Rachael Blackmore is aiming to take off where she left off when the Cheltenham Festival kicks off today as thousands of Irish punters descend on the Cotswalds.
The Tipperary jockey was crowned the leading rider at the prestigious meeting 12 months ago and will once again partner red-hot favourite Honeysuckle in the feature race on day one, the Champion Hurdle.
Henry de Bromhead's supermare landed the Grade 1 contest in front of an empty racecourse last year, with the meeting being run behind closed doors due to Covid-19.
But that is hopefully all behind us now and over 250,000 punters are expected to pass through the Cheltenham turnstiles over the next four days, with €1billion set to gambled by Irish and UK backers.
Paddy Power predict some 25,000 bets per minute during the peak of the Festival.
The Cheltenham roar will once again be heard when the runners and riders take off in today's opening race, the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, at 1.30pm.
But perhaps the biggest roar of the day, and maybe even the week, will come around 3.40pm if Blackmore and Honeysuckle triumph in the Champion Hurdle, with a large number of punters set to side with the 32-year-old jockey again.
Paddy Power spokesperson Rachael Kane said: “We’ve always said that Rachael Blackmore stood head and shoulders above the rest, that’s why we erected a 25-foot-tall ‘Fearless Jockey’ statue back in 2019 at Cheltenham.
"Obviously we grossly underestimated how much damage she would do to us bookies on behalf of punters in the meantime.
"According to the betting trends we’ve unearthed for 2022, if she repeats anything close to her success last year, we’ll be in big trouble."
But the bookies are also fearful of Willie Mullins as the master of Closutton aims to be crowned the leading trainer at the Festival once again, with Dysart Dynamo, Blue Lord, Appreciate It, Stormy Island, Gaelic Warrior and Stattler among his leading hopes on day one.
Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes said: “Mullins Mania has swept the nation as punters latch onto his runners on Day One. He is the one man who has the ability to make or break our week and this year will be no different.
"If he wins the curtain raiser with Dysart Dynamo, punters will be off to a dream start.”
Ireland thrashed the Brits 23-5 at the 2021 meeting and the home side will be hoping for a much better showing this year around.
Nicky Henderson runs the unbeaten pair of Jonbon and Constitution Hill in the Supreme, the latter of which was discovered by legendary jockey Barry Geraghty, while Jonbon was a record £570,000 purchase for JP McManus.
Meath native Geraghty will return to the Cheltenham Festival for the first time since retiring from the saddle in the summer of 2020 and the 888sport ambassador admits he is "really excited".
He told The Irish Mirror: "I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve been there for most of the meetings throughout the season, and that’s given me a good taste for it heading into the Festival, and I’m really excited.
"It will be very different, but not in a bad way. I don’t think I’ll struggle with being a spectator and it’ll be nice to not be stuck in the scrum of it all for once.
"I have a completely different outlook on racing these days."
On Constitution Hill, he added: "My connection with the horse aside, I think he’s the one you’d want to be on.
"If he was my ride, I wouldn’t swap him for anything else. That said, it is one of the most competitive races at the meeting.
"There’s Dysart Dynamo, Jonbon, Kilcruit, and then even the likes of Mighty Potter and Three Stripe Life mean there’s serious depth to the Supreme as well. I have a lot of faith in Constitution Hill’s ability, but it’s a proper race."
Punters could not attend the Festival last year due to Covid-19 and the Cheltenham locals are really looking forward to welcoming Irish racegoers back to the town.
Paul Stephens, owner of the 21 Club in Regent Street, said: "After the last two years, we are so excited to welcome all the Irish back this week.
"It will be full steam ahead from Tuesday until Friday and there's no way of preparing for it, we just need to throw ourselves into it.
"Horse racing is the only sport in the world where world top class footballers, TV and film stars, the trainers and jockeys who you've just seen interviewed on TV and punters can all mix in the same place.
"It doesn't matter if you're a 75-year-old or an 18-year-old, everyone mixes in the same place and has a good time.
"There is an etiquette that goes with racing and it's a generational sport. We see quite a lot of families that are three generations come to the club.
"A lot of the venues are completely booked out as people started booking tables when they saw tickets for the races were almost sold-out.
"The hardest part has been getting staff as a lot of people in hospitality moved jobs during the pandemic.
"We have security staff coming in from Scarborough, which is quite a journey down.
"There is a great community spirit in the town and a lot of businesses are looking at the week as an opportunity to claw back some of the money they lost over the last two years.
"We can't wait to see everyone again and we're so excited for the week ahead."
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