IT’S been a long week for racing fans, but the best has been very much saved for last, as Gold Cup Day hits our screens on Friday. 

The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup is one of the most prestigious horse races in the world and millions will be tuning in to watch the big race. We could be set for history, too, as Galopin Des Champs bids to become just the second horse this century to win the race three times. 

Willie Mullins’ charge is a hot favourite with the bookies to pull it off, but as we’ve seen this week, surprises are never too far away at Cheltenham. With that in mind, we’ve taken a long look at the race card to put together an in-depth day 4 preview for anyone looking for Cheltenham tips.

Best bets for Cheltenham day 4

• Galopin Des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup – 4/9 with Betway
• Lulamba in the JCB Triumph Hurdle – 9/4 with bet365
• Absurde in the County Handicap Hurdle – 43/10 with SBK
• Dinoblue in the Mares’ Chase – 6/5 with Coral
• Shearer in the St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase – 9/1 with BetMGM

Cheltenham day 4 race schedule

The final day of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival is an excellent one, with three Grade 1 races scheduled on the card. The feature race is the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup at 4pm and you can find the full race card below. 

Cheltenham Festival day 4 predictions: The runners and riders

The big event on Friday is the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup, which is one of the most prestigious races of the year. Galopin Des Champs is bidding to become just the fifth horse to win the blue riband three or more times and he’s certainly at the right age as a nine-year-old, bearing in mind that no winners this century have been 10 or older. 

Each of Corbetts Cross, Monty’s Star, Banbridge and Inothewayurthinkin are running in the race for the first time and it’s worth noting that race debutants don’t have the strongest record, with just two first-time winners this century. 

Galopin Des Champs is an odds-on favourite at the time of writing and the omens are good, with four of the last five winners being the market leader, but there’s no such thing as a certainty in horse racing!

In the Triumph Hurdle, the two market leaders are British-trained, but it would be folly to ignore the 11 (eleven!) Willie Mullins runners, seeing as the master of Closutton has won four of the last five renewals. 

Should the money pour in for either East India Dock or Lulamba to the point they go odds-on, show caution, only one odds-on jolly has won the Triumph ever – Attivo in 1974!

Finally, keep an eye on the Irish-trained runners in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, seeing as the trophy has gone back to the Emerald Isle in five of the last six years! Looking for some in-depth Cheltenham festival day 4 predictions? We have put together our best bets for you below. 

Finally, keep an eye on the Irish-trained runners in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, seeing as the trophy has gone back to the Emerald Isle in five of the last six years! Looking for some in-depth Cheltenham Gold Cup Day tips? We have put together our best bets for you below, along with Cheltenham betting offers and free bets from our favourite horse racing betting sites.

#1 – Galopin Des Champs in the Gold Cup Steeplechase at 4/9

It’s impossible to oppose the indomitable GALOPIN DES CHAMPS, who is bidding for his own little slice of history by winning this for a third time. The nine-year-old was faultless when winning this by three-and-a-half lengths in soft ground 12 months ago and to put it simply, he will be very hard to stop if in the same mood here. 

Willie Mullins’ charge rather needed the run when third on reappearance at Punchestown in November, something which isn’t out of the ordinary, and he was far too strong when winning back-to-back Grade 1 contests at Leopardstown the last twice. 

It may not be quite as soft as the previous two years on Friday, though he’s fairly versatile in terms of the ground and ought to prove too strong in this once again – with a fourth festival victory looking rather inevitable. 

With last year’s runner-up Gerri Colombe missing, the biggest threat is undoubtedly the King George VI Chase winner Banbridge. He has stamina to prove, but he took his form to a new level when reeling in Il Est Francais over Christmas and should the ground be on the faster side, he’d be a threat to the favourite. 

Inothewayurthinkin is a short price for next month’s Grand National but he has something to find having been held by the favourite the last twice, while the remainder of the field all have significant amounts to find with Willie Mullins’ superstar.

Bet on Galopin Des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup at 4/9 with Betway

#2 – Lulamba in the JCB Triumph Hurdle at 9/4

A fascinating renewal of the Triumph Hurdle, which is shaping up into a match race between two unbeaten British challengers. East India Dock leads the market at the time of writing, having picked up two wide-margin victories in trials for this race over course and distance this season.

