2024 Cheltenham Festival guide: race-by-race schedule and how to watch it

Come March, hundreds of thousands of people will once again descend on Cheltenham for the highlight of the jumps calendar.

Taking place from Tuesday, March 12 to Friday, March 15, the festival features many of the clashes that racing fans have been waiting all season to see, with 14 Grade 1 races across the four days.

How to watch the Cheltenham Festival

The first five races each day of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival will be broadcast live on ITV's main channel, while the entire card will be shown on Racing TV for those with a subscription.

This can be accessed through Sky and Virgin Media, or streamed online. Virgin Media One will be the first port of call for viewers in Ireland.

You can also watch all live races from Cheltenham through the Racing Post app – all you need to do is log in to your bookmaker account and find the eligible races.

Tickets to attend are available through the Jockey Club website for each of the first four days, although Club Enclosure tickets for Gold Cup day on Friday are sold out. Tickets, hospitality packages and car park spaces are available to purchase here.

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What are the main races and horses to look out for?

Day one: Tuesday, March 12

The festival kicks off with one of the best days of racing all year, with no fewer than four Grade 1s, including the Supreme Novices' Hurdle (1.30), Arkle (2.10), Champion Hurdle (3.30) and Mares’ Hurdle (4.10).

The Ultima Handicap Chase (2.50), won for the last two years by Grand National hero Corach Rambler, is one of two handicaps on the card along with the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (4.50). The Grade 2 National Hunt Chase (5.30) completes the schedule.

The big race

The Champion Hurdle, run over two miles, headlines the first day’s action, with jumps racing’s unbeaten superstar Constitution Hill looking to defend his crown after an easy success last year.

Given the dominance of that victory, competition will be in short supply this time around, with Irish challenger and eight-time Grade 1 winner State Man set to be the primary threat once again.

The big horse

Since establishing himself as a top-level horse at Cheltenham two years ago, Constitution Hill has dealt exclusively in straightforward Grade 1 wins.

Nicky Henderson’s stable star has not had the most routine build-up to Cheltenham, having missed a couple of targets along the way, but he comfortably won the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on his only start of the season.

It would be the shock of the week were he not to record yet another success here.

Day two: Wednesday, March 13

Ladies’ day starts with another brace of Grade 1s, the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle (1.30) and the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (2.10), followed by the always competitive Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (2.50).

The feature Queen Mother Champion Chase (3.30) follows next before the Glenfarclas Chase (4.10), run on the cross-country course, which has seen the likes of Tiger Roll triumph in recent years.

The Grand Annual Handicap Chase (4.50) and Grade 1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper (5.30) round out the day.

The big race

The two-mile Champion Chase will see another Anglo-Irish clash as market primaries El Fabiolo and Jonbon renew their rivalry, having finished first and second in the Arkle at last year's festival.

Jonbon goes into the race with more to prove after an errant round of jumping led to defeat in the Clarence House Chase at Cheltenham in January, and will need to be much slicker to reverse the Arkle form and deny Willie Mullins a third successive win in the race.

The big horse

As one of the shortest-priced ante-post favourites across the four days, many expect El Fabiolo to assert his authority over the two-mile chase division in the absence of stablemate and defending champion Energumene.

Since succumbing to Jonbon over hurdles in April 2022, he has remained unbeaten, notching seven victories on the bounce, including an impressive victory in the Dublin Chase last time out.

Day three: Thursday, March 14

Day three at Cheltenham once again looks like one for the Irish and is headlined by the Ryanair Chase (2.50) and the typically competitive Stayers' Hurdle (3.30), with the Turners Novices’ Chase (1.30) getting the day started.

The Grade 2 Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (4.50) and three good betting handicaps, the Pertemps Network Final (2.10), the Festival Plate (4.10), and the Kim Muir Challenge Cup (5.30), complete the card.

The big race

Allaho’s withdrawal through injury has left the Ryanair Chase, run over two miles and five furlongs, surprisingly open, although last year’s winner Envoi Allen will almost certainly be in the mix.

Banbridge will be fancied should the going come up good, and the likes of Stage Star, who won the Turners at the festival last year, and six-year-old Fil Dor bring an added dimension to an increasingly intriguing race.

The big horse

Paisley Park has been placed twice in the Stayers’ Hurdle since his 2019 win and this may well be his last opportunity to double his race tally at the age of 12.

Three consecutive second-place finishes in big staying hurdle races this season has trainer Emma Lavelle optimistic that the fans’ favourite will be on the premises again.

There’ll be plenty of competition from both sides of the Irish Sea however, with the likes of Irish Point, Teahupoo and Noble Yeats among those set to offer stiff competition in a typically competitive and unpredictable division.

Day four: Friday, March 15

As the festival reaches its crescendo, all eyes will be on the Cheltenham Gold Cup (3.30), one of the biggest races in the jumping calendar and the showpiece of the four-day fixture.

Two more Grade 1s, the Triumph Hurdle (1.30) and the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (2.50), feature some of the best up-and-coming horses, while the Grade 2 Mares’ Chase (4.50) also has some big names entered.

The County Hurdle (2.10) and Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Hurdle (5.30) are the day’s two handicaps, while the St James's Place Festival Hunters’ Chase (4.10) is always a competitive affair.

The big race

The big race of the week, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, sees a host of big names clash once again, with Galopin Des Champs heading the market as he bids to win a second consecutive running.

Fellow Irish challengers Fastorslow, who has twice claimed the scalp of Galopin Des Champs, and King George winner Hewick will likely also be on the premises.

The British contingent is headed by Shishkin, who reopposes King George second Bravemansgame after his final fence mishap in the race, and is boosted by L’Homme Presse, who was a gutsy winner of the Fleur de Lys at Lingfield on his return.

The big horse

Galopin Des Champs further enhanced his reputation with a remarkable performance in the Gold Cup last year and returns to defend his crown.

An effortless victory in the Irish Gold Cup at the start of February saw him dispatch Fastorslow with ease and another victory at Cheltenham would cement his place as an all-time great.

Can Willie Mullins break his record of ten Cheltenham Festival winners?

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Max Metcalfe

Published on 14 February 2024inCheltenham Festival

Last updated 09:11, 14 February 2024

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