Cheltenham Festival 2025 Tips - March 11-14

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Cheltenham Day 1 Tips - Free tips for every race on Champions Day

Jon Vine

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Last updated: 11 Mar 2025

Jon Vine 11 Mar 2025

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Free tips through the card on day one of the Cheltenham Festival
The Champion Hurdle headlines the card at Cheltenham on Tuesday 11th March
Henry's Friend, Take No Chances and Transmission feature in our day one selections

Expired

Jockey Nico De Boinville celebrates winning the Champion Hurdle on Constitution Hill during the 2023 Cheltenham Festival. (Getty)

Cheltenham 2025 Day 1 Tips

Cheltenham Day 1 Card
1:20pm Cheltenham - Supreme Novices' Hurdle Tips
2:00pm Cheltenham - Arkle Challenge Trophy Tips
2:40pm Cheltenham - Ultima Handicap Chase Tips
3:20pm Cheltenham - Mares' Hurdle Tips
4:00pm Cheltenham - Champion Hurdle Tips
Live Stream
4:40pm Cheltenham - Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle Tips
5:20pm Cheltenham - National Hunt Chase Tips

The moment that most horse racing fans and punters wait all year for has finally arrived, as another thrilling Cheltenham Festival begins on Tuesday afternoon!

The card on Champions Day is a little different to what viewers will be used to. The Mares' Hurdle now takes place before the Champion Hurdle, which will be run at 4:00pm. The National Hunt Chase will be run as a handicap on Tuesday too.

Here are our free tips for all seven races on day one of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.

Cheltenham Day 1 Card

Time	Tuesday Races	Status	Distance
13:20	Supreme Novices' Hurdle	Grade One	2m
14:00	Arkle Challenge Trophy	Grade One	2m
14:40	Ultima Handicap Chase	Grade Three Handicap	3m
15:20	Mares' Hurdle	Grade One	2m 4f
16:00	Champion Hurdle	Grade One	2m
16:40	Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle	Grade Three Handicap	2m
17:20	National Hunt Chase	Grade Two Handicap	3m 6f

Cheltenham Festival Day 1 Tips

1:20pm Cheltenham - Supreme Novices' Hurdle Tips

Kopek Des Bordes is the first of four odds-on favourites to feature on Tuesday's card, and many punters will be rolling the four into a Cheltenham banker acca. There's no doubt in my mind that Paul Townend's mount is the best horse in this race. However, I'm not one to back odds-on shots and the application of a first-time hood seems strange. Are they worried that Kopek Des Bordes will boil over in the feverish Festival atmosphere?

I'm not a fan of Salvator Mundi and Patrick Mullins' presence in the saddle is another negative against his chances. Willie Mullins has four other runners in the contest, but three of them have never raced at Graded level and Karniquet would want the ground to be on the soft side.

Romeo Coolio is an excellent yardstick but offers little value from an each-way standpoint. Workahead and William Munny hold more appeal at their current prices, but the one who seems most overpriced to me is Henry De Bromhead's second-string, SKY LORD (66/1).

Darragh O'Keeffe said in a recent preview that his mount hated making the running in the Moscow Flyer. Sky Lord was forced to do the donkey work that day and understandably faded after the last as Salvator Muni ground out a Grade Two victory.

Sky Lord had looked extremely promising when beating another of Willie Mullins' Cheltenham Festival entrants, Kappa Jy Pyke on his hurdling debut at Cork. De Bromhead is a master at getting his horses to peak at Cheltenham, better ground should suit Sky Lord and O'Keeffe certainly won't be making the running this time around.

Supreme 2025 Tips

Most Likely Winner - Kopek Des Bordes (Evens)
Value Bet - Sky Lord (66/1)

2:00pm Cheltenham - Arkle Challenge Trophy Tips

I don't often say this during the Cheltenham Festival, but this will be a no bet race for me. Majborough won the Triumph Hurdle at the Festival last year and he's been ultra impressive since switching to fences, jumping well on the whole and displaying a devastating turn of foot.

L'Eau Du Sud is the only horse I'd consider backing in opposition. Dan Skelton has been training his star for the Arkle all season and we all know how good a target trainer he is. Yet, barring a fall or a telling mistake of some sort, I don't think L'Eau Du Sud will be good enough to beat Majborough.

