Hait Couleurs and Jupiter Allen lead them out. Geriqualt Roque is travelling well, Transmission is biding his time out the back.
And they’re away. This is the longest race of the festival so we can settle in for a while. Jupiter Allen, Hair Couleur and Duffell Coat are up in the lead over the early fences.
Down at the start for the last race of Day One.
Fascinating jockey booking here - Patrick Mullins has been booked by Neil Mulholland to ride Transmission. As an amateur rider, Mullins has ridden in this race in all its iterations and is very used to what it takes, having won it three times. No other trainer has gone for an amateur - and Transmission is now the 3/1 favourite. Maybe Mulholland has got a jump on the rest?
Interesting stuff here from Mark Walsh, jockey of Puturhandstogether and Majborough.
5.20 National Hunt Novices' Handicap Chase
One race to go on a day of enormous drama. This race has changed a lot in recent years - it used to be for amateurs only and was traditionally known as the four-miler. Even that has changed - it’s three miles and six furlongs now and this is the first time it’s a handicap. There’s still a huge field - here’s the betting.
11/4 Transmission (Neil Mulholland) Mr Patrick Mullins
15/4 Haiti Couleurs (Rebecca Curtis) Ben Jones
13/2 Now Is The Hour (Gavin Cromwell) Keith Donoghue
7/1 Resplendent Grey (Olly Murphy) Sean Bowen
9/1 Gericault Roque (David Pipe) Jack Tudor
10/1 Bar
Fred Winter Result
1 Puturhandstogether 17/2
2 Robbies Rock 50/1
3 Liam Swagger 12/1
4 Hot Fuss 17/2
5 Slurricane 33/1
Mark Walsh sat out the frenzied pace at the front of the field and held his run, coming to take the race at the last. He was clearly a mile ahead of the handicapper and it took very little from Walsh to kick him up the hill.
Putyourhandstogether is looming up as they come to the last. And he sails up the hill for Joseph O’Brien, continuing his fantastic record in this race!
Soalr Drive leads them over the third last. Stencil, Slurricane and Sony Bill all have their chance. Anything up to a dozen horses could win this.
Solar Drive has leapt to the front. Stencil is on his tail, Hot Fuzz in third. Sony Bill is up in the van too. They’re going a fairly frantic gallop here. Too fast maybe?
Stencil has taken it up now. Pulling hard in front.
And they’re off. Hot Fuss and Slurricane lead them out. All over the first safely. Stencil keen at the front of affairs.
This is going to be a mad dash from the start. Two minutes until the tapes go up.
4.40 Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle
Okay, on we go. How do we get our breath back after that? The close-your-eyes-and-make-a-wish job that is the Fred Winter. These are the four-year-old horses that aren’t good enough to enter the Triumph Hurdle and it regularly throws up a massive-priced winner.
Here’s the top of the betting (for what it’s worth)...
11/4 Stencil (Noel George) James Reveley
6/1 Beyond Your Dreams (Joseph O’Brien) JJ Slevin
8/1 Sony Bill (Willie Mullins) Paul Townend
8/1 Putourhandstogether (Joseph O’Brien) Mark Walsh
9/1 Total Look (Gavin Cromwell) Keith Donoghue
9/1 Hot Fuss (Tom Dacombe) David Bass
10/1 Bar
Amazing how things work out. State Man’s fall at the last was 10 years more or less to that day since Annie Power fell at the last in the Mares' Hurdle. Willie Mullins just said it was a very similar fall. “We’ve known last-hurdle falls here before. We’re used to it at this stage.”
Nicky Henderson is equally magnanimous. “Nobody’s hurt. We have two jockeys who are fine and two horses who are fine. Surely there’ll be a rather fun day in Punchestown now.”
Champion Hurdle Result
1 Golden Ace 25/1
2 Burdett Road 66/1
3 Winter Fog 150/1
Penny for Rich Richie’s thoughts now - Lossiemouth would have sailed up the hill there. But if ever there was a reward for having a go, Golden Ace’s connections have got it.
The winner of the Champion Hurdle cost £12,000. Twelve bloody grand. Sport is mad.
Such drama. Constitution Hill went down four out. State Man came to win it and had the race at his mercy at the final hurdle. Brighterdaysahead was interfered with as State Man went to stand up but probably wouldn’t have won anyway. And it was left to last year’s Mares' Hurdle winner Golden Ace to skip up the hill. Amzing result.
