Daragh Ó Conchúir picks out three big races at Cheltenham which are set to thrill punters.

History has proven the Festival to be a ruthless environment where only the toughest, most talented survive. This week will be no different. Some hotpots will enhance already lofty reputations while, for others, the bubble will burst. As ever, the challenge is what to trust and what to oppose, writes Darren Norris makes his picks.

The Festival has a long and storied history of producing compelling duels and, with the 2020 renewal rich in promise, Darren Norris picks six battles not to miss.

Pat Kelly’s charge is enigmatic but, just like his media-shy trainer, utterly fascinating, writes Pat Keane.

History awaits Gordon Elliott’s remarkable 10-year-old, who is due to complete his preparations at the Cheltenham Festival when he attempts to win there for a fifth time in all.

Entry to the venue on Lavitt’s Quay costs €10 and heading the list of names on the panel is former Gold Cup-winning jockey Bryan Cooper.

Willie Mullins is excited about the prospect of Al Boum Photo defending his Cheltenham Gold Cup crown three weeks tomorrow, and feels his charge has a “fantastic chance” of successfully doing so. Whilst he acknowledges history is against Joe Donnelly’s gelding, he doesn’t believe this year’s opposition is any tougher than the field he readily took care of in 2019.

Reigning champion Al Boum Photo is one of 20 horses still in contention for the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup following the latest scratchings deadline for the six non-novice Grade Ones at next month’s Festival.

The 2019 Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown was a bit of a disaster, but last weekend’s two-day renewal emerged relatively unscathed on Sunday evening.

Darren Norris selects eight takeaways from the Dublin Racing Festival with a view towards Cheltenham.

Willie Mullins has had many great days in racing but, as he debriefed the media in a packed winner’s enclosure, it was hard to escape the sense that few meant quite as much to Ireland’s champion trainer as Faugheen’s epic victory in the Flogas Novice Chase on day two of the Dublin Racing Festival.

Talking horses with Darren Norris.

So much will happen between lunch time today and dinner time tomorrow that looking backwards to last week and as far back as last weekend seems pointless with how much the future has to offer.

Delta Work, Kemboy and Presenting Percy remain on course to renew rivalry at Leopardstown on Sunday, after all three stood their ground for the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup.

From Willie Mullins’ point of view, Allaho in the Beginners’ Chase and Jon Snow and The Big Getaway in the maiden hurdles are the key horses this weekend.

Veganuary and Operation Transformation are not running this weekend, they are running all month or for even longer.

The 2017 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero returned from 733-day break in a conditions hurdle on New Year’s Eve.

What What did we learn from the Christmas racing period? Lots we already knew, and a few things that we should have known.

With the Christmas festival blitz in the rearview mirror, the focus now turns to a new decade and 2020 promises plenty. Here Darren Norris highlights 10 dates not to be missed

Dual Champion Hurdle runner-up Melon opened his account over fences with a battling display at Leopardstown.

Nine times victorious at the top level over the smaller obstacles, the 2015 Champion Hurdle hero showed he was still a formidable force – just days short of turning 12 years old – to lower the colours of another star name in Samcro.

Horse Racing Ireland yesterday took evasive action to avoid a direct clash between day one of Longines Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown and the replayed All-Ireland SFC final.

I had no inkling that it was going to happen, but I must say I wasn’t entirely surprised to learn of Michael O’Leary’s decision to phase out his Gigginstown operation.

He is a few days down the track but Paddy Kennedy is still floating on air after guiding Magic Of Light to finish second in Aintree Grand National, on his first ever ride at the track.

It is interesting to contrast the influence last year’s Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown had on Cheltenham, compared to this year’s renewal.

The Gordon Elliott-trained Battleoverdoyen gets the nap to retain his unbeaten record in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.

If you’re determined to win green this week, stick with this trio, says our top tipster Tommy Lyons

At the 11th hour we switched Klassical Dream back to the Supreme and he’ll be my first ride of the 2019 Cheltenham Festival. We had contemplated going up in trip with him after his win at the Dublin Racing Festival in Leopardstown but with the ground slowing and looking at the opposition – Felix Desjy will more than likely make it a strongly-run race – we thought this would be the right race for him.

The Unibet Champion Hurdle, the headline act on the opening day of the 2019 Cheltenham Festival, pits a hat-trick-seeking champion against a superstar mare as well as a mare with superstar potential

Nicky Henderson reports Buveur D’Air to be in tip-top condition as he bids to become the sixth horse to record three successive victories in today’s Unibet Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

For two meetings so close to Cheltenham, Gowran Park and Naas host two decent cards this weekend. The Kilkenny venue is first up and From Eden can follow up last week’s success when he lines up for the second division of the Xenon Security Handicap Hurdle.

He was a long way removed from being the most impressive winner at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown last weekend, but there was something about Willie Mullins’ Klassical Dream that indicated you underestimate him going forward at your peril, writes Pat Keane

Officials at Leopardstown remain hopeful this weekend's Dublin Racing Festival will go ahead as scheduled, despite the forecast for potential snow.

It is the morning after the day before but Owen Byrne is out on the track, giving the place the once over.

It would be quite a stretch to suggest Buveur D’air’s eclipse in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton opened the door for would-be takers of his Champion Hurdle crown, but Samcro all but stepped out of the running for that distinction with another disappointing display, this time behind Sharjah in the Grade 1 Ryanair Hurdle on Saturday afternoon in Leopardstown.

A restored full fixture allocation for the Curragh and more blank Sundays during the summer are two of the principal features of the 2019 fixture list released by Horse Racing Ireland.

An open-looking renewal of the Coral Punchestown Gold Cup is the feature on day two of the Punchestown festival.

The finale to the National Hunt season could hardly start on a better note, with three fantastic Grade Ones on the seven-race card on the first day of the Punchestown Festival.

After a seemingly endless spell of testing ground, the weather has finally changed and the forecast for next week is for mainly dry weather, with the odd shower of rain, writes Ruby Walsh.

The hype that surrounds Presenting Percy should ensure Monalee goes off a tasty price in today’s RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase and Henry De Bromhead’s charge is fancied to do the business in a race that historically separates the men from the boys.

The clash of Douvan, Altior, and Min in this afternoon’s Betway Champion Chase is even more than we could have hoped for as a feature on day two of the Cheltenham Festival.