Arkle 2025 Tips

Most Likely Winner - Majborough (1/2)

2:40pm Cheltenham - Ultima Handicap Chase Tips

British horses have dominated the Ultima in recent years and only one of the last 10 winners have gone off at bigger than 11/1. HENRY'S FRIEND (11/1) can be backed at that price and I expect Ben Pauling's star will go off at single figures.

Henry's Friend saw off the strong-staying Kilbeg King to win the Grade Two Reynoldstown Chase over three miles last season. Pauling then ran his star in the National Hunt Chase, but Henry's Friend was a massive drifter as the ground turned against him and was pulled up well before the end.

Following a spin over hurdles, Pauling's eight-year-old finished fifth in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury, recovering from a mid-race blunder to cross the line just seven lengths adrift of Kandoo Kid and Broadway Boy. Henry's Friend then returned to Newbury in December to carry 12-00 to an impressive victory in the three-and-a-quarter mile Mandarin Handicap, after which Pauling said his star would be kept fresh for the Ultima.

Ben Pauling has an excellent strike rate in handicap chases at the Cheltenham Festival and his horses have been in good form of late. Henry's Friend remains well-treated off this fresh mark of 145. He's probably my strongest handicap fancy of the meeting.

I've also had a small saver on KING TURGEON (22/1) after he was withdrawn from the Grimthorpe Chase last month. David Pipe's grey went into that handicap on the back of a runaway victory in the Becher at Aintree and saw out the trip well to beat Our Power and last year's Ultima winner, Chianti Classico by three lengths.

Pipe, who has won the Ultima on three occasions, then ran King Turgeon in the Somerset National at Wincanton, where Jack Tudor's mount put up a valiant front-running effort under 12-0, finishing third to Collectors Item and Katate Dori. Pipe rolled the dice again, running his seven-year-old under top-weight in the Edinburgh National, but King Turgeon was slowly away and never improved his position, forcing Tudor to pull his mount up before the half-way stage.

Katate Dori has boosted the Somerset National form since and ground conditions on the Tuesday will suit. He's worth a small each-way punt.

Ultima 2025 Tips

Best Bet - Henry's Friend (11/1)
Next Best - King Turgeon (22/1)

3:20pm Cheltenham - Mares' Hurdle Tips

Lossiemouth returns to defend her Mares' Hurdle crown, despite the "two year plan" to run in the Champion Hurdle. Willie Mullins' mare was superb in this race 12 months ago and looks to be the only genuine Grade One horse in the field. Yet, Lossiemouth comes into this year's Festival on the back of a heavy fall at Leopardstown and the vibes coming out of the stable haven't been strong. For me, she's worth taking on.

The stats tell you that whatever Willie Mullins horse that Paul Townend rides in a Grade One will beat the stable's other runners, so the chances of Jade De Grugy or Gala Marceau causing an upset seem slim. July Flower and Kala Conti will stay the trip and both are lively contenders for the places.

Dan and Harry Skelton are no strangers to success in the Mares' Hurdle, having saddled Roksana before her victory in 2019. TAKE NO CHANCES (28/1) comes into this year's race under the radar, despite that recent victory over Kargese - who was the favourite for the Mares' Hurdle at that point.

Following an easy Listed victory at Wetherby in November, Take No Chances finished a one-paced fifth behind Sir Gino in the Fighting Fifth. Skelton's mare then placed a close third behind Wodhooh in a red-hot mares' handicap here at Cheltenham, where she was giving ten pounds to the winner and 18 pounds to Joyeuse, who crossed the line a neck ahead of her in second.

Take No Chances was too strong for Paul Townend and Kargese in the Warfield Mares' Hurdle, where Skelton's mount again showed her liking for good ground. This two-and-a-half mile trip should be ideal for Take No Chances. 20/1 is a nice each-way price.

Mares Hurdle 2025 Tips

Most Likely Winner - Lossiemouth (4/6)
Value Bet - Take No Chances (28/1)

take no chances ascot — Take No Chances (left) beating Kargese in the BetMGM Mares' Hurdle at Ascot. (Getty)

4:00pm Cheltenham - Champion Hurdle Tips

It's brilliant to see Brighterdaysahead take her chance in the Champion Hurdle. Gordon Elliott's mare used the pace-setting King Of Kingsfield to put up a blistering performance at Leopardstown over Christmas, where she hammered reigning Champion Hurdler State Man by a whopping 30 lengths.