Golden Ace wins the Champion Hurdle!
State Man is down at the last!
Horse and rider are up but the race is anyone’s now. Brighterdaysahead goes for gome with two to jump, State Man looms up beside him.
Constitiution Hill is down!
King Of Kingsfield keeps the revs up in front as they pass the stand and Brighterdaysahead pulls up beside him. Constitiution Hill is a length further back. The field is well strung out already. How long does King Of Kingsfield lead them out for?
And they’re off. As expected, King Of Kingsfield bucks out to make the pace in front. Brighterdaysahead follows close behind with Constitution Hill tucking in behind them both.
Here we go, they’re down at the start...
This could be spectacular. Forty years after Nicky Henderson’s first Champion Hurdle, Constitution Hill looks to deliver him his eighth. Willie Mullins is looking for his sixth since 2011. Jack Kennedy spent most of the winter out with his sixth (!) broken leg and is looking to win Gordon Elliott his first win in the race. Can. Not. Wait.
4.00 Champion Hurdle (Grade One)
Here we go, then. The signature race of day one, one of the clashes of the whole week. Constitution Hill has had 10 races in his career and has won all 10. His display in the Supreme in 2022 was one of the best there’s ever been, his Champion Hurdle in 2023 brooked no argument. He missed last year through injury, leaving State Man to come in and take his title. Brighterdaysahead has done what Lossiemouth thought better of and given the Mares' Hurdle a miss to go against the big boys. A salivating prospect, this race.
Here’s the betting.
4/7 Constitution Hill (Nicky Henderson) Nico De Boinville
2/1 Brighterdaysahead (Gordon Elliott) Jack Kennedy
9/1 State Man (Willie Mullins) Paul Townend
66/1 Bar
Keep yourself in the best company - and your horses in the worst. Willie Mullins has trotted that one out a good few times and it’s paid off for them here.
And Lossiemouth is away and gone. She takes Jade De Grugy at the last and wins by about 15 lengths. She was clearly way too good for this race. That’s her third festival win.
They get racing three flights out. Loads with chances as Jade De Grugy leads them out. Lossiemouth is looming, July Flower is there too.
Jade De Grugy starts to step it up as they go down the back. Townend is happy to sit second on Lossiemouth, about three lengths back. This is going to be a sprint to the finish.
Jade De Grugy isn’t setting a mad pace in front and so Lossiemouth has cloased up without having to break a sweat. Jetara is there too, with Joyeuse on the inside. They swing past the stands and you’d imagine the pace will have to start winding up soon after a very steady run so far.
Off they go - Jade de Grugy steals a few lengths at the start and Danny Mullins doesn’t hang about. Lossiemouth and Joyeuse are about five lengths back.
They’re coming down to the start, three minutes to the tapes go up for the Mares' Hurdle.
Plenty have chances here. On the basis that Lossiemouth can’t be quite at peak condition (otherwise she’d surely be in the Champion), you’d imagine the likes of July Flower and Kala Conti can’t be far away. Jade De Grugy was favourite for this race before Lossiemouth was confirmed for it and unlike the favourite, didn’t fall in her last race. This is a more open race than the odds suggest, I reckon.
3.20 Mares’ Hurdle (Grade One)
Next up is the ever-so slightly divisive Mares' Hurdle. Some say it shouldn’t exist at all - and point to Lossiemouth’s presence in it this year as proof positive. IF there was no mares' hurdle, goes the logic, she’d be in the Champion Hurdle, making it an even better race. The opposing view says that races like this have brought far more quality mares into the breed, which is only good for racing in the long run. One way or the other, Lossiemouth is a very short faourite here. But as we know, that counts for nothing.
Here’s the betting.
4/5 Lossiemouth (Willie Mullins) Paul Townend
4/1 Jade De Grugy (Willie Mullins) Danny Mullins
15/2 July Flower (Henry DeBromhead) Rachael Blackmore
10/1 Joyeuse (Nicky Henderson) Nico DeBoinville
12/1 Kala Conti (Gordon Elliott) Jack Kennedy
20/1 Bar
Ultima Handicap Chase Result
1 Myretown 13/2F
2 The Changing Man 7/1
3 Malina Girl 14/1
4 Happygolucky 28/1
5 The Short Go 11/1
24 Ran
An Irish winner, an English winner and now a Scottish one - Lucinda Russell trained, ridden by Patrick Wadge. There was a huge gamble on him before hand, backed down from 12/1 to 13/2 favourite. A stunning win, he was out in front from the start and never let up.
