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The three-quarters of a length win over the Gavin Cromwell-trained Only By Night, was a 50th Grade 1 for jockey Nico de Boinville.

The race’s 1/2 favourite Majborough could only manage third, a further short-head behind the runner-up.

Commenting on his 74th Cheltenham Festival victory, Nicky Henderson admitted:

“We have said the whole way through that this is not a two mile horse. If the Turners would have been here like last year then I suspect I know what we would have been in and I suspect Ballyburn might have come into that as well.

“He wants two and a half miles. We thought we were going to make the running, but he had no chance because he couldn’t go fast enough it was as simple as that. He was flat to the boards the whole way.”

Trainer of the runner-up Gavin Cromwell was satisfied with his mare’s effort, stating:

“She ran a great race and I’m really happy with her. I don’t have an idea what we’ll do with her next – this was the plan.”

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There had been speculation for much of the past few months that Lossiemouth might challenge the 2023 winner in this year’s renewal – especially after her impressive win in the Grade 1 Hattons Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse in December. Her heavy fall in the Irish Champion Hurdle, however, muddied the waters somewhat, with the decision being made last weekend to aim her for a defence of the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle instead.

Last year’s Unibet Champion Hurdler, the highly reliable State Man, won the Irish Champion Hurdle in which Lossiemouth fell, had been beaten in his two runs prior to the Dublin Racing Festival, in the Grade 1 Neville Hotels Hurdle at Leopardstown Christmas Festival, and the Grade 1 Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown.

Six mares have taken Champion Hurdle honours on a total of seven occasions – African Sister (1939), Dawn Run (1984), Flakey Dove (1994), Annie Power (2016), Epatante (2020) and Honeysuckle (2021 and 2022) – and the impressive Brighterdaysahead could certainly add to that on Tuesday.

The Gordon Elliott-trained six-year-old daughter of Kapgarde, second to Golden Ace in the Grade 2 Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2024, has a Grade 3 and three Grade 1 wins on her resumé since. She beat State Man into second in the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle, while the Donnellys’ multiple Grade 1 winner could only finish third to her at Leopardstown in December.

According to Race iQ, race favourite Constitution Hill has the highest Jump Index in the field at 8.8. Brighterdaysahead’s figure is 8.4, while State Man’s is only third of the seven horses in the race, at 7.6.

Though he is an 11-time Grade 1-winner, the son of Doctor Dino has never had the highest Lengths Gained Jumping value in any race in Race iQ’s database, meaning there have always been horses that gained an advantage on him through their jumping.

4:00pm Unibet Champion Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 87y

1 Burdett Road ts 5 11 10 The Gredley Family James Owen Sam Twiston-Davies
2 Constitution Hill 8 11 10 Mr Michael Buckley Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville
3 King of Kingsfield (IRE) 7 11 10 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott Danny Gilligan
4 State Man (FR) p 8 11 10 Mrs J. Donnelly W. P. Mullins P. Townend
5 Winter Fog (IRE) 11 11 10 The Triple Lock Partnership W. P. Mullins Brian Hayes
6 Brighterdaysahead (FR) 6 11 3 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott Jack Kennedy
7 Golden Ace 7 11 3 Mr I. F. Gosden Jeremy Scott Lorcan Williams

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Brighterdaysahead has been cut to 7/4 second favourite for next week’s Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, with the unbeaten Constitution Hill remaining the 8/11 market leader.

Confirmed by @gelliott_racing:

BRIGHTERDAYSAHEAD will run in the Champion Hurdle at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.pic.twitter.com/6Dai9e7QBC

— Road To Cheltenham (@RoadCheltenham) March 3, 2025

Gordon Elliott’s star mare had been under consideration for the Mares’ Hurdle, a race preferred by owner Michael O’Leary, but connections have now confirmed she will take on the best in the Champion Hurdle instead.

A stunning winner of the Grade One Neville Hotels Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas, the six-year-old will now attempt to hand Elliott his first success in the prestigious contest.

