Join Steve Mullington for his Cheltenham Festival ante-post tips in the build up to the 2025 meeting...
Cheltenham Festival 2025 Tip 4
The Arkle Novices' Chase is the championship race for two mile novice chasers, known formally as the Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices' Chase.
Many Arkle Chase winners have subsequently have gone on to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase. That includes the likes of Moscow Flyer, Azertyuiop, Voy Por Ustedes, Sizing Europe, Sprinter Sacre, Altior and Put The Kettle On.
As you can see it is a very informative Cheltenham Festival race and punters like to get involved in it too.
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So who are the main contenders this season and who should you consider having an early ante-post bet on?
Willie Mullins has won the Arkle for the last two years in a row with El Fabiolo and Gaelic Warrior, and his Ballyburn (11/4) holds a great chance of giving him three in a row.
The six-year-old produced one of the best performances at last year’s Festival when scooting home in the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle by 13 lengths, and he should in turn make a great chaser.
At the time of writing (17.11.24), it’s still unclear when and where the six-year-old will make his seasonal bow.
Apparently Sir Gino (6/1) is schooling that well over fences that Nicky Henderson is to bring forward his unbeaten star's chasing career, and has made the Arkle his Cheltenham Festival target this campaign.
The Grade 1-winning four-year-old had been set to stay over hurdles this season but a change of tact will see him following in the footsteps of the former stable stars Altior and Shishkin.
Henderson recently mentioned that he plans for Sir Gino to make his debut over fences in a Novice Chase at Kempton on Sunday November 25th, which is over 2m2f.
Firefox (7/1), the only horse to have beaten Ballyburn, spearheads Gordon Elliott’s top novice chasers this season, with the trainer hoping the six-year-old might develop into a live Arkle candidate.
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Firefox made the first step along that road on November 1st when he was the impressive winner of the Beginners Chase at Down Royal.
The big powerful horse was still pulling hard at the top of the hill before easing away from Mossy Fern Park to take the first prize.
We’re likely to see Bective Stud horse line up next in the 2m4f Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase (Grade 1) at Fairyhouse.
The Henry De Bromhead-trained Inthepocket (10/1) entered the Arkle reckoning after landing the Wexford Racecourse Members Supporters Club Beginners Chase on October 28th with consummate ease.
The seven-year-old was a high class hurdler with the Grade One Top Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree to his name, and he made a pleasing chasing debut when second at Navan in November last year.
He never ran again after that so his latest victory came after almost a year off, which is very impressive.
Those looking for a longer priced outsider may want to consider the Gordon Elliott-trained Down Memory Lane (20/1).
The JP McManus-owned six-year-old looked a useful sort when obliging in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Beginners Chase at Navan and he will probably run in the Drinmore (December 1st) next.
Arkle antepost tip: Firefox (E/W)
Cheltenham Festival 2025 Tip 3
The Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle, registered as the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle, is open to fillies and mares only.
First run in 2008, the race quickly made history with the legendary mare Quevega winning it six times in a row from 2009 to 2014. Other top class winners have included Apple's Jade, Benie Des Dieux and Honeysuckle.
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So which mare do we at 888sport think will win the race in 2025? Well, here are some possible candidates for the top prize:
Fergal O’Brien’s mare Dysart Enos (14/1) has won all six of her starts, including three times over hurdles last season which culminated in a seven-length romp company at Doncaster in January.
Unfortunately a minor setback that ruled Dysart Enos out of the Mares’ Hurdle last season which was a cruel blow to the O’Brien team.
It was an even bigger shame because he had plotted her extremely shrewdly, avoiding Graded races to prevent picking up penalties etc, and the stable all felt that she could give O’Brien his first success at the meeting.
She makes her long anticipated return in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham on Sunday 17th November and we currently have her priced up at 3/1 to land that trophy.
Her handicap debut mark is 131, which shouldn’t cause her any issues, and at shortish odds she’s still a very solid bet in a competitive handicap.
If she wins this Prestbury Park feature with anything to spare, our traders will certainly be trimming her price down for next March.
Gordon Elliott is currently in pole position in antepost market for the Mares’ with his horse Brighterdaysahead (7/4).
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She produced a huge performance to win at Down Royal at the start of November in the Bottlegreen Hurdle, and remains an exciting prospect for the rest of the season.
