Cheltenham Horse Racing Festival 2025 Preview
Cheltenham Festival is one of the most eagerly awaited events on the horse racing calendar and one of the first big events of the year with fans from all over the world looking forward to a few days of high quality racing, whether attending in person or watching on TV. Let’s take a look at the upcoming festival!
The prize money on offer is second only to Grand National at Aintree in the National Hunt Racing Calendar in the UK. The festival takes place at Cheltenham racecourse in Gloucestershire and is usually timed to coincide with St Patrick’s Day, making it a popular event for Irish visitors. The high profile nature of the event means that it has a number of Grade 1 races including the Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Stayers Hurdle and Queen Mother Champion Chase. As one might expect, it is a very popular betting event and punters will be preparing themselves, doing their research and attempting to find the best bets of the week.
The Details
The festival was held over three days up until 2005 but this was extended to four days since then and this year the highlights are likely to be Tuesday and Friday. Unlike many flat racing festivals in summer, Cheltenham is usually dominated by British and Irish trainers, with few International contenders making their way over in March. There will be 28 races in total and last year it was Willie Mullins who won the top trainer award with six wins from 28 races and he will be favourite to do so again this year. Paul Townend was the top jockey for the third year in a row in 2024 and he too is favourite to win again this year.
Each day at the festival offers something, starting with Champion Day, celebrating the return of jump racing’s greatest festival where reigning and future Champions unite, all eager to carve their name into the star studded wall of Jump Racing Greats.
Day two is filled with unmissable action on and off the track, Style Wednesday features the Queen Mother Champion Chase, where speed and jumping ability matter most.
For celebrations like no other and racing to match, St Patrick’s Thursday is the day to aim for, where Irish passion raises the rafters and the horses and jockeys put on a special show to try and tip the balance and get closer to winning the coveted Prestbury cup.
Finally, there’s Gold Cup Day, the jewel in Jump Racing’s crown, the most prestigious trophy in horse racing and arguably, sport. Who will you back to claim the ultimate title and be crowned the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup winner in 2025?
In the build-up to the festival it is very important to keep track of the weather. The event is held in mid-March so the chance of rain is relatively high, and if it does rain it can change the event totally. Whilst not quite Royal Ascot, fashion also plays an important role in the event, although weather also plays a role here too.
Highlights of the week
Cheltenham Festival 2025 promises four days of elite competition, with exhilarating races and moments that will go down in history. The atmosphere at the racecourse is electric, with passionate spectators and racing enthusiasts eagerly awaiting standout performances from equestrian superstars. The festival’s key races attract elite runners, vying for racing immortality. Some of the weeks must watch races include:
Champion Hurdle (Day 1) – The ultimate test of speed and agility for hurdling greats.
Queen Mother Champion Chase (Day 2) – A high-speed battle for supremacy over two miles.
Stayers’ Hurdle (Day 3) – A gruelling stamina test that crowns the champion long-distance hurdler.
Cheltenham Gold Cup (Day 4) – The festival’s showpiece event, where elite chasers battle for racing glory.
Champion Hurdle
The 2023 Grade 1 Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill is the current favourite for the 2025 race. The Nicky Henderson superstar was mightily impressive in winning his much anticipated comeback at Kempton in December, beating the Willie Mullins trained Lossiemouth.
Lossiemouth is likely to improve, switching back to the stiffer Cheltenham track, but would need to see Constitution Hill run much below his best to reverse form, he is 8lb clear on official ratings, taking into consideration her 7lb sex allowance.
Brighterdaysahead is the rapid improver in the shake-up, having secured a brace of Grade One races already this term, including beating the re-opposing (and reigning champion) State Man twice. But, if Constitution Hill is at his best, he’ll take some beating and is currently unbeaten throughout his career, doing his best work at the Festival when winning the Supreme and 2023 renewal of this race.
Queen Mother Champion Chase
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is always an exciting two mile encounter where we see some quality horses performing over the big obstacles at speed. There’s a strong favourite for this race in the form of Jonbon and the nine-year-old might end up recording a sizable victory in an encounter where we might end up with a small field.
There are currently two other horses trading at single figure odds and that includes Il Est Francais, with the seven-year-old having put up some bright performances this term. Gaelic Warrior might also line up in this race having run well at Cheltenham before, with Energumene an older adversary who could also go well for Willie Mullins.
Stayers’ Hurdle
There’s a huge test of stamina when it comes to the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle, with the runners and riders competing over a three mile distance and Teahupoo has done it all before. The eight year-old could be primed for another victory after triumphing in 2024, with the Cheltenham Festival betting sites making this horse the strong antepost favourite to land a victory.
Recent form has been solid, although there will be other quality contenders in the field and that includes Home By The Lee, with the older adversary having won on his previous two outings. Lucky Place has also been in the winners’ enclosure on a couple of occasions, with The Wallpark and Rocky’s Diamond other potential contenders for this race.
Cheltenham Gold Cup
Everyone is looking forward to the Gold Cup, a race which is arguably the most prestigious in the National Hunt racing calendar. There is a collection of eight year olds taking an orderly queue in the betting market, with Galopin Des Champs regarded as the one to beat. Willie Mullins saw his charge succeed twelve months ago and a similar performance is expected.
However, there are other runners that could be in contention and that includes Fastorslow, while Gerri Colombe also has the makings of a Gold Cup winner. Shishkin and L’Homme Presse are other contenders, although it will be interesting to see the final declarations for the race, with Galopin Des Champs likely to go off at a short price to win.
Whatever happens, it is likely to be eventful and we all look forward to the Cheltenham roar on Tuesday, a tradition that indicates the festival is up and running and we are in for four days of top level racing.
Please note that the odds might have changed since the writing and/or publication of this article.
Last updated: 02.04.25