“I can confirm that Brighterdaysahead will be going for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham,” Elliott said this morning.

“After discussing it with Michael and Eddie (O’Leary), we decided this was the right call. It’s a huge test, but she’s in flying form, and her preparation has gone perfectly.

“We’ve never won a Champion Hurdle, so it’s exciting to have a runner with a real chance in one of the sport’s great races.”

With Constitution Hill the red-hot favourite, a blockbuster showdown now awaits in the opening-day showpiece.

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The eight-year-old had it all to do approaching the final fence, but thundered past both Allaho (5/2 favourite) and Minella Indo (3/1), defeating the latter by a length, with the Willie Mullins-trained favourite a further length behind in third.

Champ, ridden by Barry Geraghty for owner J P McManus, was named after former multiple champion jockey A P McCoy. The King’s Theatre eight-year-old was sent off at odds of 4/1.

Winning trainer Henderson said of Champ:

“He’s a horse with a wonderful temperament and attitude, and to be fair his fall [at Cheltenham on January 1] didn’t do that much damage. It was a horrible fall though. We really wanted to have another race but there was nowhere to go. He did have a racecourse school, and to be fair Nico [de Boinville] has done a lot of work with him, particularly in the indoor school, even yesterday morning he jumped half a dozen poles. Everyone has worked hard, it goes without saying, but Nico takes a lot of credit with this one.”

2.10pm RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)

1 Champ (J P McManus) Nicky Henderson 8-11-04 Barry Geraghty 4/1

2 Minella Indo (Barry Maloney) Henry de Bromhead 7-11-04 Rachael Blackmore 3/1

3 Allaho (Cheveley Park Stud) Willie Mullins IRE 6-11-04 Paul Townend 5/2f

10 ran

Distances: 1, 1

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The Nicky Henderson-trained mare beat Davy Russell and Black Tears (12/1) by two and a quarter lengths, with Thosedaysaregone (10/1) a further two and a half lengths back in third.

This was winner number four for the English handler at the 2020 Festival and followed the victory of Champ in the Grade 1 RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase earlier in the day.

The J P McManus-owned, a seven-year-old by Lucarno, gave jockey Barry Geraghty his 41^st Festival success.

The Master of Seven Barrows said:

“You are getting into the realms of you don’t believe it. You certainly couldn’t believe Champ but this is a lovely mare. It’s always a very competitive race but she was very good. It wasn’t that headlong Coral dash with a lot of horses flat to the boards and anything could have won coming down the hill.

2.50pm Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3)

1 Dame de Compagnie (J P McManus) Nicky Henderson 7-10-12 Barry Geraghty 5/1f

2 Black Tears (Caren Walsh & John Lightfoot) Gordon Elliott 6-11-02 Davy Russell 12/1

3 Thosedaysaregone (Brynes Bloodstock Ltd) Charles Byrnes 7-10-11 Kevin Brouder (3) 10/1

4 Cracking Smart (Gigginstown House Stud) Gordon Elliott 8-11-11 Gavin Brouder (7) 33/1

25 ran

Distances: 2¼, 2½, 1¼

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2/1 favourite Epatante, a six-year-old mare, is the fifth of her sex to win the Champion Hurdle, and the first since Annie Power in 2016. She beat the Willie Mullins-trained Sharjah (16/1) by three lengths in what was a ninth success in the race for owner J P McManus.

Sharjah briefly threatened on the run to the last hurdle, while Darver Star (17/2), trained by 2019 Unibet Champion Hurdle winning trainer Gavin Cromwell, ran with huge credit to finish in third place.

The winner, Epatante, was unplaced in the G2 novice mares’ hurdle at The Festival last year, but Geraghty said: “She got lit up on the day last year, when we put the hood on her. She was keen at Exeter and we just felt that the occasion was going to light her up, so we put the hood on her. She ran with the choke out. We plugged her ears today – she settled lovely yet travelled sweetly. There are always a lot of decisions to be made in the run up to a race and thankfully, they went right, as they can often go wrong.”