Elliott has muttered that the Champion Hurdle may well be her target but the chances of her turning up in the much easier 2m4f Mares Hurdle at the Festival are extremely high.
Willie Mullins declared Lossiemouth (2/1) a Champion Hurdle mare after she stormed to victory in last season’s Mares' Hurdle, but will she actually line up in it?
After her victory last term, Mullins was quoted as saying: Mullins said: "She was great - she's a Champion Hurdle mare, we all think.
"Once again, Paul was very cool on her and she can improve another year on, when she's a bit older. Running like that, in that ground, she's got everything."
Whether that statement deters you from backing her for the Mares’ Hurdle at 2/1 is entirely your prerogative.
And finally, sent off second-favourite for the Mares' Novices' Hurdle behind Gordon Elliott's Brighterdaysahead, Jade De Grugy (4/1) ultimately finished fourth behind the 2024 winner Golden Ace.
A month later she was back to winning ways in the Grade 1 Honeysuckle Mares' Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse.
If the Kenny Alexander-mare continues this season on the same trajectory, then she will be a force to be reckoned with in the mares division, including this race.
Mares Hurdle antepost tip: Dysart Enos (E/W)
Cheltenham Festival 2025 Tip 2
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade One National Hunt steeplechase race, run over two miles with thirteen fences to jump and will take place at Cheltenham Racecourse on Wednesday 12th March 2025.
At the time of writing (November 5th) the antepost betting market for the race looks wide open. Let’s take a look through the main protagonists...
Nicky Henderson's eight-year-old Jonbon was ruled out of the 2024 Champion Chase on the eve of the Festival but will be hoping to make up for last time in this two mile feature.
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Henderson and his owner JP McManus have resisted the temptation of stepping Jonbon up in trip this season, with the partnership instead plotting a path to the Champion Chase.
The gelding won the Grade 1 Melling Chase over two and a half miles last term and will start off his new campaign in the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham in November, a race he won last season. Next will follow the Tingle Creek and the Clarence House Chases.
All things being equal, Jonbon looks to be the horse they will all need to beat in the Champion Chase and his current odds of 3/1 will be tempting for many punters.
Willie Mullins has indicated that his Arkle scorer Gaelic Warrior will be pencilled in initially for the Champion Chase.
Speaking at his open day just before the season started, Mullins told reporters: "He disappointed me a little at Punchestown but that was at the end of the season and he got a bump along the way.
"I imagine we'll probably start off thinking he's a Champion Chase horse and if he has to go up in trip that would be fine, the Ryanair is there and the Gold Cup is there. He jumps a bit to his right but he has an engine and sometimes you just have to put up with those little quirks."
Gaelic Warrior is currently priced up at 4/1 with us here at 888sport and he has plenty of supporters in the betting already.
When Jonbon was scratched from last year’s Champion Chase, El Fabiolo became the odds-on favourite to win.
However, El Fabiolo fluffed his lines on the day and was pulled up after jinking at the first fence, leaving Captain Guinness to take the honours at big odds in the Wednesday feature.
We all know however that El Fabiolo is a much better horse than that and can recall him and Jonbon having some memorable battles over the years, most recently when Jonbon won the Celebration Chase at Sandown in April.
For the good of the sport, National Hunt racing fans will be hoping that the two will meet again at The Festival.
Queen Mother Champion Chase antepost tip: Jonbon (WIN)
Cheltenham Festival 2025 Tip 1
It’s thirty years since the French last had the winner of the Gold Cup at Cheltenham, so you could say they are well overdue another, but they appear to have a live candidate with a strong chance this year in the shape of Il Est Francais (20/1 in our horse racing betting).
The Noel George & Amanda Zetterholm trained six-year-old has won four of his five starts over fences to date, with his smartest victory coming at Kempton last Boxing Day when he put in one of the performances of the season.
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He made horses such as Hermes Allen, Giovinco and Kilbeg King look pretty ordinary when landing the Grade One Kauto Star Novices' Chase.
The son of Karaktar made a successful seasonal reappearance when cruising home in the Grade Three Prix Richard et Robert Hennessy at Auteuil at the end of September.
With Il Est Francais coming home tailed off in his final outing of last term at Auteuil in April, it was nice to see the horse bounce back in emphatic style. jumping well throughout over two miles and six furlongs on heavy ground.
