Cheltenham Festival: Day two delivers emotion, records and a star of the future

Kopek Des Bordes is led into the winners enclosure after the Michael O'Sullivan Supreme Novices' HurdleCredit: Edward Whitaker

Hello, good morning and welcome, it's day two of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival!

Day one is in the record books and yes, Golden Ace really did win a Champion Hurdle from Burdett Road and Winter Fog – in easily the hottest Champion Hurdle in recent years. A race featuring the last two winners in Constitution Hill and State Man, and wondermare Brighterdaysahead, really did produce that 1-2-3! Racing's most anticipated four days are well and truly delivering!

What madness will we get today? You'll find out here first.

Luckily we are here to guide you through the day and bring you all the latest news, market moves, going changes, opinions, tips, reaction, hot takes and joy of the greatest show on turf. Welcome to our Cheltenham Festival blog.

Lewis Porteous and I, with ample contributions from a whole array of wonderful colleagues, will steer you through the chaos and madness of day two.

We also want to hear from you. What are your best bets? Do you have any particularly strong ante-post positions? Let us know by emailing: liveblog@racingpost.com.

It may be mid-March, but it's currently snowing in Cheltenham.

Our reporter Jonathan Harding has taken this video of the wintery scene at Cheltenham this morning.

Jonbon (Nico de Boinville) wings the last fence to win the Clarence House Chase at AscotCredit: Edward Whitaker

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By Jonathan Harding

Cheltenham has transformed into a winter wonderland this morning with heavy snowfall. The back straight is no longer visible and somebody has just played Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin' Stevens on the PA, either they have a great sense of humour or are just a devoted fan. 

Spare a thought for those riding out at the track this morning, because it is bitterly cold. If you arrived now, you could be forgiven for thinking it was the December meeting, not the festival.

State Man and Paul Townend leading yesterday's Champion HurdleCredit: Patrick McCann

Here is a full rundown of the seven races taking place today, the cards, and the off times.

1.20: Turners Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1)

2.00: Brown Advisory Novices' Chase (Grade 1)

2.40: Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)

3.20: Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase (Limited Handicap)

4.00: BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1)

4.40: Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap)

5.20: Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade 1)

Do you have any particularly strong opinions on any of the seven races?

The overnight frost is inhibiting a fresh going update this morningCredit: Edward Whitaker

Well, the long and short of it is they'll officially reassess once the grass frost lifts, so we remain as we were overnight. It's good to soft on the Old course, with a GoingStick reading of 5.5, and the cross country course is predominantly good to soft, with good in places and soft ground on the top loop. For those of you wondering what the top loop means, it's the bit of the track in front of the stands.

It is every punter's dream to land a bet so big the bookies run out of money to pay out and for one Tote Placepot punter at Cheltenham yesterday exactly that happened!

A £5 straight line resulted in a £55,253.50 payout, from a bet that only contained one actual winner. That's some going, hats off to you!

When the Placepot pays £11,050.70 to a £1 stake, and there are only 74.82 winning units, and you have FIVE of those - on a single line bet?! Take a bow, that's a heroic performance.

Footstepsinthesnow, no it's not the name of Ballydoyle's latest superstar, but rather what we have in the Cheltenham winner's enclosure in mid-March!

The footsteps mean one thing though, the snow is starting to settle. And that cannot be helpful for lifting frost covers or getting an up-to-date going report. Stay tuned...

My wonderfully helpful colleague Matt Rennie has spoken to Cheltenham's clerk of the course Jon Pullin and found out the very latest from the man most in the know.

He says: "We've got a good covering of snow at the moment, but the forecasts in the next hour say it'll turn to sleet and then disappear. As we're talking, it's turning into sleet now.

"Providing everything goes as the forecast says, we'll be fine and should be okay. The going will remain good to soft and temperatures could get up to 7C."

The Good Morning Cheltenham show is off to a flying start, with a round of applause for Maddy Playle's 100-1 ante-post tip for Golden Ace. Fair play!

You can watch the day two preview here, which features David Jennings, the aforementioned Maddy Playle, Paul Kealy and Jonbon's former jockey Aidan Coleman.

Reports are coming through from the team on track that the snow has stopped.

Paul Kealy and Aidan Coleman are both taking on not just Final Demand and The New Lion, but The Yellow Clay as well. They both fancy Cheltenham regular Potters Charm in the Turners.

Coleman says: "I like Potters Charm at a bit of a price each-way. He's guaranteed to run his race, loves Cheltenham and has plenty of excuses for why he was beaten last time. He represents the value."

Kealy adds: "I've fancied him for a while and he's a very good horse. He was over the top last time, and Willy [Twiston-Davies, assistant trainer] told me he destroyed the horsebox on the way there so he wasn't in the best of moods. They're travelling with someone with him in the box this time. But one defeat doesn't end your chances of being a really good horse.

"Times tell you Final Demand and The New Lion are good horses, but I still question the depth of the form. No-one takes Willie on at the DRF, Gordon isn't afraid to take him on here with a horse who was a short price for the Albert Bartlett, so there's confidence in that horse too."

How do you see this one going? I can't see it myself, I'm heavily in The New Lion camp. The fact Dan Skelton views him as a Champion Hurdle horse of the future swings it for me. That's very hard to beat in a race like this. Tell us what you think by emailing liveblog@racingpost.com.

Johnny Dineen is a man famed for taking a strong opinion, and he has one on the Brown Advisory. "I'm going to lay Ballyburn," he says. "4-6 is an insane price, it's the worst price in history. I don't know how he's so short. He was 2-1 three weeks ago and nothing's changed. Nothing. I'm going to back Better Days Ahead and Dancing City to beat him as well."

