The 2025 Cheltenham Festival will go down as one full of drama. I’m sure we’ll remember it for a while, but it wouldn’t surprise me if some punters wanted to forget it.
The four Championship races all had their own strong favourites, and all were beaten. Galopin Des Champs losing the Gold Cup, Constitution Hill falling in the Champion Hurdle, and this was on top of disappointment for Jonbon in the Champion Chase and Teahupoo in the Stayers Hurdle.
Away from the novice contests, just one horse ran in a big race and delivered a big performance as favourite, and that was Fact To File when winning the Ryanair Chase.
Worrying attendances and a couple of alarmingly small fields mean it’s not all fun and games for the meeting as a whole, but overall, it’s been a good one.
Prestbury Cup Final Standings: Ireland Win AGAIN
The Prestbury Cup of 2025 would go to Ireland, with no surprise GB win, and the final score coming in at around what was expected, which was 20-8 to Ireland.
It started well on the opening day for Team GB. We actually won the first day 4-3, and that was despite two Irish odds on shots, both winning.
However, the tide turned on Wednesday. Dan Skelton won the opener to extend the lead for Team GB, but Ireland won every other race that day.
Thursday was tight, Ireland won that day 4-3, but it would be the final time we saw a GB horse in the winner’s enclosure, as it was an Irish clean sweep on the final day of the festival.
Constitution Hill Drama on Day One
Billed to be a clash of the ages between Constitution Hill and Brighterdaysahead, the Champion Hurdle looked a cracker on paper and was the race that offered the most drama all week.
But not in the way we expected. Constitution Hill fell just as the race was really starting to get going. He remained unharmed after the fall and, at the time, seemed to be travelling well and in with a chance of retaining his crown.
The same can’t be said for Brighterdaysahead, who was struggling from two or three out. She really didn’t live up to the billing, and this is now the second time she’s been to Cheltenham and ran below par. She could just be a better horse in Ireland, but time will tell.
That left State Man, winner of the 2024 renewal but not really considered this time around, partly due to last year lacking any real competition and partly due to his poor form this season. But he looked a different horse, cruised up into the lead as they turned for home, and looked likely to be a runaway winner.
But just when we thought we’d had enough drama, State Man would fall at the last, leaving Paul Townend on the deck distraught, and then attention quickly focused on those in behind. There was trouble after the last, as State Man got back up and almost caused complete mayhem, but it was Golden Ace who emerged from that and went clear to the finishing line.
Originally, the plan was for this mare to go for the Mares Hurdle, but the owners decided to roll the dice and go for the big prize. We’ve heard a lot about horses avoiding each other recently, so I couldn’t be more thrilled for them, they dared to dream, took on the stars, and came out on top.
Jonbon Adds Further Misery to Henderson’s Week
The first of Nicky Henderson’s stars had been beaten on Tuesday. He had high hopes for Jonbon on Wednesday, but he was another to fail in the Champion Chase. Reports afterwards suggest that the standing start did not help at all, so much so that he was hit by the tape as it went up, which had an impact.
He didn’t jump anywhere near as well as he could, he didn’t look to have the usual spring in his step and was actually detached as the race was really hotting up.
Credit where it was due because somehow the horse managed to get up and finish in 2nd place as they crossed the line, an achievement in itself given his position after the mistake.
But he was expected to be much the best and wasn’t. This is now the third time he’s been to Cheltenham, and disappointed, whatever he runs in next season, that stat is sure to be headlining many people’s thoughts on the horse.
Galopin Des Champs Fails in Hat Trick Bid
We went into Friday on the back of Constitution Hill, Jonbon and Teahupoo all being favourite for the big races and being beaten. Galopin Des Champs couldn’t follow that path, could he? Well, actually, he could.
Of all the favourites, I didn’t think Galopin Des Champs was a betting proposition, he was too short, but at the same time, I thought he was the most solid of the big four. However, you could just tell from quite early in the race that he was never travelling. Whether something comes to light in the next week or so, we’ll see, but he definitely wasn’t his usual self.
Further back in the field than normal, I think that was down to him struggling rather than by design, and when he came to challenge near the end, he never looked like staying as strongly as he normally does.