They turn for home and Myretown still leads them out. The Changing Man and Happy Go Lucky need to go now! But they can’t get to him at all - Myretown skates up the hill and is a massively impressive winner of the Ultima.
Myretown has never backed off the whole way round and with five to jump he’s still in the lead. The Changing Man, Happy Go Lucky both in touch. Famous Bridge and Henry’s Friend making a challenge. Loads with chances here.
Coming down the hill to end the first circuit, Myretown and Frero Bamboo lead them out. The Changing Man is handy, Katate Dori is in touch and the field is fairly well strung out.
Quite a fierce gallop on after that unsteady start. Myretown leads after the first mile, with Ferrero Bamboo and The Changing Man well in touch.
Messy, messy stuff down at the start. They eventually get going after a standing start and now it’s a 24-horse cavalry charge to the first, with Myretown leading them over it. Guard Your Dreams is down, the rest of them are heading off out into the distance.
False start.
They’re down at the start for the Ultima...
Majborough getting beaten means the bookies surely win the day, regardless of what happens from here. Maybe even the week. Of all the short-price favourites, he was on the one that was thought to be completely bombproof. He’d have been in every multi imagineable. Didn’t we say they never win?
Ruby Walsh shows here why he’s the best in the business. I feel like I learn something from him every time he analyses a race. Can’t ask for anything more in a pundit.
2.40 The Ultima Handicap Chase
The third race on the card is the Ultima, a three-mile handicap which has traditionally favoured the British runners. The last Irish winner was all of 19 years ago, when Ruby Walsh came from the clouds on Dun Doire. As always it’s a wide-open race, with The Changing Man an uneasy favourite at the top of the market.
Here’s the betting
6/1 The Changing Man (Joe Tizzard) Brendan Powell
13/2 Katate Dori (Sam Thomas) Dylan Johnston
13/2 Myretown (Lucinda Russell) Patrick Wadge
15/2 Crebilly (Jonjo O’Neill) Jonjo O’Neill Jr
8/1 Broadway Boy (Nigel Twiston-Davies) Sam Twiston-Davies
10/1 Bar
Just before we go to the next one, a lovely interview here with Charlie McCarthy, owner of Kopek Des Bordes. A Corkman, like Micahel O’Sullivan, he’s giving the O’Sullivan family his prize.
JP McManus has never won the Arkle, oddly enough. He had to imagine he had the best chance he’s ever had there and in fairness, Majborough must be some horse. For it to get anywhere close to winning despite clattering so many fences on the way round tells you there is a hell of an engine there. Once they teach him to jump, he’ll be a ferocious prospect.
Arkle Challenge Trophy Result
1 Jango Baie (Nicky Henderson) Nico DeBoinville 5/1
2 Only By Night (Gavin Cromwell) Keith Donoghue 25/1
3 Majborough (Willie Mullins) Mark Walsh 1/2
Oh my word what a finish! Majborough clattered the last and couldn’t recover. Touch Me Not and L’Eau Du Sud both had their chances but Nico De Boinville came from the next planet to nick it on the line on Jango Baie! He was gone! How the hell did he do that?
Majborough’s jumping is getting a little ragged here but he’s tanking along in the lead. Can L’Eau Du Sud issue a challenge?
Plenty of lead changes already and we’re not quite halfway through. Majborough leads on the inside of Touch Me Not. L’Eau Du Sud is following closely.
Majborough has dropped back to third, as Tough Me Not heads off in front with Jango Baie following as they pass the stands.
They’re off! Mark Walsh rattles off in front on Majborough, in no mood to let anybody else dictate the pace. Jango Baie noses him to the first though. The pace is decent.
They’re heading down to the start, three minutes to go until the Arkle.
