(3 minute read)
St Patrick’s Thursday! No time to catch your breath after two days of scintillating action. Today’s feature races are The Ryanair Chase and The Stayer’s Hurdle where Teahupoo hopes to regain his title for trainer Gordon Elliott.
Fact To File defected from the Gold Cup to run in the Ryanair Chase but will need to keep up with the exciting front runner Il Est Francais who may take some pegging back.
We preview these two key races and all the ITV televised races today with best Cheltenham 2025 bets provided by our partner firms bet365, William Hill, Betfred, Bet Victor and Boylesports.
Are you going to Cheltenham Festival 2025 today? We will give you the top travel advice for public and private transport.
We will also check out the best offers from our partner firms for new and established customers.
Travel Information
Car Parking
Car Parking passes are now SOLD OUT for all four days.
All racegoers intending to park on-site during Cheltenham Festival will require a car parking pass. For Cheltenham Festival 2025 no car parking passes will be available for purchase on the day and cars will be turned away without a valid ticket.
Park And Ride
Located directly off Junction 11 of the M5, the park & ride service provides a bus service from Arle Court to the Transport Hub at The Cheltenham Festival. Price starts at £15.
Trains
Birmingham New Street is running a staggered system to enable passenger safety. Expect to face lengthy queues to gain access to trains heading to Cheltenham Spa, although extra trains have been added to cater for the extra demand.
ITV Televised Schedule
1320: The Turner’s Mares Novice Hurdle
1400: The Jack Richards Novices Handicap Chase
1440: The Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle
1520: The Ryanair Chase
1600: The Stayer’s Hurdle
Race Previews
1320: The Turner’s Mares Novice Hurdle
Open looking contest to kick off St Patrick’s Thursday. Sixandahalf trained by Gavin Cromwell leads the market, but this is mighty competitive.
Willie Mullins holds eight entries with Maughreen looking the best of these.
SELECTION: MAUGHREEN 9/2 WIN with William Hill
1400: The Jack Richards Novices Handicap Chase
This used to be run as The Turners Novices Chase, however, the new changes introduced last year downgraded to a limited novice handicap chase.
It is an incredibly open affair with plenty vying for favouritism. Springwell Bay has good form at Cheltenham but carries a hefty weight whilst Caldwell Potter came into the Paul Nicholls yard with a lofty reputation after defecting from Gordon Elliott. Worth chancing again in this contest.
SELECTION: CALDWELL POTTER EACH WAY 16/1 with William Hill
1440: The Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle
Hugely competitive handicap hurdle as always. Winners often emerge from lightly raced entries who are not overly known to the public. Outsiders do ok as well with some colossal SPs in recent years including Help Us at 33/1 in 2021 and Commander Of Fleet at 50/1 in 2022.
A good fit for the win profile is Win Some Lose Some. Win Some Lose Some trained by the prolific Gordon Elliott is very much a progressive sort who has already accumulated four wins from nine starts.
His latest win in a Pertemps qualifier at Leopardstown was impressive and lots of winners of this race have originated from this qualifier. He should also have no hindrance from the 10ib penalty from the handicapper.
SELECTION: WIN SOME LOSE SOME 8/1 EACH WAY with Bet365 paying 6 places.
1520: The Ryanair Chase
Fact To File leads the market at a noticeably short price and should take some beating. However, all of these could be well off the bridle if the exceptionally talented front-runner Il Est Francais is allowed to boss things.
His brilliant King George performance was breathtaking, despite being beaten by Banbridge, and this distance should be ideal for him, providing he is the sort of horse suited to Cheltenham’s tough fences, undulations, and uphill finish.
We think he’s worth the risk whilst former winner and last year's runner-up Envoi Allen could be the each way bet of the week at 16/1 (William Hill, Betfred, Boylesports).
SELECTION: IL EST FRANCAIS WIN 3/1 with Betfred and Boylesports.
1600: The Stayer’s Hurdle
Last year’s winner Teahupoo is a deserved favourite and it is difficult to see this renewal going beyond him. It is a relatively weak field. 
Home By The Lee is consistent whilst The Wallpark is a progressive sort who may pose the biggest danger.
SELECTION: TEAHUPOO WIN 11/8 with Bet Victor.
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- Cheltenham Festival 2025 Free Bets
Cheltenham Festival 2025 Free Bets & Offers
BET365
- Bet365 Betting Offer: Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets
New Customers (available before and throughout Cheltenham Festival 2025)
Key Terms of the Offer:
Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Registration required.
Join and Claim Offer with Bet365!
- Super Boost
New and Existing Customers (available throughout Cheltenham Festival 2025)
A Super Boost on a major selection each day of Cheltenham Festival 2025, which will be live from around 10:00 each day.
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- Winnings Boost
New and Existing Customers (available throughout Cheltenham Festival 2025)
Winnings Boost for the 4:40pm race each day of Chelteham Festival 2025, on the following races:
- Tuesday – Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle
- Wednesday – Grand Annual Handicap Chase
- Thursday – TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase
- Friday – Hunters Chase
New and Existing Customers (available throughout Cheltenham Festival 2025)
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- 6 Horse Challenge
BET VICTOR
- Bet365 Betting Offer: Bet £10 (via the app) and get £30 in Free Bets
New Customers (available before and throughout Cheltenham Festival 2025)
Key Terms of the Offer:
18+ New customers only. Opt in & Bet £10+ on Cheltenham (odds 2.00+) via the BetVictor app by 17:20 UK time on 14.03.25. No cashout. Get £30 in Horse Racing Free bets and a Prize Draw entry to win £20,000. Free bets expire and Prize Cash winner contacted by 23:59 UK Time on 15.03.25. T&Cs apply, see below. gambleaware.org | Please gamble responsibly
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BOYLESPORTS
- Boylesports Betting Offer: Bet €10/£10 get €50/£50 in Free Bets (get £30 in Free Bets + £10 in Casino Bonus in the UK)
New Customers (available before and throughout Cheltenham Festival 2025) - IRE/NI customers only
Key Terms of the Offer:
Join and Claim Offer with Boylesports!
Please note all odds are correct at the time of publishing (4pm 12th March 2025) and are subject to change.
Min deposit requirement. Registration Required. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply
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