The opening day of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival is scheduled for today, Tuesday, 11th March at 14:00. It promises to be an exhilarating day of racing, featuring top-class contests such as the Champion Hurdle, Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, and Arkle Challenge Trophy. Be sure to explore all the expert Cheltenham Festival Day 1 tips from our array of tipsters here.
Check out our team’s 2025 Cheltenham Festival Day 1 Tips here…
Andrew Mount’s Cheltenham Day 1 Tips
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Andrew Mount’s Tips for Day 1 at Cheltenham
Matty Sutcliffe’s Cheltenham Day 1 Tips
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Matty Sutcliffe’s Tips for Day 1 at Cheltenham
Cheltenham Day 1 Races
As with every day at the Cheltenham Festival, there are seven races for punters to focus their minds on.
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
The day opens with two novice events, the first being the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at 1.20pm, home of the famous “Cheltenham Roar”. There is often a very well-fancied favourite, and this year is no different with Kopek Des Bordes having stormed to success at the Dublin Racing Festival. The likes of Workahead, Romeo Coolio and William Munny may attempt to upset him, all also trained in Ireland.
Arkle Challenge Trophy
Following soon after is the Arkle Challenge Trophy, the first race over fences, run over the shortest chase trip of 2m. No Sir Gino has ensured that Majborough is the clear favourite for the novice chasing event. He won the Triumph Hurdle last season, overcoming his enormous frame and has shaped into a much more thorough chaser already. The five-year-old’s greatest threat appears likely to come from L’Eau Du Sud, unbeaten over fences thus far for Dan Skelton.
Ultima Handicap Chase
The same obstacles are used again 40 minutes later as the first handicap, the Ultima Handicap Chase, takes place. This has been the one race in which Britain has consistently repelled the strong Irish challenge with no away victories since 2006.
Mares’ Hurdle
The Mares’ Hurdle, which has often competed for quality with the Champion Hurdle in recent years, takes centre stage at 3.20pm. Lossiemouth is set to be a red-hot favourite for the race she won last year, but stablemate Jade De Grugy will be a notable rival, while July Flower and Joyeuse add more depth to the race.
Champion Hurdle
The feature race of the day is the Champion Hurdle. Run over two miles, the speediest horses in National Hunt racing compete for the ultimate hurdling prize. Unfortunately, the unbeaten defending champion, Constitution Hill, was ruled out due to injury in 2024, allowing State Man to claim the prize. Both will have their sights set on the 2025 renewal, but the pair will have a star mare to beat in the shape of Brighterdaysahead, who has been a revelation this season.
Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle
Afterwards, the final two races are both restricted to certain participants. The Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle is four-year-olds only, just like the Triumph Hurdle, with the picture in terms of the handicap only becoming clearer much closer to the Cheltenham Festival.
National Hunt Chase
The National Hunt Chase was exclusive for amateur riders and run over an energy-sapping 3m6f of the chase course for novice chasers. However, not only will this season’s contest be a limited handicap, but professional jockeys will be able to take part for the first time (excluding the 2021 Cheltenham Festival which was COVID-affected).
Cheltenham Free Bets For Tuesday
You can claim the best Free Bets for the Cheltenham Festival 2025 ahead of time. For example, SkyBet have a superb new customer offer running that entitles you to £40 in Free Bets when you make any bet, even for as little as 5p. As yet, there are no offers specifically for the Tuesday at the Cheltenham Festival, but that does not mean you cannot claim free bets elsewhere and use them on Tuesday’s races.
The Cheltenham Festival offers so many different markets to bet on with your free bets. As well as the races themselves, you can bet on who will win the Prestbury Cup between Great Britain and Ireland, or wager on who will be crowned top jockey or top trainer.
Finding The Best Odds On Day 1 Of The Cheltenham Festival
Securing the Best Odds on Day 1 of the Cheltenham Festival
Winning Cheltenham Festival tips on Day 1 are important, but so is making sure you’re getting the best odds available for your selections.
You can easily compare odds on our website by clicking on the prices listed on the Cheltenham racecards. This provides real-time odds from multiple bookmakers, allowing you to select the ones you have access to.
Another way to secure top-value bets is by following the insights of our expert tipsters. Our specialist, Dave Young, shares his top ante-post picks throughout the season.
Boosted odds promotions also offer a fantastic opportunity to land big wins at the Cheltenham Festival. In previous years, standout offers have included A Plus Tard at 50/1 for the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup and Constitution Hill at 40/1 for the 2023 Champion Hurdle. As soon as we spot the best odds boost deals, we’ll share them here and across our site.
Cheltenham Day 1 Trends:
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (1:20 PM)
- The top three in the market have been a good indicator of success, with nine of the last ten winners found within this group. Labaik (2017) is the only exception since 2015, also being the only winner rated lower than 148.
Arkle Novices’ Chase (2:00 PM)
- Winners in the last decade, except for Put The Kettle On (2020), were all rated 151 or higher. Additionally, having at least two wins over fences is a common trait among winners.
Ultima Handicap Chase (2:40 PM)
- This race has been dominated by British-trained horses, with all of the last ten winners having at least one previous run at Cheltenham.
Mares’ Hurdle (3:20 PM)
- Horses aged between five and seven have won most of the renewals in the last decade, except for the exceptional Honeysuckle in 2023, who was aged nine. A rating of 147 or higher is also a common characteristic among winners.
Champion Hurdle (4:00 PM)
- A key trend is that the last ten winners were unbeaten for the season leading up to the Champion Hurdle.
Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (4:40 PM)
- Winners typically have not won a Grade 1-3 hurdle, have never run at Cheltenham, and did not run in a handicap hurdle last time out.
National Hunt Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys’ Novices’ Chase (5:20 PM)
- Since significant changes to the race in 2020, the last five winners have been trained in Ireland. Further changes, including changing the race to a handicap, are planned for 2025.