It’s difficult to completely weigh up that form though it’s certainly worth noting that the runner-up from his victory on Trials Day, Stencil, was well held on Tuesday. A half-brother to the Champion Hurdle runner-up Burdett Road, he has plenty of speed in his locker and ought to go close for a yard that’s firmly on the up. 

However, it is the other horse in this prospective match race that makes the most appeal, the Nicky Henderson-trained LULAMBA. The four-year-old has raced just once over hurdles so far on these shores, though he made an almighty impression when hitting the track, winning a warm-looking juvenile event at Ascot in January with plenty in hand. The form has worked out well, too, with the third and the fifth in behind that day winning since. 

With equally promising stablemate Palladium missing the race due to injury, the door looks open for Lulamba to take this, with the 9-4 currently available with bet365 looking more than fair. The biggest danger to the market leaders will likely come from Irish raider Hello Neighbour, who showed plenty of grit to win a Grade 1 contest at Leopardstown last month and is respected.

Bet on Lulamba in the JCB Triumph Hurdle at 9/4 with bet365

#3 – Absurde in the County Handicap Hurdle at 24/5

A fascinating renewal of the County Hurdle, in which the all-conquering Willie Mullins seemingly holds all of the cards. Mullins has won this race a record seven times – including three of the last five renewals – and it’s rather telling that each of the three market leaders at the time of writing all hail from Closutton.

The current favourite is Kargese, who was second behind Majborough in last season’s Triumph Hurdle. Given plenty of time to recover from a busy juvenile campaign, the five-year-old has had just one start so far this term, finishing second in a Grade 2 contest at Ascot in January. The winner that day finished a fine third behind Lossiemouth in Tuesday’s Mares’ Hurdle and she ought to go close off a fair-looking mark of 141.

However, it looks worth siding with her stablemate ABSURDE. The seven-year-old is perhaps better known for his exploits in the Melbourne Cup, finishing fifth down under in November, but he’s a seriously smart type on the Flat. That talent switched successfully to jumps last year, too, when winning this race on tacky ground by a length. 

An 8lbs rise for that victory makes life harder here, but the ground ought to play into his hands this time around if it is indeed faster, and it would be no surprise should he have a bit of improvement over timber up his sleeve. 

Mullins is the master of preparing one and it would be no surprise should Absurde prove good enough to take this again, meaning it’s worth placing a small bet on him at 5.8 with SBK to do the business. 

Bet on Absurde in the County Hurdle at 24/5 with SBK

#4 – Dinoblue in the Mares’ Chase at 6/5

A fascinating renewal of the Mares’ Chase, which features a rematch between the Irish raiders DINOBLUE and Limerick Lace. It was the last-named who came out on top by three quarters of a length here 12 months ago, though it could be argued that Dinoblue wasn’t fully firing that day.

The pair have gone in opposite directions since, with Limerick Lace looking flat in her two starts so far this campaign. Meanwhile, it has been a more productive campaign for Dinoblue, who built on two tough assignments when defeating her reopposing stablemate Allegorie De Vassy in a Listed race at Naas last month. 

That rival slammed Limerick Lace by some 25 lengths in January, which rather points the finger firmly in Dinoblue’s direction. It’s certainly worth noting that she has been a beaten favourite for the last three years running at the festival, but she’s fancied to make things right this time around, for a yard that has won two of the four renewals of this race to date.

Bet on Dinoblue in the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase at 6/5 with Coral

#5 – Shearer in the St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase at 9/1

Run over the exact same distance as the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the hunters’ chase often proves to be an intriguing puzzle to solve, and this year is no different. 

Its On The Line won at two of the three spring festivals last year, with the only blot on his copy coming when three quarters of a length behind Sine Nomine in this race. He is of obvious interest, though he has finished second in this for two years running and has been below par in two starts so far this campaign. 

The market leader is Angels Dawn, who fell when right in contention in the Kim Muir last year. She is respected on the back of two commanding point wins, while Willitgoahead, Allmankind and Ryehill all deserve respect. 

