Ladies Day: Cheltenham Festival Day Two

Cheltenham Betting Guide | Day 1: Champion Day | Day 3: St Patrick’s Thursday | Day 4: Gold Cup

When: Wednesday, 15th March 2023

Feature Race: 15:30 Queen Mother Champion Chase

Races: 7

The second day of the Cheltenham Festival sees four more Grade 1 races on Ladies Day, with the card also featuring the Cross Country – a race known for its quirky fences and the unique test it offers.

First up, is the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, where the Irish have dominated in recent years, winning 11 of the 15 renewals since 2008.

The Championship race on day two is the Queen Mother Champion Chase, which could potentially see a rematch of the Clarence House first three. But will Editeur Du Gite uphold the form over Edwardstone and Energumene?

Here’s a look at all the races on Ladies Day at the Cheltenham Festival.

Ahead of the action on day two, check out our latest horse racing odds and offers for the Cheltenham Festival.

Ladies Day Results 2022

It was Irish domination on the second day last year, with a treble on the card for Willie Mullins that started with Sir Gerhard’s victory in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle. Energumene was the second leg in the Champion Chase, which Facile Vega wrapped up with a smooth success in the Champion Bumper.

Gordon Elliott helped the Irish tally with his two winners. Commander Of Fleet sprung a 50/1 surprise in the Coral Cup, while Delta Work dug deep to fend off multiple Cheltenham winner Tiger Roll in the Cross Country.

The British success was limited to L’Homme Presse’s victory in the novice chase, which saw an electric round of jumping. While Ben Pauling was also on the scoresheet after Global Citizen got the better of favourite Andy Dufresne in the Grand Annual.

Clarence House trio set to reoppose

It’s all about the ‘E’s’ – Energumene, Edwardstone and Editeur Du Gite. And each one brings something to the table to make this a tricky puzzle to solve.

Editeur Du Gite is the starting point after he was supplemented into the rearranged Clarence House, which he went on to win. His trainer Gary Moore believes he is worthy of his place in the Champion Chase line-up on the back of that victory. And the trends might be in his favour too.

Back in December, Moore’s nine-year-old put in an authoritative display of front-running to win the Desert Orchid Chase, potentially aided by Edwardstone’s unseat. But seven of the last 17 subsequent Champion Chasers have tasted victory in that Kempton Grade 2.

Previous winners of the Arkle tend to have a sound record when stepping up into the Champion Chase, which points in the direction of Edwardstone, who scored readily in that race last year despite nearly being brought down.

Alan King’s runner also has Tingle Creek form to his name, where he put in a sound round of jumping before going clear of Greaneteen and Shishkin.

And then there’s last year’s winner – Energumene. It was built as an eagerly anticipated clash between Energumene and Shishkin. But it didn’t go as expected. Shishkin was pulled up early on after failing to get into any sort of rhythm or fluency with his jumping.

In the end, Energumene came home 8½ lengths clear of Funambule Sivola. But his preparation for this year hasn’t quite gone to plan following his third in the Clarence House Chase. That was a race that saw his tank empty quite quickly after a mistake at the last.

Those are the front three in the betting with Blue Lord – third in last year’s Arkle – next in the mix. While Gentleman De Mee enters the equation after his seven-length victory in the Dublin Chase at Leopardstown last month, where the drying ground seemed to work in his favour.

With the Queen Mother Champion Chase now looking like a wide-open contest following the Clarence House Chase and Dublin Chase, who are you taking to win the race?

British success in the Ballymore?

The opening race on day two is the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, which looks an intriguing race with plenty of improvement likely from those who could head to post.

Hermes Allen has done little wrong for Paul Nicholls over hurdles. He put in a professional performance to win the Hyde Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham in November by a wide margin.

Then, he showed he was equally capable in a Grade 1, cantering clear of his rivals to claim the Challow Hurdle to put him firmly on the path to Cheltenham. Could he be the first Ballymore winner for Paul Nicholls?

Now, here come the Irish! Barry Connell’s Good Land saw his price cut following his success at the Dublin Racing Festival, where he looked to have plenty left in the tank if there was more of a challenge from those in behind. His jumping will be an asset to him in a race of this nature, and the trainer confirmed his intention to aim for this race at Prestbury Park.

It wouldn’t be a novice hurdle without Willie Mullins, but plotting routes for his potential runners has proved to be tricky down the years. As it stands, Impaire Et Passe looks the most likely runner from Closutton. He proved his talent in the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle, showing that the drop back in trip wasn’t a problem by producing a polished performance.

Then, there’s Gaelic Warrior – another Dublin Racing Festival winner – who could go for either this race or the Supreme. But Mullins is keeping his cards close to chest about the target for this five-year-old, who was second in the Fred Winter at the festival last year. Is he worth stepping up in trip for a crack at this with Facile Vega Supreme bound?

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• Day 1: Champion Day
• Day 3: St Patrick’s Thursday
• Day 4: Gold Cup
• Cheltenham betting guide
• Cheltenham Festival betting odds