Cheltenham Festival 2025: What's different, the storylines and the schedule
HISTORY BOYS: Galopin des Champs and Paul Townend will go in search of three Cheltenham Gold Cups in a row at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival. Photos: INPHO
The biggest week of the racing year is upon us and fans can look forward to four days of top-class entertainment, potentially climaxing with Galopin Des Champs becoming only the fifth horse in history to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup three times.
Quite a bit. Last year Cheltenham was sharply criticised for a number of reasons and racegoers voted with their feet as only 46,771 people made their way to Prestbury Park for the day two card at the 2024 Festival while the day three attendance was also significantly down on the equivalent card in 2023.
The Jockey Club opted against a kneejerk responce to criticism of the Festival but in September they finally acted, announcing a raft of major changes intended to deliver more competitive action at an event whose customers have been promised increased value for money and a better racecourse experience.
The Grade One Turners Novices’ Chase, run over the intermediate trip of two and a half miles, was axed and replaced with a novice handicap over the same trip.
The National Hunt Chase was changed to a 0-145 novice handicap open to professional jockeys while the Cross Country Chase was made a limited handicap.
This year the action will run from 1.20pm-5.20pm (changed from 1.30pm-5.30pm) and the feature race on each day will be run at 4.00pm rather than 3.30pm.
A further change is that six rather than five of the seven races run on each day of the Festival will now be broadcast on terrestrial TV (Virgin Media in Ireland, ITV in Britain). The entire card will continue to be shown on Racing TV for those with a subscription.
A further, welcome tweak was announced last month when it was revealed that the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, the race that provided Michael O’Sullivan with his greatest moment in the saddle when winning the Festival curtain-raiser on Marine Nationale two years ago, will be run in his memory, a fitting tribute to the Cork jockey who tragically died at the age of just 24 on February 16 due to injuries sustained in a fall at Thurles 10 days earlier.
The Gold Cup is always the highlight of the Festival and the prospect of Galopin Des Champs making history means the 2025 renewal is an even bigger deal than usual.
However, there are a host of potentially massive stories. Day one revolves around Constitution Hill’s bid to regain the Champion Hurdle and the possibility that Brighterdaysahead, ridden by the fit-again Jack Kennedy, just might be able to justify the fate Gordon Elliott has always had in her.
Wednesday is D-Day for Jonbon as he looks to break his Festival hoodoo and give owner JP McManus a long-awaited first Champion Chase win.
Looking further ahead, Thursday should belong to Teahupoo while Friday is all about Galopin Des Champs. Should he prevail, victory will have an added significance for Paul Townend as it’ll make the Cork jockey the most successful jockey in Gold Cup history.
Last year’s triumph saw Townend join legendary Arkle jockey Pat Taaffe on four wins and should Galopin Des Champs eclipse dual winner Al Boum Photo by landing a third blue riband it’ll take his rider to five wins in total.
A Galopin Des Champs win would also see Willie Mullins equal Tom Dreaper’s record of five Gold Cup wins. That would be some achievement for a trainer who, having saddled the runner-up no less than six times, feared that the Gold Cup was one major prize destined to forever elude him.
1.20: The Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Grade One), 2m
2.00: My Pension Expert Arkle Novices’ Chase (Grade One), 2m
2.40: Ultima Handicap Chase, 3m1f
3.20: Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle (Grade One), 2m4f
4.00: Unibet Champion Hurdle Grade One), 2m
4.40: Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, 2m
5.20: National Hunt Chase (Novices' Handicap), 3m6f
1.20: Turners Novices’ Hurdle (Grade One), 2m5f
2.00: Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (Grade One), 3m
2.40: Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle, 2m5f
3.20: Glenfarclas Cross Country Limited Handicap Chase, 3m5f
4.00: BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade One), 2m
4.40: Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase, 2m
5.20: Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade One), 2m
1.20: Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Grade Two) 2m1f
2.00: Jack Richards Novices' Handicap Chase, 2m4f
2.40: Pertemps Network Final (Handicap Hurdle), 3m
3.20: Ryanair Chase (Grade One), 2m4f
4.00: Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle (Grade One), 3m
4.40: TrustATrader Plate (Handicap Chase), 2m4f
5.20: Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Handicap Chase, 3m2f
1.20: JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade One), 2m
2.00: William Hill County Handicap Hurdle, 2m
2.40: Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Grade Two), 2m4f
3.20: Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade One), 3m
4.00: Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade One), 3m2f
4.40: St James's Place Festival Hunters Chase, 3m2f
5.20: Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle, 2m4f
