The famous Cheltenham Festival is set to kick off today, with Constitution Hill in the spotlight – competing in the Unibet Champion Hurdle, the premier event on the first day of racing at the Gloucestershire track.
Day one, and the festival itself is set to begin with the Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at 13:20, in which Kopek Des Bordes is the heavy favourite.
Two races on the fences will follow, as the Grade 1 spectacle of the My Pension Expert Arkle Novices’ Chase is at 14:00, and the Ultima Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) occurs 40 minutes later.
The day continues with three hurdles events. The first is the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle at 15:20, which precedes the main event, the Unibet Champion Hurdle at 16:00.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt is then when Constitution Hill will return to the Cheltenham Racecourse, after failing to make the start line for last year’s Champion Hurdle and missing the chance to defend the title. He is the 8/13 favourite, with defending champion State Man starting at 10/1.
The day finishes with the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (16:40) and the ungraded fences event, the National Hunt Novices’ Chase (17:20).
Weather forecast
According to Weather.com, a cloudy day awaits the attendees this Tuesday in Cheltenham. The sun might appear towards the start, and it will be 8 °C throughout the three and a half hours at the racecourse. While clouds will dominate, there is no rain expected, with at most a three percent chance predicted.
How to follow
The Cheltenham Festival begins this afternoon – keep across all the action on our X and Instagram pages and follow along on our live blog.
TV coverage starts at 12:45pm on ITV.
