The final day of the Cheltenham Festival is already upon us. Where did the time go?
It’s time to go out with a bang. We’ve got a jam-packed day ahead, with seven more races including the biggest of the lot: the Boodles Gold Cup.
Here, Daily Mail Sport brings you our expert racing tips, featuring a selection, main danger and live outsider for each race…
The Boodles Gold Cup is back! Daily Mail Sport brings you the odds and expert advice ahead of one of racing’s biggest events – PLUS tips for the action from the rest of the day
JCB TRIUMPH HURDLE
1.20: GRADE ONE — 2 MILES, 1 FURLONG
Willie Mullins has won five of the last six renewals and saddles nine this time around.
The most interesting of his team looks to be Proactif, who made a winning stable debut at Fairyhouse when beating the reopposing Macho Man. That form looks solid, with the third horse finishing fifth in the Fred Winter juvenile hurdle on the opening day.
Connections of Highland Crystal will also be encouraged by the opening-day victory of Saratoga, a horse she narrowly at Naas in February. Receiving a mares’ allowance from the geldings, she looks to have a very solid chance.
Harry Cobden partnered Kitzbuhel to victory for Mullins on Wednesday and rides Mon Creuset for him. The gelding won his sole start in France and appeared poised to justify favouritism on his stable debut at Naas before sprawling on landing two out.
SELECTION: PROACTIF…4-1
MAIN DANGER: HIGHLAND CRYSTAL…1-1
LIVE OUTSIDER: MON CREUSET…18-1
WILLIAM HILL COUNTY HURDLE
2.00: HANDICAP — 2 MILES, 1 FURLONG
Murcia runs in the same colours as last year’s winner Kargese and has with a strikingly similar profile to her stablemate.
She was an emphatic winner of the Anniversary Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree last season and shaped well when finishing fourth at the Dublin Racing Festival behind the reopposing Bowensonfire.
With a swing in the weights this time, she looks capable of turning that form around. Dan Skelton ensured Sinnatra met the qualifying requirements for this race by giving him a hurdle start at Warwick last month and he could be attractively handicapped from a mark of 133.
At bigger odds, last year’s Grade Two Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle second Sixandahalf makes some appeal. She will be partnered by Conor Stone-Walsh, who won Wednesday’s Cross Country Chase aboard Final Orders.
MURCIA…17-2
MAIN DANGER: SINNATRA…13-2
LIVE OUTSIDER: SIXANDAHALF…12-1
MRS PADDY POWER MARES’ CHASE
2.40: 2 MILES, 4½ FURLONGS
Panic Attack is unbeaten in four starts over fences since joining Dan Skelton and appears to be thriving despite now being a 10-year-old.
She produced a dominant display when winning the Paddy Power Gold Cup in November before becoming the first horse since 2004 to complete the Paddy Power Gold Cup-Coral Gold Cup double in the same season. Her fluent jumping is a major asset, something that remains a slight question mark for last year’s winner Dinoblue, who survived a mistake at the final fence when scoring at 1-4 at Fairyhouse in January.
Diva Luna has won both of her chase starts this season and finished third in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle last year. With Ben Jones, who won aboard Meetmebythesea on Thursday, in the saddle, she could make all.
SELECTION: PANIC ATTACK…5-2
MAIN DANGER: DINOBLUE…85-40
LIVE OUTSIDER: DIVA LUNA…8-1
ALBERT BARTLETT NOVICES’ HURDLE
TT NOVICES’ HURDLE 3.20: GRADE ONE — 3 MILES
Eleven of the past 12 winners had already recorded a victory over 2m7f or further over hurdles, leaving Thedeviluno, Kazansky and Moneygarrow as the only runners to meet that key trend.
Moneygarrow has won his last two starts since a wind operation. The Dan Skelton yard had several contenders for this but rely solely on the six-year-old. Thedeviluno needs to reverse form with Doctor Steinberg following their meeting in the Navan Novice Hurdle in December. However, that contest was run over 2m4f and he has since demonstrated his stamina by winning over three miles.
Kazansky must also turn around form with Doctor Steinberg after finishing runner-up at the Dublin Racing Festival, but as a previous Grade Two winner over 2m7f he has shown he possesses the stamina required for a race of this nature.
