The Cheltenham Festival is back as hundreds of thousands of fans descend on the iconic Gloucestershire racecourse for one of the sport’s biggest weeks of the year.
The Gold Cup takes the headlines but four action-packed days will see the very best of British and Irish racing as runners and riders battle it out for glory, though Willie Mullins will hope to repeat a dominant 2024, which saw him claim the big one with Galopin Des Champs for a second successive year.
It ensured the iconic Irish trainer went home with nine winners for the week, as well as bringing up the historic mark of 100 Cheltenham Festival winners over his career.
The festival runs from Tuesday 11 March to Friday 14 March and fans can look forward to 28 compelling races across the four days.
Racing begins at 1.20pm GMT and the final race of the day is at 5.20pm, though fans pack in after the gates open daily at 10.30am.
The weather can be crucial to the chances with punters studying the going days and hours out from each race. If the course is heavy, then expect a real test of the horse’s stamina, though the forecast currently suggests a quicker track due to a dry spell just before and throughout the festival.
The forecast looks good during the week: the BBC shows light cloud and a gentle breeze on day one, sunny intervals and light winds on day two, light cloud and light winds on day three and light cloud and a gentle breeze on day four. Most outlets suggest a dry week at Cheltenham, though Accuweather forecasts shower in spots in the afternoon on day four, which could make the Gold Cup a little more unpredictable.
It should be a chilly week on the ground, with temperatures range from 7-9c throughout the week.
The BBC also forecasts dry weather in the days before the festival. Apple weather suggests a 55-70 percent chance of rain from Friday to Monday, meaning the ground could soften. The going at Cheltenham is currently soft, according to the Racing Post, having dried out after 20mm of rain in the last week of February left the course heavy.
The expectation is the course should be good to soft by the time day one arrives. We’ll keep the forecast updates as we approach day one of the festival.
