Ladies' Day

The Ballymore Novices' Hurdle is the two-and-a-half-mile novice hurdle championship of the Festival and represents a fundamentally different test to the Supreme on Champion Day. While the Supreme rewards pure speed, the Ballymore is a test of stamina-backed quality — it suits the bigger, stronger staying-type novice who will relish the extra half-mile of racing.

Ballymore winners frequently go on to become Festival legends. The race has produced future Gold Cup horses and Stayers' Hurdle champions who first announced themselves with a dominant Ballymore performance. Horses with strong, stamina-laden pedigrees — often Irish-bred — tend to dominate, and the Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott yards have an exceptional record here.

Betting Approach: The Ballymore often has a clear market leader who has won his or her prep races with something in hand. If the favourite is short, look at the second and third in the market who may represent outstanding each-way value at doubled-up prices. Horses who have won staying hurdles at Leopardstown's Christmas Festival typically arrive at Cheltenham in excellent shape.

• Irish bumper-to-hurdles conversions with stamina in their pedigrees are the classic profile
• Leopardstown Christmas Festival form is the key Irish trial
• Horses who travel fluently and win without being hard pressed are ideal
• Ground conditions: the Ballymore often favours horses who relish testing going

The RSA Insurance Novices' Chase is one of the most important races in the entire jump racing calendar for the simple reason that its winners are almost invariably future Gold Cup horses. The race is run over three miles on the Old Course — exactly the same route as the Gold Cup — and serves as a perfect rehearsal for the Friday showpiece for the best novice chasers of the season.

Historical RSA winners who went on to win the Gold Cup include names like Best Mate, Might Bite and Native River, and the pattern of using the RSA as a stepping stone to Gold Cup glory is firmly established. This gives the race a special quality from a betting and ante-post perspective: identify the RSA winner and you may have found a future Gold Cup champion.

Betting Approach: The RSA tends to have a clearer form guide than many Festival races, because the principals often meet each other in their prep races. Focus on horses who have won their Grade 1 novice chase prep (typically the Drinmore or the Beginners Chase at Grade 1 level) with authority. Also consider the jumping ability carefully — loose, untidy jumping over Cheltenham's fences at three miles is punished heavily.

• Previous winners often target the Gold Cup in future years — understand the long-term context
• Horses proven over three miles before the Festival carry a significant advantage
• Grade 1 novice chase form at Leopardstown or Naas is the most relevant guide
• Jumping efficiency under pressure at three-mile pace is the paramount factor

The Coral Cup is universally acknowledged as one of the very best handicap betting races of the entire Festival — a 25-runner dash over two miles and five furlongs that generates extraordinary ante-post betting markets and produces some of the most memorable finishes on Ladies' Day. The race has been won at prices ranging from 7/2 to 50/1, and every year it throws up at least one horse whose performance seems to defy logic from a ratings perspective.

The Coral Cup is a battlefield of Irish and British-trained horses, each attempting to get the better of a carefully constructed handicap in front of 70,000 baying racegoers. The handicapper's task is enormous, and it is not uncommon for the winner to have been operating on a mark that slightly underestimates their true ability — whether through a run that was deliberately below their best or through an injury that briefly obscured their talent.

Betting Approach: The Coral Cup is tailor-made for each-way betting at big prices. With 25 runners, most bookmakers offer 1/5 odds across five or even six places, giving a genuine opportunity to profit from a horse who runs into a place without necessarily winning. Target horses in the 12/1–25/1 range who have posted strong form in handicap hurdles at Grade 3 level, particularly at Leopardstown, Naas or Cheltenham itself.

• Irish handicappers, particularly from smaller yards, can be underrated by the assessors
• Lighter weights (10st to 10st 7lb) have an excellent record in big-field handicap hurdles
• Horses who made notable progress in the second half of the hurdles season are of interest
• Consider the draw — a good position in the early stages of a big field can be decisive
• Each-way at 20/1 or bigger is a valid approach in this race every year

The Queen Mother Champion Chase is the two-mile chasing championship of the Festival and one of the most viscerally exciting racing experiences in the world. Run over 12 fences on the Old Course, the race demands absolutely perfect jumping at racing speed — any mistake, anywhere around the course, can cost a horse the race in an instant.

The Queen Mother Champion Chase has been graced by some of the greatest two-mile chasers in history — Master Minded, Altior, Put The Kettle On, Sprinter Sacre — and the race continues to attract the fastest jumpers from both sides of the Irish Sea. The betting market is typically dominated by one or two obvious market leaders whose superiority over the rest of the field has been established through the course of the season.

