Leading British horses line up for stellar first day as Cheltenham Festival begins 

British trainers Dan Skelton and Nicky Henderson will take on the might of the Irish at jump racing’s showcase event with the likes of The New Lion and Lulamba vying for a share of the five-million-pound prize pot as the Cheltenham Festival opens on Tuesday.

Attracting some 200,000 racegoers across four days, the festival is worth an estimated 274 million pounds to the local economy boosting local restaurants, hotels and pubs.

It is also horse racing’s biggest betting week of the year with bookmaker William Hill predicting 450 million pounds will be wagered across Britain. Guinness, reduced in price by 30 pence, will be drunk by the gallon.

But for those at the heart of the sport, it is all about the horses and whether this year’s crop of jumps stars can rival the Irish.

It is almost two decades since the golden years of British jump racing when Somerset-based Paul Nicholls and his crop of horses like dual Gold Cup-winner Kauto Star and 18-times consecutive hurdle winner Big Buck’s outclassed the rest, before the pendulum swung in favour of the Irish.

Since then, Willie Mullins’ sizeable team has continued to dominate the festival, racking up 113 winners to snatch the leading trainer title 12 times. Backed by big-spending owners like former Barclays executive Rich Ricci and businessman J.P. McManus, this year’s squad looks no less dangerous.

Mullins’ pick for jump racing’s most prestigious chase is Gaelic Warrior who looks set to go off favourite in Friday’s feature, the Gold Cup, a race that has so far evaded owner Susannah Ricci. Before that, Majborough is favourite for the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday.

In with a strong chance of ending Irish dominance is a fresh crop of talented trainers that includes Skelton and Ben Pauling who will take on Mullins in the 625,000-pound Gold Cup with the fancied Grey Dawning and the Harry Redknapp-owned King George VI Chase winner The Jukebox Man.

Battle lines will first be drawn in Tuesday’s opening race, the Grade 1 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, when Mullins’ Mighty Park takes on British hope and three-time winning 2/1 favourite Old Park Star, trained by Henderson.

Henderson has made no secret of the fact a win on Tuesday would be a big boost for Seven Barrows, setting a strong tone for the week, after Constitution Hill and Sir Gino were sidelined. He also sends out highly fancied Lulamba in the Arkle Novices’ Chase and Jango Baie in the Gold Cup.

BULLISH BRITISH

Were Britain to also clinch Tuesday’s feature race, the 450,000-pound Champion Hurdle in which Mullins’ prolific mare Lossiemouth will battle with Skelton’s The New Lion, nerves may start jangling in the Irish camp.

Skelton sends his strongest ever team to Cheltenham, lining up some 30-35 horses. But while he’s bullish about some big British winners, he described his chances of snatching the top trainer prize at the festival as “a possibility… not a probability.”

“I’ve thought about it because I’m a competitive bugger but the reality is Willie will be leading trainer,” he told the Racing Post on Sunday. “With a bit of luck, we might be pitching behind him along with a few others.”

Ireland has won Cheltenham’s Prestbury Cup title, awarded to the country fielding the most winners, outright in nine of the last 10 years.

Cheltenham’s opening day also marks an important one for British racing, which is in the spotlight for governance issues at its regulator and recent moves by gaming companies to reduce sponsorship in light of higher taxes.

Cheltenham is also looking to recover from lower ticket sales in recent years, something CEO Guy Lavender is trying to address by lowering the cost of Guinness to 2022 rates, reducing restrictions on drinking areas and reintroducing Ladies Day on Wednesday.

“There is no doubt that everyone operating in the leisure sector is having to work harder to make their offerings stand out to the customer,” said Lavender.

“However, British racing continues to provide an exceptional day out and we saw total attendance across all 60 racecourses top 5 million last year for the first time since 2019.”

Lavender added he was “very positive” about ticket sales with growth from last year. “We are definitely moving in the right direction,” he said.