Cheltenham Festival 2015: Dates, Race Schedule, Betting Tips, Odds and Preview

The focus of the racing world will switch to Prestbury Park this week, where the highlight of the National Hunt season, the Cheltenham Festival, takes place from Tuesday, March 10 to Friday, March 13.

Three days became four in 2005, when the festival was expanded to ensure there was a championship race run on each day of the meeting.

The decision was not met with widespread approval, with The Independent's Simon Kelner suggesting that there is now too much of a good thing. However, the massed ranks that throng to Cheltenham on each of the four days appear to suggest Kelner is in a minority.

Whether you feel it is too much or not, top-class racing is served up over the four days.

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13:30 - Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle	2m
14:05 - Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy	2m
14:40 - Ultime Business Solutions Handicap Chase	3m 1f
15:20 - Stan James Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy	2
16:00 - OLBG Mares' Hurdle	2m 4f
16:40 - Toby Balding National Hunt Chase	4m
17:15 - CHAPS Restaurant Barbados Novices' Handicap Chase	2m 4f

The action gets underway with the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, which will be greeted with the traditional Cheltenham roar. This two-mile-and-half-a-furlong speed test for novice hurdlers has proved something of a benefit for champion Irish trainer Willie Mullins in recent seasons.

Mullins has won the past two renewals with Champagne Fever and Vautour, and he saddles the favourite, Douvan, this time around. The five-year-old is unbeaten in two races since joining the Mullins yard and the trainer has been glowing in his praise.

"Douvan looks the part," Mullins told the Racing Post. "He does everything so naturally at home and on the racecourse when we have run him, so fingers crossed he can do it at Cheltenham as well."

The opposition to Douvan is led by Nicky Henderson's L'Ami Serge, another recruit from French racing who is unbeaten in three runs since moving to England. He is already a Grade 1 winner and will look to expose any weaknesses in the favourite.

Confidence is high in the Mullins camp that they can have a strong start to the Festival, and they send another favourite into battle in the Arkle Challenge Trophy: Un De Sceaux. The seven-year-old has tasted defeat over obstacles just once, a fall when miles clear of his rivals, and it's difficult to gauge how good he might be.

Un De Sceaux will wear his heart on his sleeve, as he loves to roll along at the head of affairs. If he gets into his usual rhythm, he will be extremely tough to catch. His price is reflected in his chance, with the one hope for his rivals to cling to being that this will be his first visit to Cheltenham.

Day 1's feature event is the Champion Hurdle, and the eight-runner field is headed by yet another Mullins favourite. Faugheen is the horse in question, and he heads to Cheltenham defending an unbeaten record, which includes a win in last year's Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle at the Festival.

Faugheen has graduated into the established hurdling ranks in seamless fashion, winning both his races this term with ridiculous ease. He is a worthy favourite around the even-money mark, but this will be a true test.

Up against Faugheen are two-time Champion Hurdle hero, and Mullins stablemate Hurricane Fly, last year's winner Jezki and Nigel Twiston-Davies' home challenger The New One.

Those who favour potential over proven form will be firmly in the Faugheen camp, but the Champion Hurdle is not one for the faint hearted, and Jezki could offer each-way appeal to defend his crown at 4/1. One thing is certain, Jezki will relish the drying ground and will raise the roof if he can carry AP McCoy to victory.

The Mares' Hurdle is the fourth Grade 1 event of the opening day and looks at the mercy of Annie Power, yet another raider from the Mullins yard.

Annie Power has not raced since losing her unbeaten record at the festival 12 months ago, but provided she is fit and in any sort of form, she is cut above all her rivals.

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13:30 - Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle	2m 5f
14:05 - RSA Chase	3m
14:40 - Coral Cup	2m 5f
15:20 - Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase	2m
16:00 - Glenfarclas Handicap Chase	3m 7f
16:40 - Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle	2m
17:15 - Weatherbys Champion Bumper	2m

Day 2 offers up a mix of stamina and speed, with the staying novices getting their chance to strut their stuff on the same day as the two-mile chasers.

The RSA Chase is the championship event for three-mile novice chasers. It is often a war of attrition but has a history of being won by stars of the future.

Irish raiders have won four of the past six renewals, and they are likely to have the favourite for the race in the shape of Don Poli. It is getting a little repetitive, but Don Poli is another challenger from the Mullins yard. Stamina looks the six-year-old's strong suit and the vibes from the camp are strong.

Don Poli is unlikely to have things his own way, with the home challenge led by David Pipe's Kings Palace and the Mark Bradstock-trained Coneygree. The latter is another runner who looks packed with stamina, meaning this could be a war up the Cheltenham hill.

The RSA will be all about stamina; the Queen Mother Champion Chase will be about slick jumping at speed. There is every chance the Champion Chase could become an "I was there" moment.

