Faugheen tasted defeat for the first time as he was upstaged by his stablemate.

Hurricane Fly is collecting the pension. Douvan is going chasing and Jezki is injured and out for the foreseeable future so it looks like it is going to be a drab hurdling season. Think again. There will be a thousand great stories through the winter and ten of them could be here.

Rich Ricci was no stranger to the winner’s podium in Cheltenham before Douvan and Faugheen earned him two returns to the most sought-after patch of real estate in Prestbury Park yesterday afternoon. 

In delivering a third Champion Hurdle crown to the Closutton residence of trainer Willie Mullins, Faugheen silenced the doubters with a display of authority which established him as the leading hurdler in these isles — a position the unbeaten seven-year-old promises to command for a considerable period.

Selectivity and discipline are the key ingredients for any punter who harbours hopes of making a profit at Cheltenham this week, writes Pat Keane.

The talk is over and the action about to get underway at the Cheltenham Festival, and I’m hoping for a great start to the meeting as I’m riding four horses, all of which are favourite, writes Ruby Walsh.

Owner Rich Ricci believes Faugheen represents his best chance of winning one of the championship events at the Cheltenham Festival ahead of his bid for glory in today’s Stan James Champion Hurdle.

Well, at least reading the front-page story of the Racing Post on Tuesday, it seems that off-course bookmakers are literally trembling in their boots.

It is the question I have been bombarded with for months now: Hurricane Fly or Faugheen in the Champion Hurdle?

After a thrilling opening day at the Cheltenham Festival, today offers another feast of racing to look forward to.