Cheltenham Festival 2025 Preview & Betting

Parimatch UK Editorial Team |

08/02/25
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The Cheltenham Festival is nearly upon us, and many punters are now looking forward to one of the richest horse racing festivals on the calendar.

In this Parimatch preview, we present the confirmed schedule for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival and reveal some insider tips that may help you pick some winners.

Cheltenham Festival 2025 Racing Schedule

The Cheltenham Festival will run between March 11th and March 14th, 2025. As always, the main event will be the Gold Cup on Day 4 of the festival. Here’s the confirmed schedule for the Cheltenham Festival in 2025 across all four days, with 28 races in total:

Tuesday 11th March: Cheltenham Champion Day

Time Race Distance Type
13.20 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Race (Grade 1) 2m Hurdle
14.00 Arkle Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) 2m Chase
14.40 Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) 3m 1f Chase
15.20 Mares’ Hurdle Race (Grade 1) 2m 4f Hurdle
16.00 The Champion Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m Hurdle
16.40 Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle Race (Premier Handicap) 2m Hurdle
17.20 National Hunt Novices’ Chase (Novices’ Handicap) 3m 6f Chase

Wednesday 12th March: Style Wednesday

Time Race Distance Type
13.20 Novices’ Hurdle Race (Grade 1) 2m 5f Hurdle
14.00 Novices’ Steeple Chase 3m Chase
14.40 Coral Cup Hurdle (Premier Handicap) 2m 5f Hurdle
15.20 Cross Country Steeple Chase 3m 5.5f Chase
16.00 Queen Mother Champion Steeple Chase (Grade 1) 2m Chase
16.40 Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Steeple Chase Challenge Cup (Premier Handicap) 2m Chase
17.20 Champion Bumper (Grade 1) 2m Bumper

Thursday 13th March: St Patrick’s Thursday

Time Race Distance Type
13.20 Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2) 2m 1f Hurdle
14.00 Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase 2m 4f Chase
14.40 The Network Final (Premier Handicap) 3m Hurdle
15.20 The Steeple Chase (Grade 1) 2m 4f Chase
16.00 The Stayers’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 3m Hurdle
16.40 The Plate – A Handicap Steeple Chase (Premier Handicap) 2m 4f Chase
17.20 The Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup 3m 2f Chase

Friday 14th March: Gold Cup Day

Time Race Distance Type
13.20 The Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m Hurdle
14.00 The County Handicap Hurdle Race (Premier Handicap) 2m Hurdle
14.40 Mrs Mares’ Steeple Chase (Grade 2) 2m 4f Chase
15.20 Novices’ Hurdle Race (Grade 1) 3m Hurdle
16.00 Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase (Grade 1) 3m 2f Chase
16.40 Festival Hunters Chase 3m 2f Chase
17.20 Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle 2m 4f Hurdle

Cheltenham Festival Preview: What Can We Expect?

Paul Townend on Galopin Des Champs won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2024 for the second year running, earning Willie Mullins back-to-back wins in Cheltenham’s most prestigious race.

Galopin Des Champs was priced as the 10/11 favourite before the race, and he will be among the favourites again this year as we look ahead to the Gold Cup in 2025.

It was quite the festival for Mullins in 2024, as he became the most successful trainer in the history of the Cheltenham Festival, surpassing 100 winners. As well as Galopin Des Champs, there were wins for State Man (Champion Hurdle), Gaelic Warrior (Arkle Challenge Trophy), Lossiemouth (David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle), Jasmin De Vaux (Champion Bumper), and several others.

Given the stable’s incredible success in 2024, don’t be surprised if Mullins pushes up to or even past 120 winners by the end of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.

With the ante-post odds now published, here are some horses to keep an eye on in some of the biggest races in this year’s festival:

Constitution Hill’s Return in the Champion Hurdle

The early favourite for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham is Constitution Hill at 4/7*. He wasn’t fit to defend his title in 2024, but he will be back with a bang this time around and will look to secure his second Champion Hurdle win.

Trained by Nicky Henderson, Constitution Hill has made a promising start to the 2025 season, winning the International Hurdle at Cheltenham in the January Trials. It could be a sign of things to come, and Constitution is one of the heaviest favourites going into the festival.

Galopin Des Champs to make it three Gold Cup triumphs in a row?

Galopin Des Champs is vying to make it three wins in three years at the Cheltenham Gold Cup.  He’s the early favourite, too, but Fact to File will likely have a say in the big race this year.

Sure, it’s Galopin Des Champs’ race to lose, but Fact to File – another from the Willie Mullins stable – had a great season in 2024, with wins at Leopardstown, Cheltenham, and Punchestown, so he’s likely to be his stablemate’s closest challenger in the main event.

Sir Gino to Win the Arkle Chase?

The early markets indicate that Sir Gino is the clear favourite to win the Arkle Chase in 2025, with a price of 8/11*. The Nicky Henderson horse won handsomely in the Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase at Kempton Park in December, his last outing.

It was his fourth win in 2024, following his early-season win at Cheltenham and Class 1 wins at Aintree and Newcastle. He has a 100% win record in his career, and a win at Cheltenham in 2025 would be the biggest of his career.

How to Bet on the 2025 Cheltenham Festival

You can bet on all 28 races at the Cheltenham Festival at Parimatch Sportsbook. If you’re not yet a customer, create an account today by clicking the “Sign Up” button and following the prompts to register. Then, head to our offers page and use our horse racing welcome bonus, giving you up to £30 in free bets – terms and conditions apply.

When betting on horse racing at Parimatch, please do so responsibly. You can learn more about responsible gambling at our Safer Gambling Portal, including tools and tips to help you control your expenditure.

 *Odds correct at the time of writing.