Sprinter Sacre is the highest-rated chaser in training, but Nicky Henderson's superstar has completed the course just once in the past 23 months after being laid low by a heart condition.

The nine-year-old made a satisfactory return to action behind Dodging Bullets, who reopposes, at Ascot recently. That effort gave no indication as to whether the fire still burns bright within Sprinter Sacre. We will find that out on Wednesday afternoon, and the roar that will ring out if jockey Barry Geraghty sends him clear up the hill will be as loud as anything ever heard at Prestbury Park.

If the Sprinter is fit and firing, the 11/4 on offer looks to be a huge price.

There will be no shortage of dangers, with defending champion Sire De Grugy the closest rival to Sprinter Sacre on the figures. He is also on the comeback trail following injury, but unlike Sprinter Sacre, Gary Moore's charge proved his well-being with an impressive win under a huge weight at Chepstow.

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13:30 - JLT Novices' Chase	2m 4f
14:05 - Pertemps Networks Final	3m
14:40 - Ryanair Chase	2m 5f
15:20 - Ladbrokes World Hurdle	3m
16:00 - Browne Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate	2m 5f
16:40 - Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase	3m 2f

Day 3 offers up three more Grade 1 races, with the highlight being the World Hurdle. A test of stamina over three miles, there will be a new name on the trophy in 2015, as last year's winner, More Of That, will miss the race through injury.

With More Of That out of the picture, champion trainer Paul Nicholls holds a strong hand. He has ante-post favourite Saphir Du Rheu and Zarkandar at his disposal. The latter is a seasoned staying hurdler, while the former is all about potential and follows the path of Big Buck's, who won the race four years in a row after reverting to hurdles following a poor spell over the larger obstacles.

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Champion trainer @PFNicholls chooses his five to follow at the 2015 #CheltenhamFestival. https://t.co/UNbrmnfe75

— Betfair Racing (@BetfairRacing) February 28, 2015"

There's no standout performer, so this contest could be open for a shock. A likely candidate is Un Temps Pour Tout. David Pipe's charge arrived in England with a huge reputation—and a hefty price tag—and put up one mighty display when thrashing Cole Harden at Ascot.

Things have not gone to plan this term, but he showed a bit of sparkle behind Saphir Du Rheu at Cheltenham in January and looks a decent each-way price at around 12/1.

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13:30 - JCB Triumph Hurdle	2m 1f
14:05 - Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle	2m 1f
14:40 - Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle	3m
15:20 - Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup	3m 2f
16:00 - St James's Place Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup	3m 2f
16:40 - Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle	2m 4f
17:15 - Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Chase	2m

If wallet and liver are still in working order after the first three days, the final day should be an absolute delight for racing fans, with the Gold Cup the highlight of the week.

It will likely be tough going for punters at the start of the fourth day, with the cavalry charges that are the Triumph Hurdle and Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle always devilishly tricky to decipher.

The Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle, the staying test for novices, is set to have another Mullins-trained favourite on show, Black Hercules, and is the prelude to the big race itself.

The flag will fall for the Cheltenham Gold Cup at 3:20 p.m. and the race is shaping up to be a genuine highlight of the week. It is the ultimate test for staying chasers, as it is often run at a searching gallop that tests both jumping and stamina.

Lord Windermere won the race 12 months ago and will be bidding to defend his crown. There is no doubt that last year's renewal left many observers scratching their heads. Seven lengths covered the first six home, as Lord Windermere survived a lengthy stewards' enquiry to deny On His Own.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

With the form having a suspect look to it, Lord Windermere is available at double-figure prices to defend his crown. His course form is in his favour, but Jim Culloty's charge will need to be at his very best to secure a repeat win.

Nicholls provides the race favourite in the form of Silviniaco Conti. The nine-year-old is the best horse in the race on official figures and heads to Cheltenham in fine form, having won the King George VI Chase for a second year in a row at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.

He has twice disappointed in the Gold Cup, including as favourite last year, but Nicholls said that his charge is in superb condition at a recent media day.

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He looks way better than he did this time last year and he's in good order.

Something he wasn't doing last year was finishing strongly. So we sorted out his gastric ulcers and the cheekpieces have got him jumping sharper.

He looks fantastic in his skin and we've just go to get through the next 10 days.

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If Silviniaco Conti is in the sort of shape he was at Kempton in December, he looks a great bet at 3/1 to repel a challenge led by Noel Meade's Road To Riches and Oliver Sherwood's Many Clouds.

At The Races' Gary Nutting feels the favourite is eminently beatable: "He had to settle for fourth in a bunch finish last year, and there's no getting away from the fact that his Cheltenham record is not as good as it is on flatter tracks."

Whether you're a Silviniaco Conti fan, a Road To Riches follower or a Smad Place backer, sit back and enjoy the 2015 renewal of the Gold Cup, as it could be a belter.

All odds courtesy of Oddschecker and correct at time of publication.