The key trials for the Queen Mother Champion Chase are the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown, the Clarence House Chase at Ascot, and the Tied Cottage Chase at Punchestown. Horses who have won both a British and an Irish trial over two miles in the autumn and winter are typically the strongest candidates for the race.

Betting Approach: The Queen Mother Champion Chase is sometimes the most straightforward betting race of the Festival — when there is a dominant, unbeaten champion in the field, the market reflects this accurately and the favourite frequently wins. However, the race's intensity means that a small jumping error from the market leader at any fence can open the door for a challenger. Consider backing the second-favourite each-way in open renewals of the race.

• Jumping fluency is the single most important factor — flawless round essential
• Two-mile specialist form is the key qualifier over horses who have run over longer trips
• Horses who have won the Tingle Creek and Clarence House in the same season are extremely well-qualified
• Mares have a superb recent record in this race — never underestimate them
• Irish-trained horses continue to dominate: Mullins and Elliott between them have trained the majority of recent winners

The Cross-Country Chase is one of the most distinctive and entertaining races of the entire Festival, run on Cheltenham's unique New Course over a combination of conventional fences and natural cross-country obstacles — ditches, banks, hedges and water — that demand a very different type of horse from the championship races on the Old Course.

The legendary Tiger Roll — five-time Cheltenham Festival winner and two-time Grand National champion — became the face of this race, winning it multiple times and demonstrating that cross-country specialists can be the most exciting horses at the entire Festival. A horse who truly loves the Cheltenham cross-country course can dominate this race over multiple years.

Betting Approach: Course form is absolutely paramount in the Cross-Country Chase. The specialist fences and obstacles of the New Course reward horses who have already negotiated them successfully in previous years or in the Cheltenham cross-country races run earlier in the season. A horse making its Cheltenham cross-country debut without prior experience of similar courses in Ireland should be treated with some caution.

• Previous New Course form at Cheltenham is the strongest qualifier
• Irish cross-country specialists who have raced at Punchestown or Thurles are worth consideration
• Horses who jump well from their stride and enjoy the unusual obstacles have the ideal profile
• Trainer Ellmarie Holden and the Irish-trained specialists have dominated this race

The Mares' Chase is a dedicated Grade 1 championship for female chasers — a race that reflects the enormous improvement in standards among mares across the chasing sphere in recent seasons. The race is run over two miles and three furlongs on the Old Course, and it has produced some outstanding performances since its elevation to Grade 1 status.

The growth of mares' chasing as a discipline has been one of the most positive developments in National Hunt racing in recent years, with trainers in both Britain and Ireland committing their best female chasers to the programme rather than mixing them in with the male horses. The Mares' Chase is now a true championship, and its field typically includes horses of exceptional quality.

Betting Approach: The Mares' Chase market is often dominated by one or two leading contenders from the Mullins stable in Ireland, but the British-trained runners can represent excellent value if they have posted strong form in dedicated mares' chasing races during the season. Look for horses who have won at Grade 1 or Grade 2 level in mares' chases during the current campaign.

• Mares who have won Grade 1 chases at Leopardstown arrive in the best shape
• Two-to-three mile form is the most relevant distance guide for this trip
• Course form at Cheltenham is a positive for any runner in this race

The County Handicap Hurdle is a fast-run, highly competitive sprint handicap over two miles and one furlong — a race that sends the Ladies' Day crowd home on a high as the field thunders up the Cheltenham hill in a tight, dramatic finish. With 20-plus runners at decent pace, every hurdle flight can be a potential match-changer.

The County Hurdle rewards pace horses who can travel prominently in a strongly-run race and maintain their effort up the punishing final hill. The race has been won by horses at prices ranging from 5/1 to 50/1, and it consistently delivers excellent each-way value for punters.

Betting Approach: The County Hurdle is best approached as an each-way betting race. With 20+ runners and bookmakers typically paying 5 places, there is real scope to find a horse at double-figure odds who has the pace to be competitive and the jumping accuracy to avoid trouble in a heavily-contested race. Look for horses who have recently run well in competitive two-mile handicap hurdles at Cheltenham-like tracks.

• Pace horses who can be placed near the front are ideally suited to this race
• Recent, strong form in similar-class handicap hurdles is the best guide
• Each-way at 16/1 or bigger is a proven strategy for this race
• Cheltenham course form, particularly over two miles on the Old Course, is a premium asset