2.00 Arkle Challenge Trophy (Grade One)
Next up in the most famous two-mile novice chase in the calendar, with another short-price Mullins favourite leading the market here. It’s a fairly miserable Arkle this year, in all honesty, with only five horses going. Sir Gino’s absence robs us of what was shaping up to be one of the races of the festival but his ionjury means the stage has been cleared for Majborough to saunter up. It will be a huge shock if he doesn’t do the needful.
Here’s the betting...
4/9 Majborough (Willie Mullins) Mark Walsh
11/2 L’Eau Du Sud (Dan Skelton) Harry Skelton
6/1 Jango Baie (Nicky Henderson) Nico De Boinville
14/1 Touch Me Not (Gordon Elliott) Jack Kennedy
20/1 Only By Night (Gavin Cromwell) Keith Donoghue
Supreme Novices' Hurdle Result
1 Kopek Des Bordes (Paul Townend) 4/6 Fav
2 William Munny (Sean Flanagan) 8/1
3 Romeo Coolio (Jack Kennedy) 9/2
11 ran
What a lovely result for the owner, Charlie McCarthy who had cancer surgery only a fortnight ago. And emotional for everybody - a Cork horse winning in the race named after Cork jockey Michael O’Sullivan. Paul Townend touched his red and white armband after crossing the line in tribute and got choked up when asked about it on TV. Cheltenham is never short on stories.
Kopek Des Bordes streaks clear! William Munney chases him up the hill, with Romeo Coolio third.
Romeo Coolio takes it up as Workahead falls out of contention completely. Kopek Des Bordes is right up Romeo Coolio’s hing legs. William Munney is there too. Big finish coming.
Workahead is setting a ferocious pace here, with Romeo Coolio and Kopek Des Bordes just about staying in touch. There’s a gap back tot he rest halfway through the race.
Rachael Blackmore has taken up the early running on Workahead. Romeo Coolio is second, as they go a decent gallop, with Kopek Des Bordes next.
And they’re off...
They’re heading down to the start. There has been a lot of talk in the build-up around how Kopek De Bordes might handle the preliminaries and in all truth, he’s a bit on his toes down there. About to go here...
The jockeys and everyone else in the parade ring just had a minute’s silence for Michael O’Sullivan, followed by a warm round of applause. Such a tough day for his family, in and out of the weigh room.
1.20 Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices' Hurdle (Grade One)
The first race is the traditional opener, the batallion charge that is the Supreme. And just as traditionally, we have a heavy Willie Mullins favourite at the head of the betting, with Kopek Des Bordes hotly fancied on the back of his run at Leopardstown at Christmas. But those Mullins fancies don’t always win - for every Appreciate It and Klassical Dream, there’s a Getabird or a Melon. Mullins has actually only won two of the last nine runnings. Gordon Elliot and Henry de Bromhead have big chances here with Romeo Coolio and Workahead respectively.
Here’s the betting...
9/10 Kopek Des Bordes (Willie Mullins) Paul Townend
9/2 Romeo Coolio (Gordon Elliott) Jack Kennedy
6/1 William Munney (Barry Connell) Sean Flanagan
7/1 Workahead (Henry DeBromhead) Rachael Blackmore
11/1 Bar
So let’s have a look at these short-price favourites, then. Kopek Des Bordes in the Supreme, Majborough in the Arkle, Lossiemouth in the Mare’s Hurdle and Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle. Stick them all in a four-timer and you’ll get a shade over 7/1. They never all win, of course. But the bookies are already putting on the poor mouth, crying that it will cost them the guts of 80 million if they all come in. We’ll see.
Day One always has so much going on, particularly in recent years since the races that people have been analysing to death have tended to end up with really short-priced favourites. This year is no different, with four odds-on shots on the opening card. But the big race remains the big race - Constitution Hill is back at the festival, looking to win the Champion Hurdle.
Read Brian O’Connor’s big race preview here.
In amongst all the festivities, there is of course a cloud over the festival this year. The death last month of Cork jockey Michael O’Sullivan reminded everyone what a dangerous sport racing can be and Cheltenham reacted by naming the first race of the festival after him, as a nod to his win in the race in 2022.
Denis Walsh wrote this haunting, beautiful piece the week Michael died. Well worth your time ahead of the opener.
We have plenty of time before the tapes go up for the Supreme so let’s take you through some light reading to get the juices flowing. As ever, Brian O’Connor is our man in the Cotswolds and his preview to the whole big show is here.
