Cheltenham Festival 2023 Our Preview Of One Of The Season’s Biggest Meets

We are reaching the end of February, which means just one thing to horseracing fans; the Cheltenham Festival 2023 is very much on the horizon!

One of the most important, enjoyable and exciting race meetings of the year, for many the festival is more than just a very competitive meet with 28 outstanding races. It is the first not-to-be-missed meeting of the year for some.

As in previous years, the festival will be held over four days in mid-March, taking in St.Patrick’s Day, and hundreds of thousands of fans are expected to be in attendance, with millions more following the action via TV and/or live streaming services.

Of course, you can get some of your bets on early with bet365 Sport offering a massive selection of antepost prices and all of these prices are non-runner, no bet, which means that if you select a horse that does not run in that race, then you will get your stake back.

Another thing to remember is that in previous years, bet365 have offered some great deals on the festival, and the company may well announce some offers for this year’s festival too.

In this article, we are going to look ahead to this year’s festival, running down each day’s action, theme and some of the top horses that are likely to run in some of the biggest races of the meeting.

We’ll then finish with some key Cheltenham FAQs that you may want to know the answer to.

So let’s get the basics down before we move into more specific details.

🚨 Breaking: Sir Anthony McCoy has announced he is set to come out of retirement and ride at the Cheltenham festival. He is returning for the period that Mark Walsh is out of action due to injury and the unprecedented number of whip bans jockeys are facing.

More To Follow. pic.twitter.com/wWYeXIsnA1

— Icy (@icyestretro) February 22, 2023

The Cheltenham Festival 2023

This year’s Cheltenham Festival will start on Tuesday 14^th March 2023 and will conclude after the final race on Friday 17^th March 2023.

Each of the four days of racing will be themed and will see a total of seven races contested, meaning a total of 28 races across the four days.

Races will start at the same time each day and will be a mix of different jump race types and grades.

The Festival is one of the most important in the racing calendar each year and, along with the Grand National meeting at Aintree in Liverpool in April, is one of the two biggest jump meets of the year in the UK.

Bet365 Sport already has extensive antepost betting across all races at the event, though do remember that with fields for each race not confirmed, your selection could run in another race hence the non-runner, no bet option for antepost bets on each race.

That means that the top jumps horses and trainers will be in attendance at the event, which frequently boasts attendances measuring in their hundreds of thousands across the four days, with millions more following the action live on TV or via live streaming (such as that available for races you have bet on with bet365).

Paul Nicholls and Hermes Allen, the Ballymore favourite and the champion trainer’s shortest-priced contender for this year’s Cheltenham Festival pic.twitter.com/zi4koGKO5r

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) February 27, 2023

Cheltenham Festival 2023 Day One – Champion’s Day – 14^th March

The biggest races on each day are shown in italics.

Race List

• 1.30pm – Supreme Novices Hurdle
• 2.10pm – Arkle Chase
• 2.50pm – Ultima Handicap Chase
• 3.30pm – Champion Hurdle
• 4.10pm – Mares’ Hurdle
• 4.50pm – Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle
• 5.30pm – National Hunt Chase

Watch Out For

Constitution Hill – A magnificent winner of last year’s Champion Hurdle, Nico De Boinville will likely ride Nicky Henderson’s unbeaten 6-year-old who has already warmed up for the meeting with two wins this season at Newcastle in November and Kempton on December, beating Epatante both times.

Cheltenham Festival 2023 Day Two – Ladies Day – 15^th March

• 1.30pm – Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle
• 2.10pm – Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase
• 2.50pm – Coral Cup
• 3.30pm – Queen Mother Champion Chase
• 4.10pm – Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase
• 4.50pm – Grand Annual Handicap Chase
• 5.30pm – Champion Bumper

Watch Out For

Energumene – This Willie Mullins trained French horse has won 8 of its 10 chase races, including the Champion Chase last year, and has matured into an outstanding 9-year-old. A third-place finish at Cheltenham in January 2023 (put down to the colour of the fences) had seen the winner of this race last year drift slightly in the betting, but the horse has attracted significant backing since in the markets.

Cheltenham Festival 2023 Day Three – St Patrick’s Day – 16^th March

• 1.30pm – Turners Novices’ Chase
• 2.10pm – Pertemps Final
• 2.50pm – Ryanair Chase
• 3.30pm – Stayers’ Hurdle
• 4.10pm – Craft Irish Whisky Co. Plate
• 4.50pm – Mares Novices Hurdle
• 5.30pm – Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup

Watch Out For

Shishkin – After pulling up in last year’s Queen Mother Champion Chase, Shishkin has been entered into the Ryanair and Gold Cup this year with most punters feeling his prospects are better in the former. A third place finish on return in December at Sandown was followed by wind surgery but he was a winner at Ascot on the 18^th February for trainer Nicky Henderson.

Flooring Porter – The surprise winner of last year’s Stayers’ Hurdle, the Gavin Cromwell trained Irish horse, fought off Thyme Hill and Paisley Park to win the race. A somewhat slow start to the year sees the horse a 5/1 antepost shot behind Blazing Khal (11/4), Teahupoo (11/4) and Home by the Lee (7/2) for the same race this year.

Cheltenham Festival 2023 Day Four – Gold Cup Day – 17^th March

• 1.30pm – JCB Triumph Hurdle
• 2.10pm – County Hurdle
• 2.50pm – Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle
• 3.30pm – Cheltenham Gold Cup
• 4.10pm – Hunters’ Chase
• 4.50pm – Mares’ Chase
• 5.30pm – Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle

Watch Out For

Galopin Des Champs – This Willie Mullins trained French horse fell at the last while leading the Supreme Novices hurdle last year, allowing Bob Olinger to win. However, after stellar form this season, the horse is now 5/4 with bet365 to win the Gold Cup, although it will face a stern test from last year’s winner A Plus Tard, along with Stattler and Noble Yeats

With just a couple of weeks to go, check back to our Cheltenham Festival Page for this year to discover any additional bonuses or offers that are made available in the run up to one of the biggest horse racing meets of the year!

Cheltenham Festival FAQs