Cheltenham Festival 2022

The 4 Day Festival

The Festival holds 28 National Hunt races across four days, traditionally between Tuesday and Friday, with no less than 14 Grade 1 contests during that time, and usually ties in with the St Patrick's Day celebrations in Ireland. It is one of the biggest betting events of the entire sporting year, and you can view the latest Cheltenham odds here.

Each of the four days of the Cheltenham Festival is headlined by either one or two Championship races, which consist of the Champion Hurdle (Tuesday), the Queen Mother Champion Chase (Wednesday), the Stayers' Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase (Thursday), before culminating in the headline race of the entire week, Friday's Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The races at the Festival are so valuable and prestigious that plans are hatched months and even years in advance of certain races, and owners have been known to purchase horses with the specific aim of achieving a winner at the festival. 

The Festival is so popular that it was extended to four days in 2005, with several races added to the line-up, and the change has been so popular that there have been plenty of calls to extend they event further, by creating a fifth day on the Saturday - which in theory could be headlined by one of the two Championship races on the Thursday - either the Stayers' Hurdle or the Ryanair Chase. 

What happened at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival

A Cheltenham Festival behind closed doors may have missed the atmosphere we are used to at Prestbury Park, but the action on the track still delivered with some spectacular performances lighting up the four-day National Hunt extravaganza.

Top jockey Rachael Blackmore was the superstar of the meeting, as she rocketed to the top jockey title with six wins, which include memorable victories on board Honeysuckle in the Champion Hurdle, Bob Olinger in the Ballymore and Allaho in the Ryanair Chase. Henry de Bromhead, who not only saddled Honeysuckle to victory also claimed Champion Chase glory with Put The Kettle On, while he struck gold in the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Minella Indo bounding to glory.

It was a festival dominated by the Irish with over three quarters of the races going the way of the Emerald Isle and two of the standout performers were Appreciate It, who scooted to glory in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle and Monkfish in the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase. However, a shock Irish loser was Envoi Allen, who was an early faller in the Marsh Novices' Chase and it left the door open for Nicky Henderson's Chantry House, who capitalised on his tumble.

That win for Henderson was one of two winners for the Seven Barrows handler, who saddled Shishkin to a mightily-impressive win in the Arkle Challenge Trophy, while other notable winners included Sir Gerhard in the Champion Bumper and Flooring Porter, who led all the way to claim victory in the Stayers' Hurdle. One final shout out goes to legendary multiple Cheltenham Festival and dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll, who rolled back to years to dominate the Cross Country Chase.

Picking a Winner 

Although all 28 races at the festival are tremendous spectacles in their own right, it's always nice to back the winner to boot, and punters up and down the country enjoy a flutter on the racing during the week. Of course, picking a winner is easier said than done, but previous form can play a strong part in finding the right horse to put a bet on, particularly when it comes to the five Championship races.

For instance, there are several races which serve as key indicators for the Gold Cup, including the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby, the Betfair Chase at Haydock, the King George VI Chase at Kempton, and the Denman Chase at Newbury to name just a few. Horses who tend to perform well in these races go on to perform well in the Gold Cup, and scrutinising the form book is essential. 

 We'll be previewing the festival in-depth on HorseRacing.net, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled on the site for the latest Cheltenham Tips.

2022 Horses to watch out for

The beauty of National Hunt racing is that the stars of the show have longer careers than those who run on the Flat, meaning that they return to the festival over several seasons, and build a real rapport with those who follow the sport. 

As such, it will be worth keeping an eye on some of the Grade 1 winners from 2021 including Supreme Novices' Hurdle hero Appreciate It, Ballymore victor Bob Olinger and Albert Bartlett hero Vanillier.

Elsewhere, Shishkin is bound for the Queen Mother Champion Chase after he was a fine winner of the Arkle, while Brown Advisory Novices' Chase winner Monkfish is bound for a clash with Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Minella Indo the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Compare Cheltenham betting offers

The festival is one of the biggest betting events of the entire year, so it is no surprise that bookmakers will pull out all the stops to attract punters to them with enticing sign up offers. Firms will offer extra on the more competitive races at the Festival to punters, such as the notoriously tricky Coral Cup, while some of the shorter-priced runners are usually available at enhanced prices, particularly in the Championship races. It's difficult to keep up with all of the Cheltenham free bets & offers at the best of times, so keep your eyes peeled on our dedicated hub on HorseRacing.net, where we will host all of the latest and best free bet offers and enhancements.