SELECTION: MONEYGARROW…9-1
MAIN DANGER: THEDEVILUNO…5-1
LIVE OUTSIDER: KAZANSKY…16-1
BOODLES CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP
4.00: GRADE ONE — 3 MILES, 2½ FURLONGS
A fiercely competitive renewal of the Cheltenham Gold Cup provides the highlight of the day, with the key piece of form appearing to come from the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day. On that occasion, The Jukebox Man narrowly got the better of Gaelic Warrior and Jango Baie in a tightly-packed finish, with Ryanair Chase third Banbridge close up.
Jango Baie is unbeaten in two starts at Cheltenham, including a dramatic late victory in the Arkle last season, and shaped at Kempton as though this sterner stamina test would suit him. His trainer Nicky Henderson has won this race twice and is already a winner at this year’s Festival.
The Jukebox Man, owned by Harry Redknapp, is unbeaten in four starts over fences and he showed tremendous determination when battling back to deny Banbridge by a nose in the King George VI Chase.
He still has to conclusively prove his stamina at the end of this trip, having appeared to struggle over the distance when running in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle two seasons ago, but his rating has risen 20lbs since then.
Envoi Allen is a familiar face at the Festival, having run there in each of the past seven seasons with form figures of 11F3123. He confirmed he retains plenty of ability when beating subsequent Savills Chase winner Affordale Fury on his reappearance at Down Royal, and a victory for such a popular veteran would be one of the most warmly received moments of the week.
SELECTION: JANGO BAIE…5-1
MAIN DANGER: THE JUKEBOX MAN…5-2
LIVE OUTSIDER: ENVOI ALLEN…33-1
PRINCESS ROYAL HUNTERS’ CHASE
4.40: HANDICAP — 3 MILES, 2½ FURLONGS
Emmet Mullins runs Its On The Line in this contest for a fourth consecutive year, and he will be hoping the nine-year-old can finally go one better after finishing second each time.
The selection was second of three in a point-to-point last time out but this unique test should play to his strengths.
Wonderwall was kept fresh ahead of his victory in this contest last year and connections have opted for the same preparation. He returns following a 124-day break after a win in November and looks the principle danger.
At bigger odds, Chemical Energy could outrun his price after two six-length victories in Irish point-to-points earlier this season. The 10-year-old finished second in the National Hunt Chase at the festival in 2023. A repeat of that performance would put him firmly in the mix.
SELECTION: ITS ON THE LINE…5-1
MAIN DANGER: WONDERWALL…11-2
LIVE OUTSIDER: CHEMICAL ENERGY…4-1
MARTIN PIPE HANDICAP HURDLE
5.20: 2 MILES, 4½ FURLONGS
Cheltenham Festival form is a key factor when identifying likely winners, and all three of the horses discussed here bring that valuable experience.
Air Of Entitlement defeated Sixandahalf, who lines up in the 2.00, and Diva Luna, set to run in the 2.40, when winning the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle last year, and this step up in trip could play to her strengths.
Sa Fureur was fourth in the Grand Annual in 2024 before finishing further down the field in the Coral Cup last year. Both of those runs came off marks of 145 — he now has a rating of 138.
Act Of Authority was runner-up in this race last year behind Thursday’s Mares’ Hurdle winner Wodhooh. He returns this year from just 1lb higher at 135, and with Lewis Saunders in the saddle after riding him 12 months ago, he could outrun his odds.
SELECTION: AIR OF ENTITLEMENT…1-1
MAIN DANGER: SA FUREUR…20-1
LIVE OUTSIDER: ACT OF AUTHORITY…6-1
ONE TO SAVOUR
Cheltenham Gold Cup, by Dominic King
There are plenty of outstanding races as the Festival reaches its climax, with the Triumph Hurdle and Albert Bartlett Hurdle all crammed with quality. But to suggest another contest is more interesting than the ultimate challenge of the Gold Cup would be absurd. The angle for this column, however, is a special focus on Envoi Allen.
It might be expecting a little bit too much for him to win what is known as the Blue Riband of National Hunt racing but this gelding really deserves some headlines for owners Cheveley Park Stud.