Toscana Du Berlais was also on the premises turning for home, but Il Est Francais pulled away to oblige by seven lengths under James Reveley.
Noel George indicated afterwards that his star horse would return to Auteuil for the Prix La Haye Jousselin in November, before heading over to England for a crack at the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day.
If he was to land the coveted Christmas feature then he would certainly be in with a live chance in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Owned by Richard Kelvin-Hughes and Haras De Saint-Voir, Il Est Francais shows plenty of similarities to some of the French greats that have gone before him.
The Fellow won the Prix La Haye Jousselin on his way to landing the 1991 King George, while First Gold completed the double in 2000.
They both contributed to some golden years for French staying chasers in the UK, so we maybe on the verge of something great once more.
As we all know, Galopin Des Champs is the horse they all must beat in the Gold Cup having doing it twice already, but to win three of them on the bounce is going to require one herculean effort and this could well be the season to take him on.
With a high standard of novice chasers on the scene this season, Il Est Francais could be set to take on a strong field in the Gold Cup in 2025. If successful he will become the fourth seven-year-old to win the race in the last sixteen renewals.
Cheltenham Gold Cup antepost tip: Il Est Francais (20/1 EW)
When is the Cheltenham Festival?
The Cheltenham Festival 2025 will take place between Tuesday 11th and Friday 14th March.
This year Cheltenham Racecourse will celebrate 101 years of the Gold Cup, the pinnacle event of the National Hunt calendar.
This is the one race they all long to win and every horse, jockey, trainer, breeder, owner and racing fan will have their sights set on the Cotswolds.
Four breathtaking days of top class action will see a total of 28 races contested and numerous champions crowned.
There will be plenty of interest in the horse racing betting too that week. So, what can we expect each day at the Cheltenham Festival?
DAY 1 – Champion Day (11th March)
The Grade 1 Supreme Hurdle raises the curtain to the Cheltenham Festival with a famous roar. Last year we saw Slade Steel land the spoils for popular Irish trainer Henry de Bromhead.
The feature race of the day is the Champion Hurdle and last year State Man came home in emphatic style under Paul Townend for Willie Mullins and owner Mrs J Donnelly.
Jumping with speed, precision and accuracy, the hurdling superstar landed Willie Mullins yet another Champion Hurdle winner.
DAY 2 – Festival Wednesday (12th March)
Captain Guinness was a surprise winner of the 2024 Queen Mother Champion Chase but the returning Energumene - off for the whole of last season after suffering a setback - will bid to claim his third success in the race.
Fact To File took the Grade 1 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase with ease to give the formidable partnership of JP McManus and Willie Mullins another winner.
It was a performance that caught the eye and they will be targeting the Cheltenham Gold Cup with him this season. He will prove to be a popular pick in the Cheltenham betting odds.
DAY 3 – St Patrick’s Thursday (13th March)
The Cheltenham Festival is a second home to the Irish and St Patrick’s Thursday reflects this both on and off the track. The day itself features the Ryanair Chase and the Stayers Hurdle.
However, it was the home team that celebrated victory in the Ryanair Chase as Protektorat got up to claim a Festival triumph for Dan Skelton, while the Stayers Hurdle went to Gordon Elliott once again as favourite Teahupoo justified the odds to go a couple better than the previous year.
DAY 4 – Gold Cup Day (14th March)
The day features the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the blue riband race of jumping. The pre-race tension, the exhilaration of the race and the jubilations afterwards make it a truly remarkable day.
The 2024 renewal was won by the Willie Mullins-trained Galopin Des Champs.
Mullins has now won four of the last six renewals of the race, with fellow Irish trainer Henry De Bromhead winning the other two.
Galopin Des Champs now has the chance to rewrite the history books by winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup for the third year in a row, but can he emulate the likes of Best Mate? What an achievement that would be.
Cheltenham 2025 Tips
We'll be here with daily tips on the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, with our horse racing expert analysing every race at this year's meeting. You can find Cheltenham tips for each day via the links below:
How do you get to the Cheltenham Festival?
By Road: Cheltenham Racecourse, Evesham Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 4SH
By Rail: The nearest train station is Cheltenham Spa. There is a dedicated Races bus service for the Cheltenham Festival from Cheltenham Spa Railway Station.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Adobe*
*Prices correct at the time of writing*
