CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL DAY 2 TIPS
CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL DAY 2 TIPS
| Time | Race | Our Tip | Place Bet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13.20 | Ballymore Novice Hurdle |
|
Bet now |
| 13.55 | Brown Advisory Novice Chase | Bet now | |
| 14.30 | Coral Cup | Bet now | |
| 15.05 | Champion Chase | Bet now | |
| 15.40 | Cross-Country Chase | Bet now | |
| 16.15 | Grand Annual | Bet now | |
| 16.50 | Champion Bumper | Bet now |
| Time | Race | Tip | Place Bet | |
| 13:30 |
Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle |
 |
Sir Gerhard | Place Bet |
| 14:10 |
Brown Advisory Novice Chase |
 |
L’Homme Presse | Place Bet |
| 14:50 |
Coral Cup |
 |
Saint Felicien | Place Bet |
| 15:30 |
Queen Mother Champion Chase |
 |
Shishkin | Place Bet |
| 16:10 |
Cross Country Chase |
 |
Tiger Roll | Place Bet |
| 16:50 |
Grand Annual Chase |
 |
A Wave Of The Sea | Place Bet |
| 17:30 |
Champion Bumper |
 |
American Mike | Place Bet |
Looking for the Cheltenham Festival day 2 results? Visit our race by race results page here.
The 2023 Cheltenham Festival begins with a bang and Day Two is just as entertaining with the Queen Mother Champion Chase the feature race on Ladies Day. The race has a rich history and its roll of honour includes some of both the greatest equine and human names in Jumps racing history.
As well as the Champion Chase, we have Cheltenham Festival Day Two tips for the remaining races on the card. Visit our dedicated racecards page for all the runners and riders of every race. Day Two begins with the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, a race that often attracts some of the most exciting prospects in National Hunt racing.
You can follow all the latest insights, tips and Cheltenham betting offers for each day of the Festival here with our horse racing experts.
Cheltenham Day 2 Races Schedule
| Time | Race | Distance | Type |
| 1.30 pm | Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle | 2m 5f | Hurdle |
| 2.10 pm | Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase | 3m 1/2f | Chase |
| 2.50 pm | Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle | 2m 5f | Hurdle |
| 3.30 pm | Queen Mother Champion Chase | 2m | Chase |
| 4.10 pm | Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase | 3m 6f | Cross Country |
| 4.50 pm | Grand Annual Handicap Chase | 2m 1/2f | Chase |
| 5.30 pm | Weatherbys Champion Bumper | 2m 1/2f | NH Flat |
Cheltenham Festival 2023 Wednesday Feature Race
The feature race on the second day of the 2023 Cheltenham Festival is the Queen Mother Champion Chase. A perfect blend of speed and jumping accuracy is required to land the premier 2m Chase in the horse racing calendar, and any winner immediately etches themselves into Cheltenham Festival folklore.
3:30pm – Queen Mother Champion Chase
Run over a distance of about 2m, the Queen Mother Champion Chase is not only a Grade 1 but also represents the pinnacle of the 2m chasing discipline.
The race is named in honour of The Queen Mother – a fine supporter of Jumps racing – and has held this title since 1980.
Despite its relatively short distance, there are thirteen fences to be jumped in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and therefore potential winners must be able to travel powerfully whilst jumping proficiently, as this is considered by many to be one of the sternest jumping examinations of any racehorse.
With the likes of Master Minded, Sprinter Sacre and Altior amongst its recent winners, it is something of a surprise that the most successful horse in the history of the Queen Mother Champion Chase remains Badsworth Boy (1983, 1984, 1985).
Check out our Queen Mother Champion Chase tips for the 2023 edition, as our top tipsters make their recommendations as to who may be the next one grabbing the glory.
2021 Champion Chase Review – Mare Put The Kettle On Strikes on Ladies Day
Henry De Bromhead’s Put The Kettle On created history in 2021 when becoming the first mare to land the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
Winner of the Arkle Novices’ Chase at the previous year’s Festival, a race traditionally seen as a good trial for the following year’s Queen Mother, Put The Kettle On was not unfancied at odds of (17/2) and she justified the support to run out a game half-length winner under Aidan Coleman.
That brought the Cheltenham specialist’s record at the track to an unblemished 4-4.
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is one of the few races to have eluded master trainer Willie Mullins, and his Chacun Pour Soi became the yard’s third odds-on failure in the last six renewals when held at odds of 8/13F, following on from the disappointments of both Un De Sceaux (2016, 4/6F) and Douvan (2017, 2/9F).
2023 Champion Chase Prize Money
Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic the Prize Money for the 2021 Cheltenham Festival was slightly down on previous years yet still stood at a healthy £168,810 for the connections of Put The Kettle On, with money going down to 8th place.
That represented a total purse of £300,000, yet in 2020, Politologue collected £225,080 for his 9 1/2l victory, with the purse at a healthy £400,000. Prize money is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023.
Champion Chase Jockey Overview
Albeit perhaps most famous for being Arkle’s jockey, Pat Taaffe long held the title of being the most successful rider in the history of the Champion Chase with five victories (Fortria 1960, 1961, Ben Stack 1964, Flyingbolt 1966, Straight Fort 1970), before Barry Geraghty matched that sum (Moscow Flyer 2003, 2005, Big Zeb 2010, Finian’s Rainbow 2012, Sprinter Sacre 2013).