Personally my favourite bit is DJ's reaction, at 1m32s, to JD saying it's an insane price. You can watch Good Morning Cheltenham here.

Willie has tweeted to say "State Man is a bit sore around his shoulder area but otherwise fine and enjoying some time in his paddock this morning. Thanks for all your well wishes."

That's great news, he was on for putting up a hell of a performance!

Last year's Pertemps winner Monmiral will not run in Thursday's Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle. Paul Nicholls has ruled him out on a self certificate due to the horse getting cast in his box.

Monmiral's finest hour came in last year's Pertemps FinalCredit: John Grossick

Now, if anyone else were to say this you'd hear the 'how many winners have you ridden?' line wheeled out to put them back in their box, but arguably there's no-one more qualified to talk on this matter than Aidan Coleman as he's ridden Jonbon 11 times, for nine wins, with those two defeats coming at the Cheltenham Festival, and he doesn't think Jonbon is as good around this place as he is anywhere else!

"He's still an extremely good horse around Cheltenham, but if this race was at Sandown he'd be a 1-10 shot. I don't think the undulations suit him, he's very straight-backed. He's very little use of his back, it's why he sometimes makes little mistakes. The idiosyncrasies and undulations, he's just not as comfortable around here. That said, I cannot see what's going to beat him in this.

"Physically he just isn't as happy around here. He's proven to be a good horse and there are always excuses as to why he gets beaten here, but why do those excuses never come anywhere else? Literally anywhere else? He's unbeaten everywhere else, but at Cheltenham it always seems to be something. It might be a coincidence, but from riding him he's just not as comfortable here."

Asked how far below his very best he could be and still win, Coleman adds: "Probably a fair bit I'd say. I do like the way Marine Nationale is coming in like an improving handicapper, he's just gradually getting the hang of chasing and doing it right. He's been and done it at Cheltenham, his Supreme was pretty spectacular and he's been disappointing since. But if you're asking me who I'd ride, it's nothing to do with an affinity to Jonbon, it's a no-brainer [to choose Jonbon] really."

Those thoughts from Aidan Coleman are fascinating, and Jonbon's ability to adapt to Cheltenham was a huge part of our racing intel package.

Betting editor Keith Melrose, in his big-race analysis, writes: 

"Racing Post Ratings do not say Jonbon is a Cheltenham specialist in disguise. But look at the chart of his performances, listed in chronological order and in order of their merit, and straight away the strike-rate statistics look inadequate.

"Jonbon's five runs at Cheltenham look pretty typical when you sort them in order of RPRs. The chronological list mainly tells you that the performances on which his Cheltenham runs might look substandard are his most recent. In other words, he has improved since we last saw him in these parts."

The argument put forwards by Tom Scudamore and Richard Johnson, who both know a thing or two about forcing tactics, is that the way Nico de Boinville now rides the horse will also help his chances. You can read their illuminating thoughts here: 'Controlled aggression' - why De Boinville tactics hold key to Jonbon's bid to break his festival duck in Champion Chase

Jonbon and Energumene last time out at AscotCredit: Edward Whitaker

For what it's worth, I have a slightly different take on it all. Well, my point would be an off-shoot of those made by Scudamore and Johnson really.

Both talk about how more forcing tactics have helped Jonbon, but here's the thing. He isn't going to get an uncontested lead here. In fact, he in all likelihood isn't going to get the lead at all.

Here's where Solness comes into the equation. He's won two Grade 1s on his last two starts by simply being impossible to live with. Now, you could argue he was given a soft lead and he won't get that here, but he will still get the lead and it has huge implications for Jonbon.

Solness has won two Grade 1s on his last two startsCredit: Patrick McCann

He may not like not getting his way? But he certainly won't like having to go quicker than he wants and my theory is Solness will put Jonbon's jumping under pressure and we'll see a return of some of the niggly little mistakes which were a feature of last season – and those all add up in a race run at such a furious speed.

I think Solness will crack Jonbon, the question is does he have to crack himself to do so? If not, I think he wins handsomely and we're all left wondering how we let a horse who has done what he's done on his last two starts go off at such a big price (he's currently available at 9-1).

If he cracks himself in doing so, Energumene, or last year's champion of picking up the pieces Captain Guinness, are the two I think are most likely to take advantage. I think JJ Slevin will judge it right and he will be an impressive winner at a juicy price.

But history suggests there is a faint possibility I could also be completely wrong and he sets the race up perfectly for Jonbon who is no doubt a strong stayer at the trip! That's why we run the races. What do you think? Email us at liveblog@racingpost.com.

Paul Townend hugs Galopin Des Champs Credit: CAROLINE NORRIS

Right, it's time for Friday's declarations and Willie Mullins has left it as late as humanly possible, but with seven minutes to spare we have finally found out in which Kopeck De Mee runs, and it is the Martin Pipe!

All nine possibles (Jungle Boogie couldn't run as he's declared for the Ryanair) go forward in the Gold Cup. The most interesting angles are that Mark Walsh has chosen late supplement Inothewayurthinkin over Corbetts Cross, and that Emmet Mullins has booked Jack Kennedy for the ride on Corbetts Cross. That's a very interesting booking.

The full Gold Cup field is:

Ahoy Senor Derek Fox
Banbridge (cheepieces) JJ Slevin
Corbetts Cross Jack Kennedy
Galopin Des Champs Paul Townend
Gentlemansgame Darragh O'Keeffe
Inothewayurthinkin (tongue strap) Mark Walsh
Monty's Star Rachael Blackmore
Royale Pagaille Charlie Deutsch
The Real Whacker (tongue strap) Brian Hughes