King Of Kingsfield has been confirmed here too, so Elliott will try to utilise the same tactics. The problem with that is, nothing has ever been able to go quick enough for CONSTITUTION HILL (8/13). A rapid pace is exactly what he wants.

I, like many, feared we might never see Nicky Henderson's star on a racetrack again after that disastrous gallop with Sir Gino at Newbury. Any doubts were dispelled when Constitution Hill won the Christmas Hurdle on his reappearance and Henderson's star impressed during that routine victory in the International Hurdle.

I have great respect for Brighterdaysahead and that mares' allowance will come in handy. Yet, we're talking about one of the best horses of the modern era, trained by a man who has won this race more than any other handler.

The quicker they go, the better for Constitution Hill, whose cruising speed is unrivalled. Two of the best performances ever produced by a hurdler have come from this horse over this course and distance. Still the king. Still unbeaten. Still, Constitution Hill.

Champion Hurdle 2025 Tips

Most Likely Winner - Constitution Hill (8/13)

Live Stream

Visit our Champion Hurdle Live Stream page if you want to watch any race on day one of the Cheltenham Festival via a mobile or tablet.

4:40pm Cheltenham - Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle Tips

I backed PUTURHANDSTOGETHER (7/1) at 14/1 ante-post for the Fred Winter, anticipating that he would shorten significantly if Mark Walsh was jocked up - and that's precisely what has happened.

Rated in the mid 80s on the flat, Puturhandstogether got off the mark over hurdles on his second start at Cork in December. Joseph O'Brien's gelding travelled powerfully throughout and found an extra gear after the last to hold off Turn And Finish, who has since won for Harry Derham and earned a mark of 125.

Mark Walsh then gave Puturhandstogether an easy ride as he was beaten a length by the experienced Collaborative in a Rated Hurdle at Fairyhouse last month. The heavy going that day didn't suit this son of Caravaggio, and Walsh didn't seem keen to give it the full beans in the closing stages, presumably because he had one eye on the Cheltenham Festival.

We've seen plenty of big-priced winners of the Fred Winter down the years, including an 80/1 winner four years ago. Two maidens have won this handicap in the last ten years too, so the fact that KOOL ONE (50/1) hasn't won over hurdles yet isn't a negative.

On his first two starts over hurdles, Conor David Maxwell's youngster bumped into two Willie Mullins recruits who will almost certainly contest Grade Ones over the next few weeks. Kool One was then held up out the back as Bacchanalian made all to win the Grade Three Hurdle at Naas last month and kept on to finish a clear third ahead of Shoda.

Ian Ryan couldn't use his seven-pound claim in that Grade Three, but that's back in play at Cheltenham and reduces Kool One's burden to just 10-5. His hurdles form is decent and his flat form from the autumn looks pretty solid too.

Fred Winter 2025 Tips

Best Bet - Puturhandstogether (7/1)
Value Bet - Kool One (50/1)

5:20pm Cheltenham - National Hunt Chase Tips

I've been backing TRANSMISSION (5/1) for the National Hunt Chase for the best part of two months and I'm not about to desert Neil Mulholland's star.

Transmission has run four times this season, with all four of his outings coming around Cheltenham. Having lost out to the classy Hyland in a Novices' Chase on his reappearance, Patrick Mullins guided Transmission to an impressive victory in the Amateur Jockey's Handicap Chase during the November Meeting.

Neil Mulholland's eight-year-old kept on from well off the pace to finish a close second to Haiti Couleurs a month later. In a bid to protect his handicap mark over fences, Transmission dropped back to hurdles on Trials Day, finishing last of the six runners as Gowel Road won the Cleeve.

Mulholland stated earlier in the season that the objective was the National Hunt Chase and Transmission is four pounds better off at the weights with Haiti Couleurs from their clash in December. Good ground on day one of the Cheltenham Festival should certainly suit the British runners more than Now Is The Hour and Captain Cody, who've shown a clear liking for softer conditions.

National Hunt Chase 2025 Tips

Best Bet - Transmission (5/1)

Verdict

Cheltenham 2025 Day 1 Tips

Cheltenham Festival 2025 Day 1 Best Bets:

Transmission

5:20pm Cheltenham

@5/1 - 5 Units

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Puturhandstogether

4:40pm Cheltenham

@7/1 - 5 Units

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Constitution Hill

4:00pm Cheltenham

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Henry's Friend

2:40pm Cheltenham

@11/1 - 5 Units

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