That all paved the way for Inothewayurthinkin to storm past him at the final fence, gallop clear on the run in and win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. A week earlier, he wasn’t even entered in the race, supplemented by owner JP McManus for £25,000 on the Saturday before Cheltenham, after being persuaded by trainer Gavin Cromwell.
The horse was favourite for the Grand National before running at Cheltenham, now, he’s an even stronger favourite for Aintree, and attention all turns to whether they’ll run him or not. They won’t have a better-handicapped runner, perhaps ever, given what he’s done since the ratings were revealed, but of course, it’s a big ask just a few weeks after winning the Gold Cup.
Galopin Des Champs did stay on for second and was evident in front of Gentlemansgame, while Banbridge didn’t stay the trip, and I expect him to drop to the Ryanair next season.
Fact To File the Star Favourite Who Delivered
We didn’t have too many star performances from winning favourites over the weekend, but one that turned up and delivered was Fact To File. Opting to run in the Ryanair Chase rather than the Gold Cup, he was dominant and powered clear up the run in to deliver one of the best performances of the week.
At the time, we’d been waiting for a wow factor, and he definitely delivered it. There’s plenty of talk around what he will do next and whether he will step back up in trip, Willie Mullins seemed to imply afterwards that he would be thinking more about the Gold Cup route next season.
He’s favourite for the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day, and for me, that’s an ideal stepping stone for him. I’m unsure whether he’s going to be at his best over the Gold Cup trip, but Kempton over three miles looks absolutely perfect for him.
Novice Performances Excite Ahead of New Season
The novice races at Cheltenham often serve to both give us some impressive winners during Cheltenham week, and a glimpse into what could happen next season.
Kicking us off in the Supreme, Kopek Des Bordes ran out a nice winner, and the plan seems to be for him to step up and be aimed at the Champion Hurdle next season. He’s raw and still learning. He wasn’t the most impressive winner this year, but I think with the summer sun on his back and more experience, he’ll be a really nice horse next season.
He could meet The New Lion, who won the Turners Novices Hurdle, while that was over a longer trip, straight after Dan Skelton was quick to talk about staying over hurdles and dropping in trip for the Champion Hurdle.
Third in that race, Final Demand, trained by Willie Mullins, was always going to be a better chaser than hurdler, so the fact he got close was exciting. Straight over fences and, more than likely, up to something such as the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase over three miles and half a furlong.
Finally, another that didn’t win, The Big Westerner for Henry de Bromhead, was beaten into second in the Albert Bartlett on Friday. He’s a massive horse, built to be a big, staying chaser, and he’s another that should thrive over bigger obstacles next season, so I’m very excited about him.
Paul Nicholls Lands 50th Cheltenham Winner
No longer really the leading light of British racing, Paul Nicholls has seen his Cheltenham team drop over the years, both in terms of quality and quantity. But he did bring up a milestone on Thursday of the meeting, bagging his 50th Cheltenham Festival winner with Caldwell Potter.
A horse that came with a big price tag, he’s disappointed this season, but Nicholls has finally worked him out and got a tune out of him on the biggest stage.
Attendances Under Further Scrutiny
It wouldn’t be the Cheltenham Festival if we didn’t talk about attendances and cost.
Figures are in, as expected Gold Cup day was the strongest, Tuesday the second best, then Thursday and finally Wednesday was the least attended.
Biggest drops came on the opening two days, with both Tuesday and Wednesday seeing falls of 5,000 each day, compared to last year. The crowd on Thursday was the same, while Friday was 1,000 down, leaving a total attendance drop of 11,000 compared to figures in 2024.
Of course, don’t forget those figures from 2024 were down on years before that, too. It’s a trend, things have been tried, things haven’t worked, and ultimately, let’s just all be honest and say the overall package is too damn expensive for the regular punter.
From the people I know personally, the most common change has been people who used to go for the full week now only go for two days. Some others, who went for one or two days, have completely stopped, while others continue to go at the same level they did years ago.
But it can’t just be the racecourse, it’s the expense of getting there and back, usually on trains, which are incredibly expensive nowadays, and also the cost of staying, which, to be frank, is a complete joke.
Hopefully, it all sorts itself out, but to get people back, it needs more than just the racecourse freezing or lowering the admission cost.