However, the way to go could be SHEARER, who boasts an interesting profile. Named after the legendary Premier League striker by his Blackburn Rovers-obsessed owner, the nine-year-old was a promising novice before suffering an injury two years ago. 

The decision to switch him to this sphere raised eyebrows, but he’s done little wrong so far, winning events at Ffos Las and Taunton without much fuss to qualify for this. He appealed as the type that could have progressed far beyond his current mark of 137 in his younger years and the suspicion is that this race has been in the planning for some time by Paul Nicholls, who will be mindful that the owner has yet to taste victory at the festival. 

Trading at 9-1 at the time of writing, it looks worth siding with Shearer to take this, with this price likely to be gone by post time due to the popularity of his namesake!

Bet on Shearer in the St James’s Place Hunters’ Chase at 9/1 with BetMGM

Some famous Gold Cup moments down the years

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is one of the most glamourous and prestigious horse races of the year and the blue riband contest hasn’t been shy of drama over the years. 

With 100 years of history, it’s difficult to hone in on even the best renewal from this century, though plenty will point to the era of Kauto Star and Denman. Both trained by Paul Nicholls, the pair fought out a legendary rivalry, with Kauto winning the race twice and Denman once. 

The pair clashed for one final time in 2011 and while both would eventually fall to a younger rival in Long Run, the image of the pair rounding the bend for home in unison is one that went down into Cheltenham folklore. 

In terms of shocks, there is none greater this century than Lord Windermere, who stayed on best up the hill to pull off a 20-1 surprise for Jim Culloty in 2014 – who is the uncle of a certain four-time champion jockey in Oisin Murphy. 

Galopin Des Champs arrives on the Cotswolds in pursuit of history, having won the race in 2023 and 2024. If he was to win, he would be just the second horse this century after the great Best Mate to win the race three times and just the fifth ever (Arkle, Cottage Rake and Golden Miller are the other three). 

How to bet on day 4 at Cheltenham

Cheltenham Gold Cup Day is one of the few horse racing events that break through into the public consciousness, meaning it’s likely that there will be plenty of people who are placing a racing bet for the first time. 

If that statement applies to you, don’t worry, we have put together a quick step-by-step guide to placing a bet on the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

• Log into your betting account. If you need to create a new one, there are lots of suggestions in our list below.
• Deposit money into your account and head to the ‘Horse Racing’ section. Find the racing taking place at Cheltenham on Friday 14^th March 2025.
• Pick a horse to place a bet on. You can either follow the Cheltenham day 4 predictions in this article, or you can read the form on your betting site. 
• Add the horse to your betting slip by clicking on the odds next to their name. Once they appear in the betslip, input your stake and click on ‘place bets’. 

More 2025 Cheltenham free bets and betting offers

• bet365 Cheltenham free bets
• LiveScore Bet Cheltenham free bets
• kwiff Cheltenham Festival betting offer
• SBK free bets for Cheltenham Festival
• AK Bets Cheltenham Festival offer
• Betgoodwin Cheltenham offer
• BetUK Cheltenham free bet offer
• Betzone Cheltenham Festival free bets

Cheltenham Festival free bets for day 4

How to follow the Cheltenham Festival action on day 3

Cheltenham is one of the most popular sporting events of the year, meaning it’s fairly easy to keep up with the action. The majority of the races are being screened for free on terrestrial television by ITV1, who are showing the first six races on day three, while Racing TV is the place to watch all 28 contests during the week. If you are out and about, you can follow the action on talkSPORT radio, while betting apps will be live streaming the action. You can also watch each and every race in betting shops up and down the country.

Which twenty-six Reds will we see?

A good bit has changed about the nature of the Cincinnati Reds roster mix since last we gave our best guess at who might be included on it come Opening Day.

Spencer Steer’s shoulder maintained its issues, and he received a cortisone shot back on March 1st. Andrew Abbott, though, has seen his shoulder progress well enough that he threw a pair of IP in a AAA game just yesterday. Rhett Lowder is still behind schedule, unfortunately, but at least it looks like he’s moving forward and not backwards. Speaking of ‘back,’ Tyler Stephenson headed for an MRI after lingering back pain.

