Day Two Guide to the Cheltenham Festival
A Cross Country, Bumper and tough handicaps make day two of the Cheltenham Festival a veritable bag of liquorice all-sorts.
Jonbon’s three career defeats have all come at Cheltenham, but he is the clear favourite to win the Champion Chase on Wednesday. © Getty Images
Key Facts:
- The British are hopeful of second-day Cheltenham success with The New Lion and Jonbon.
- Fighting bookmakers could be more generous than usual during the betting feast.
- Wednesday could be a red letter day for the green and gold colours of JP McManus.
Day two of Cheltenham Festival 2025 starts at 1.20 pm on Wednesday, when much of Britain’s hopes will rest on The New Lion in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle. The contest appears to be one of the easier races to decode on a day when there is a cross country race and a pair of indecipherable handicaps.
Nevertheless, there are four short-priced favourites on the seven-race card including an odds-on shot, Jonbon, in the headlining Queen Mother Champion Chase. Will Nicky Henderson’s charge finally overcome his Cheltenham hoodoo?
Fighting for business on one of horse racing’s biggest betting days, online bookmakers can be expected to offer value, concessions and special bets throughout the afternoon. Using facts and stats as form pointers, our guide to Cheltenham Festival Wednesday (below) may also help punters turn a profit by finding a winner or two.
1.20 pm – The Turners Novices’ Hurdle Race
Better known by its previous names, the Sun Alliance, Neptune, and Ballymore Hurdles, this contest is possibly the strongest of the four novice hurdles run at the Festival. It usually goes to form, too, with big-priced winners being rare.
Willie Mullins trained horses have won this two-mile five-furlong contest seven times, including the last three runnings. The race is restricted to 24 runners, but the Irish Maestro was responsible for 20 of the original 54 entries.
There has been just one British winner during the past decade – Willoughby Court in 2017 – but The New Lion, representing Dan Skelton, could go off favourite for the home team on Wednesday.
JP McManus purchased this six-year-old for a reputed £1 million after he won his third hurdle start at Chepstow in December. He has been visually imperious, but Mullins is likely to field a handful of unexposed sorts, making this a fascinating contest full of potential future stars.
2.00 pm – The Brown Advisory Novices’ Steeple Chase
The top staying chase for novices at Cheltenham, this three-mile contest has produced Gold Cup winners Lord Windermere, Bobs Worth and Denman, plus stars such as Might Bite. More recently, Minello Indo finished second in 2020 before winning the following year’s Gold Cup.
The 2025 edition of the ‘Brown Advisory’ may have a bigger field than usual – as the Turners Novices’ Chase has been downgraded from a Grade-1 contest to a handicap chase this year – but it will still almost certainly fall to a 2026 Gold Cup contender.
It is Ballyburn that online gambling sites and punters favour. The winner of the Turners Novices’ Hurdle a year ago, the seven-year-old looked good when taking a Leopardstown Grade One at the Dublin Racing Festival at the start of February.
Another Irish-trained horse will probably claim this prize if Ballyburn fails to deliver. The top eight in the betting are trained in Ireland, and Britain’s best hope, Jango Baie, is currently quoted on odds of 25/1.
2.40 pm – The Coral Cup Hurdle
Stats and the betting suggest Britain has a good chance of hitting the scoreboard in this 26-runner, two-mile, five-furlong competitive cavalry charge. Analyzing the history books indicates punters should lean towards lightly raced hurdlers, with seven being the optimum age of winners in recent times.
Nicky Henderson has two strongly fancied runners in this contest – Jeriko Du Reponet and Impose Toi, both owned by JP McManus – and he has a good record in the Coral Cup (sponsored by the famous bookmakers of the same name), winning it four times in the past 15 years.
Historical form suggests avoiding top weights and swerving favourites – as only one-from-21 ‘jollies’ have scored – and they rarely finish in a place playing position. Conversely, previous experience at Cheltenham is considered a plus.
3.20 pm – The Glenfarclas Cross Country Steeple Chase
The cross country race probably generates the least interest from a betting turnover perspective. Nevertheless, raced over three miles and five furlongs, it is a fascinating spectacle that Ireland has dominated.
The Emerald Isle has won the ‘Cross Country’ 16 times – impressive given the race only has a 19-year history! That could become 17 if Stumptown can win his fourth successive cross country race, justifying favouritism for this contest at the same time.
Superb from Stumptown 👌
He wins the @Glenfarclas Crystal Cup Cross Country pic.twitter.com/O0eKTBxhLr
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) December 13, 2024
As nine of the past 11 winners came from the top three in the betting (only one of the last ten victors had an SP of greater than 7/1), Stumptown’s chances are obvious. However, Galvin sits second on the betting lists, and he is trained by Gordon Elliott. Horses from his yard have taken this prize six of the last seven times.
4.00 pm – The BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Steeple Chase
The hugely prestigious Queen Mother Champion Chase is the biggest race on the Festival’s second day. Nicky Henderson has won this two-mile 13-fence contest six times. Jonbon, a 17-time winner on a winning sequence of five, is odds on to take his trainer’s record to seven.
Detractors will point out Jonbon’s three career defeats have all come at Cheltenham, including twice at the Festival. However, supporters will know no other horse during the Festival week frames better than him statistically.
During the last 12 years, half of the Queen Mother Champion Chase winners won on their previous start and/or raced within the past 52 days. In 2025, very few of Jonbon’s rivals fulfil this criteria.
4.40 pm – The Grand Annual Handicap Steeple Chase Challenge Cup
Punters that are on the back foot heading into the sixth race on Wednesday’s card will do well to get back on track in the ‘Grand Annual’. This 20-runner handicap is a dead zone for punters. The most recent winners had SP’s of 12/1, 22/1, 28/1, 14/1, 7/2, and 66/1!
Here, winning form during the current season must be considered more of a disadvantage than an advantage. With a degree of confidence, the top weight in this two-miler can be disregarded – it is 31 years since the last one won. Stats suggest that the winner will most likely carry between 10-stone 11-pounds and 11-stone 6-pounds.
5.20 pm – The Weatherbys Champion Bumper
The only flat race at the Cheltenham Festival and a stepping stone for future stars – previous winners include Florida Pearl and Cue Card – the ‘Bumper’ is another race that Irish-trained runners have dominated.
Since its inception in 1992, 25 winners have come from Irish stables, including 13 trained by Willie Mullins. The Irish maestro trains the top three in the betting for this race on Wednesday, meaning he is odds-on to collect the prize yet again.
⚫️⚪️🔴 COPACABANA drinks are free – chuffed to see connections with a good one!
pic.twitter.com/MuGinN1QOx— Road To Cheltenham (@RoadCheltenham) February 9, 2025
As seven of the last ten winners were either favourite or second favourite, the question could be, “What Mullins horse will win the Champion Bumper?” Copacabana – owned by 32Red founder Ed Ware, is the current market principle.
Like Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill, Copacabana is sired by Blue Bresil. However, Mullins’ other strong hope, Gameofinches, also has the same father, and he won convincingly on his debut under the rules.
How Can I Watch the Cheltenham Festival?
Coverage of each of the Cheltenham Festival’s four days will be broadcast on ITV. The first five races of each day can also be streamed via ITVX. Subscription channel Racing TV will broadcast all seven daily races live.
The best sports betting sites will also stream the action for the customers who place a qualifying bet. Promotional new customer sign-up offers and Cheltenham free bet offers will be commonplace during jump racing’s biggest week.
