The 2020 Cheltenham Festival is mere weeks away, with racing action beginning on Tuesday 10th March at that iconic racecourse. Running for four days, the Festival is set to deliver some of the most exciting and prestigious races in the British racing calendar, and has a distinct atmosphere that is unlike any other event in Europe.
The run up to the Festival has been pretty action packed and competitive, with some impressive wins and one or two disappointments here and there. As the days to “the greatest show on turf” grow shorter, here's a summary of the road to Cheltenham so far for notable entrants, including defending Gold Cup Champion Al Boum Photo, and Gordon Eliott's star horse, Tiger Roll.
What you need to know about this year's Cheltenham Festival
The 2020 Cheltenham Festival runs from Tuesday 10th March to Friday 13th March. Each day, races will start at 13.30, but the race course itself will be open from early morning.
Day one of the Festival is Champion Day, with the highlight races being the Unibet Champion Hurdle, the Supreme Novices Chase, and the Arkle Challenge Trophy. This is followed by the Queen Mother Champion's Chase and the Cross Country Chase on Ladies Day (day two), and the Stayers' Hurdle and Ryanair Chase on day three, which also happens to be St. Patrick's Thursday. The festival will then culminate on Gold Cup Day, with the eponymous championship race deciding which of today's crop of elite racehorses will join iconic runners like Desert Orchid and Arkle.
As is par for the course, visitors to the Festival can expect plenty of betting opportunities, both for major races like the Stayers' Hurdle and Gold Cup, but also the Grade One novice events and the amateur National Hunt chases.
If you're not planning to attend in person, there are still many options available in online and retail bookmakers in the run up to and during the Festival, with most online bookmakers already opening betting markets for the major races. One of the advantages of placing bets online are the numerous money saving promotions available, such as free bet offers that can be found on the likes of Oddschecker.
It's been a light but positive season so far for Al Boum Photo
Despite being fairly inactive in the racing circuit in the run up to Cheltenham, Willie Mullins believes Al Boum Photo will be in tip top shape to defend his crown in the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Repeating the same schedule he ran last year before winning that prestigious trophy, Al Boum Photo once again snagged a comfortable victory in the G3 Savills Chase at Tramore on January 1st. He hasn't run since then, but according to Mulins he'll be going in to Cheltenham “nice and fresh” – “Last season just worked out well…I didn't even enter him for the Dublin Racing Festival this year…I am probably a creature of habit and when something works, we do it again”, he explained to the Racing Post recently.
Statistically, Gold Cup winners rarely come back and win in their second attempts, so it's going to be a major achievement for Mullins if his mount is able to pull it off this year. Al Boum Photo may be “going in there in good order”, but there hasn't been a back-to-back winner of the race since Best Mate, who achieved a Blue Riband hat trick in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Fellow Irish trainer Gordon Elliott will be hoping to disrupt Mullins' plans for a double victory with his seven year old, Delta Work. After romping home in third place at the RSA Novices Chase in last year's Festival, Delta Work has since gone on to enjoy a stellar pre-season, winning the G1 Savills Chase and the Irish Gold Cup, bringing his record up to five Grade One wins.
Throw in Nicky Henderson's Santini into the mix, and we're all set for an electric race on Gold Cup day.
Grand National drama hasn't knocked Tiger Roll off course
And speaking of Gordon Elliott, his “little horse” Tiger Roll is firmly on track for the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase on Day 2 of the Festival, where a third consecutive win would bring him the first of two possible hat tricks for the 2020 jump season.
Tiger Roll hasn't been out of the media spotlight since his extraordinary achievement last year, when he won his second consecutive victories at both the Cross Country at Cheltenham and the Grand National at Aintree. But while his name has continuously made sporting headlines, his first race in 10 months happened earlier in February.
Making a low-key appearance at the Boyne Hurdle at Navan, which of course he won in 2019, Tiger Roll finished up in fifth place. Jockey Keith Donoghue believed they were going to be first past the post again, but his lack of race-fitness soon became apparent and the front three were able to get away.
The race may not have brought the fireworks that some were expecting, but Elliott isn't dismayed – “he ran a brilliant race”. Confirming that Tiger Roll has only “been back cantering” since New Year's Day, this gentle run up to these two major challenges is exactly what the experienced horseman has planned for. The bookies haven't been affected by the Boyne Hurdle result either, leaving Tiger Roll as the 6-4 favourite for Cheltenham.
Hazel Hill set to defend Foxhunter Chase win
Another returning winner from 2019, Hazel Hill, is doing well after a slight mishap at Wetherby earlier this month. Phil Rowley's 12 year old was found to have a minor muscle strain after losing the hunter chase to Minella Rocco (runner up in the 2017 Gold Cup).
After some intensive physiotherapy, Hazel Hill is well on track for Cheltenham, having “missed no work”, and his programme will continue on schedule.
Meanwhile, after missing out at both Wetherby and Kelso, Nicky Henderson has decided to pull his RSA Novices' Chase favourite, Champ, from any further prep outings. The eight year old, who is currently 3-1 to win, experienced a fall at the second to last fence in the Dipper on New Year's Day, and the Great British weather put paid to any races in February.
Stating that he has a plan, Henderson confirmed that Champ “won't run again before Cheltenham, but I've sorted out what we are going to do.”