He is 12 now and this is expected to be the last time he takes to a racecourse. Envoi Allen has had 30 races in his career, collected £1,117,315 and won 17 times. His consistency, class and durability set him apart. But delve a little deeper into his record and something remarkable is there in front of you.
The Gold Cup will be Envoi Allen’s eighth race at Cheltenham — he has been here every year since 2019 when he won Champion Bumper. In total, he has galloped 17-and-a-half miles around these undulations. He has jumped 82 obstacles — 72 fences and 10 hurdles — and aside from the Bumper, he collected the 2020 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle (now the Turners Novices’) and the 2023 Ryanair Chase.
Davy Russell rode him in the Ballymore and described it as ‘the easiest ride I have ever had around Cheltenham — I was never going to lose at any point’, and Rachael Blackmore, his ally in 2023, adored the attitude and willingness he continually showed. The only blip came in 2021 with a fourth-fence fall in the Ryanair.
On his most recent start, at Down Royal last November, he won the Champion Chase in terrific fashion and showed that advancing years have not done anything to dilute his courage, which is as ferocious as a lion. Henry de Bromhead, who took over his training career in 2021, adores Envoi Allen and while he is not making any bold predictions against a field of up-and-comers such as The Jukebox Man, Gaelic Warrior and Jango Baie, he knows his charge is ready to give his best.
‘He’s full of himself,’ said de Bromhead, who saddled Heart Wood to win the Ryanair on Thursday. ‘Cheveley Park are great supporters of us and the game. But the horse, he’s a legend, isn’t he?’ He is — and you don’t want to miss him in this race.
THE WIZARD OF ODDS
By Chris Baker
2.00: WILLIAM HILL COUNTY HANDICAP HURDLE
Trainer: 14 of the last 17 winners have been trained by Willie Mullins (8), Dan Skelton (4) or Paul Nicholls (2).
Age: 13 of the last 17 winners were aged five or six years old.
Betting: 13 of the last 17 winners were priced at 1011 or bigger.
Rating: 14 of the last 17 winners have been rated between 134 and 141.
Last time out: Nine of the last 12 winners finished in the top three last time out. Of those, five finished second in their last race.
Verdict: Jubilee Alpha looks to hold strong claims and can provide Nicholls with another win in this race. After being placed in a Grade Two bumper at Aintree, this classy mare then contested a number of decent races as a novice last season, including an eighth-place finish in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival. She ended the season with a Listed victory back at Cheltenham the following month. She has finished second in three of her four starts this season and drops back into handicap company here. Others to note are Absurde, Karbau and Wilful.
4.00: BOODLES CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP CHASE
Age: 16 of the last 17 winners were aged seven, eight or nine years old.
Rating: 15 of the last 17 winners had a rating of at least 164.
Betting: 15 of the last 17 winners were priced at 10-1 or shorter, with eight of them sent off as favourite.
Last time out: 11 of the last 12 winners finished in the top four last time out. Of those, eight won their last race.
Verdict: The Jukebox Man (NAP) is a strong match on trends and can follow up his brilliant victory in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day by winning the Gold Cup today. Runner-up in the 2024 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival and then again in Aintree’s equivalent race, he has since gone unbeaten in all four starts over fences. Two of those wins have been over three miles and the way he rallied to get back up on the line at Kempton suggests that Ben Pauling’s charge will have no problem with the extra distance here. Welsh Grand National winner Haiti Couleurs also ticks plenty of boxes and looks to be the biggest danger with stamina assured.
PLACEPOT
Dinoblue and The Jukebox Man are selected as bankers given their recent form. It is hard to see Doctor Steinberg missing out on a place but Jalon d’Oudairies offers good value so is added to the list. With 24 runners set to line up in leg two, three selections are made. Leg one could be the trickiest with limited form on offer.
RACE ONE: (9) MAESTRO CONTI (19) SELMA DE VARY
RACE TWO: (12) JUBILEE ALPHA (2) ABSURDE (6) WILFUL
RACE THREE: (2) DINOBLUE
RACE FOUR: (2) DOCTOR STEINBERG (6) JALON D’OUDAIRIES
RACE FIVE: (11) THE JUKEBOX MAN RACE SIX: (7) ITS ON THE LINE (23) WONDERWALL
2 x 3 x 1 x 2 x 1 x 2 = 24 LINES