Rule 5 draftee Cooper Bowman was sent back to the Oaksacvegas Athletics, while former top prospect Noelvi Marte was officially sent down to AAA.

That’s a lot to process, as are the risks of losing players in camp as non-roster invitees if they aren’t selected to start the season. Same goes for players with no options remaining, as they very well could be scooped up on waivers if not placed on the roster from day one.

With Opening Day now less that two weeks away (!!), here’s our latest, greatest estimate of which Reds will make up the Opening Day roster.

Catcher

I’ve got Tyler Stephenson (1) still on here alongside Jose Trevino (2), as all initial reports on Ty Steve’s back are that his issue is minor. It may mean we see more of Jose in the lineup early on, so far there’s nothing to suggest these aren’t the two backstops they’ll carry from day one.

Infielders (5)

Elly De La Cruz (3) and Matt McLain (4) are the cornerstones of this team, and they’ll form the middle infield. Christian Encarnacion-Strand (5) and Jeimer Candelario (6) seem to be locks in the corner rotation, while Santiago Espinal (7) has solidified his spot as the do-it-all infielder in reserve.

Gavin Lux

Gavin Lux (8)! He’ll see time at 3B, 2B, LF, and even at DH when the time is right. Since I’ve got Spencer Steer beginning the year on the IL, Lux’s versatility will help offset that usually created by having Steer on the roster for the time being.

Outfielders (5)

TJ Friedl (9) is back and healthy and poised to be the everyday CF and leadoff man all 4-WAR style once again. He’ll be flanked by Jake Fraley (10) and Austin Hays (11) most days, with Stuart Fairchild (12) a RHH option on days when Terry Francona wants to stack those up against southpaws. That brings us to Blake Dunn (13), whose RHH ability wins out in this mix over Will Benson since Lux, a LHH, is filling the ‘move anywhere when it’s time to switch’ role previously occupied by Steer, a RHH. In other words, I think Francona will choose to have one more righty bat around than another lefty.

Starting Rotation

Hunter Greene (14) will start on Opening Day, as well he should. He’ll be flanked in some order by each of Nick Martinez (15), Brady Singer (16), and Nick Lodolo (17) for sure at this point. Since the season is long as all heck, I just don’t think the Reds will rush back Andrew Abbott at anything less than ‘full stretched out,’ so I expect him to begin on the IL and miss a turn or two through the rotation - if anything, that may make him even more valuable down the stretch in August/September. I think the Reds carry Carson Spiers (18) as something of ‘starter on an expected bullpen day’ for the time being.

Bullpen

I don’t believe Graham Ashcraft (19) starts the year in the minors - rather, I think he’s carried as the piggyback guy for Spiers’ turn through the rotation with the expecation that he can fill-in for multiple IP when needed in a role akin to how Martinez began last year. Brent Suter (20), Sam Moll (21), and Taylor Rogers (22) form the LHP corps in the ‘pen, while Alexis Díaz (23) will resume his role as the closer. RHP options Emilio Pagán (24) and Scott Barlow (25) have guaranteed money on their deals, so they’ll be down there until they prove ten times they shouldn’t be, leaving one final spot that I’m expected to be filled by Tony Santillan (26) - he pitched well enough last year to deserve it and he’s out of options, so that’s a no-brainer.

Notes

Steer and Abbott are the two notable omissions here. Despite how dismal the Reds have begun seasons in recent memory (and how much that has folded any and all optimism entering those years immediately), I just think they’ll play it safe with them (and Lowder). Abbott getting ~27-28 starts is still very much viable, as is Steer surpassing 550 PA.

Ian Gibaut being back in camp is cool, and he’s fanned 8 against a lone walk in 7.0 IP so far this spring. He’s not on the roster, however, as a NRI on a minor league deal, so I don’t expect him to beat out the rest of the options above. That said, I do think he’s showing enough right now to firmly be in the mix as the first bullpen arm promoted when the inevitable dings happen to the rostered names ahead of him.

Chase Petty has looked really, really solid so far in camp, and at this rate he’ll make his debut (and more) as a Red at some point this year...just not on Opening Day or in the first few turns of the rotation, assuming all goes well elsewhere.