3.30pm Unibet Champion Hurdle (Grade 1)

1 Epatante (J P McManus) Nicky Henderson & Barry Geraghty 2/1f

2 Sharjah (Susannah Ricci) Willie Mullins & Mr Patrick Mullins 16/1

3 Darver Star (SSP Number Twenty Two Syndicate) Gavin Cromwell & Jonathan Moore 17/2

17 ran.

Distances: 3, 3¾.

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Ridden by Nico de Boinville, the Donnellys 6/1 shot stayed on strongly up the Cheltenham hill to get the better of a battle with the Gordon Elliott-trained Abacadabras (11/4), with Shishkin’s stable companion Chantry House (15/2) was a further 11 lengths back in third.

Seven Barrows maestro Henderson, drew level with Willie Mullins as the most successful trainer ever at The Festival with his 65^th victory.

Shishkin, a £170,000 purchase at Tattersalls Cheltenham in 2018, was providing Henderson with a fourth victory in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle following on from Altior (2016), Flown (1992) and River Ceiriog (1986).

1.30pm Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

1 Shishkin (Marie Donnelly) Nicky Henderson & Nico de Boinville 6/1

2 Abacadabras (Gigginstown House Stud) Gordon Elliott & Davy Russell 11/4

3 Chantry House (J P McManus) Nicky Henderson & Barry Geraghty 15/2

15 ran 9/4 fav Asterion Forlonge (4th)

Distances: hd, 11.

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Henderson is the second most successful trainer in history at The Festival with 64 winners, one behind great rival Willie Mullins, and has been the leading trainer at the meeting nine times. If you are looking to find the latest betting offers for Cheltenham head to BettingLounge.co.uk

Altior is aiming for a third successive victory in the £400,000 G1 Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase over two miles, a feat achieved only once before by Badsworth Boy in 1983, 1984, 1985.

Now a 10-year-old, Altior tasted his first defeat over obstacles when stepped up in trip to two miles and five furlongs in the G2 1965 Chase at Ascot in November, but bounced back with a dominant victory back at two miles in the G2 Game Spirit Chase at Newbury on 8 February.

Altior is unbeaten in four starts at The Festival, having also captured the G1 Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2016 and the G1 Racing Post Arkle Novices’ Chase in 2017.

Speaking from his Seven Barrows Stables in Lambourn stables this morning, Henderson said: “All is going well with Altior. He has been ticking over since Newbury and will have a couple of schools before Cheltenham. I seldom school him but I think he just enjoys it.

“If we take Newbury as Altior’s first run of the season, which you have to really, it was perfect. If you were coming into the Tingle Creek or something on the back of that, you would say we are absolutely spot on.

“The disaster was the first run of the year – in the wrong place at the wrong time in the wrong ground over the wrong trip. I could not have made a worse job of it if I had tried! If it wasn’t for the hype and build up around the race, I should have really been the spoilt sport and taken him out on the morning of the race. But you couldn’t. It would have been a walkover and Ascot would not have been very happy with me, nor would the rest of the world.

“I paid the penalty for running him because it took him until Newbury to get over it. In fairness, I think Paul [Nicholls] says the same thing with Cyrname. It was a bruising race we had at Ascot, both having our first run of the season. Had they run before it in a prep race, I suspect both of them would have been all right. Altior was exhausted and there was no question of him running at Christmas.

“It looks a seriously good Champion Chase and should be a big battle. Altior is certainly fresh and well now, and the better ground, the better he will be. I suspect Defi Du Seuil and Chacun Pour Soi probably handle softer ground better than we do, although Altior has won on soft ground. You saw at Newbury how Altior can change gear. You have to ask the question, and once Nico (de Boinville, jockey) did, he answered very quickly.”

Altior is the 2/1 favourite for the Queen Mother Champion Chase with sponsor Betway.

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