With both riders retired, Nico de Boinville is the most successful current rider having ridden three of the last six Champion Chase winners (Sprinter Sacre 2016, Altior 2018, 2019) and he will be bidding to supplement that in 2023 when partnering up with market leader Shishkin.
Champion Chase Trainer Overview
As mentioned, Willie Mullins has somewhat surprisingly failed to get his hands on the premier 2m chase despite holding a few notably strong chances in recent renewals, he will no doubt bid to write that wrong in 2023 with Chacun Pour Soi and Energumene two of his potential chances.
In terms of Champion Chase history, Tom Dreaper took a remarkable six renewals from 1960 to 1970 (Fortria 1960, 1961, Ben Stack 1964, Flyingbolt 1966, Muir 1969, Straight Fort 1970). Yet Nicky Henderson matched that feat in 2019 (Remittance Man 1992, Finian’s Rainbow 2012, Sprinter Sacre 2013, 2016, Altior 2018, 2019), and just a year later, Paul Nicholls joined the pair on six Champion Chase victories (Call Equiname 1999, Azertyuiop 2004, Master Minded 2008, 2009, Dodging Bullets 2015, Politologue 2020).
Both Henderson and Nicholls have some fine chances in 2023 in their bid to become the first trainer to land seven Champion Chases.
2023 Champion Chase Preview
This year’s Champion Chase promises to be an absolute cracker, with up-and-coming chasers, previous Festival winners and former Champion Chase heroes all in contention to take their place in the line-up.
The market is currently headed by Shishkin, a horse that has claimed victories in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and Arkle Novices’ Chase at the last two Cheltenham Festival’s.
Representing the Champion Chase specialist Nicky Henderson, and pilot Nico de Boinville, this 8yo brought his record over fences to an unblemished 7-7 when claiming the scalp of Energumene in January’s Clarence House Chase.
The aforementioned Energumene is who punters believe provides the biggest threat to the odds-on favourite, with Energumene agonisingly losing out in the Clarence House match between the two. Willie Mullins’ gelding likes to race at the front end and has proven an exceptional jumper of a fence, so the Old course here at Cheltenham looks made for him, but he clearly needs more to reverse form with his old adversary Shishkin.
Chacun Pour Soi was sent off the odds-on favourite for last year’s Champion Chase, yet he is expected to be a bigger price for the 2023 renewal, with the stiff finish appearing to catch him out 12 months ago. A disappointing Sandown run in December’s Tingle Creek means that Chacun Pour Soi has now disappointed in his two previous runs for the yard outside of Ireland, something that he will need to correct here.
The Other Races on Day 2 Of The Cheltenham Festival
The Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle Race
Day Two of the Cheltenham Festival begins with the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, a Grade 1 run over a distance of 2m 5f. Ten hurdles are jumped in this contest and it has proven a good race for punters in recent years with nine of the last ten winners going off a single figure price, five market leaders going in during that same time period.
Last year’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner Sir Gerhard currently heads most betting lists, with the Cheveley Park owned 7yo aiming to become the first winner from his age group since the 1998 winner French Holly.
Other potential runners include the likes of Journey With Me, Dysart Dynamo and Ginto in a race that is expected to have a heavy Irish flavour.
The Brown Advisory Novices’ Steeple Chase
The first chase run on Day Two of the Cheltenham Festival is the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, a race generally considered a good trial for following Cheltenham Gold Cups.
Willie Mullins sent out last year’s 1/4F Monkfish, who scored despite a hairy moment at the final fence, and he has current market leader Galopin Des Champs entered up for this year’s Brown Advisory.
This 6yo took the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockey’s Handicap Hurdle at last year’s Festival, and he bids to emulate stablemate Don Poli who successfully completed the Martin Pipe – Brown Advisory (then RSA) double back in 2014/15.
Representing the British challengers, Bravemansgame runs here having finished third to Bob Olinger in last season’s Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle. The strapping gelding has gained all three chase wins to date in field sizes of 4, so will need to prove equally adept in this larger field, but he looks a very exciting prospect and jumps impeccably.
The Coral Cup Hurdle
The Coral Cup is a 2m 5f handicap hurdle and generally considered to be one of the most competitive races run at the Cheltenham Festival.
There has been a good spread of British and Irish winners of the race in recent years, with the front-running mare Heaven Help Us providing Kilkenny-based Paul Hennessy with a big race victory last year at odds of 33/1, under 7lb claimer Richard Condon.
The daughter of Yeats held off the challenge of Nicky Henderson’s Craigneiche to score, depriving the Henderson yard of completing an incredible hat-trick of Coral Cups, following on from the yard’s victories in the 2019 (William Henry) and 2020 (Dame De Compagnie) renewals.
The Glenfarclas Cross Country Steeple Chase
Following the Queen Mother Champion Chase is the Glenfarclas Cross County, the only race at the Cheltenham Festival run over the Cross Country course.
This race has proven a real favourite for the Irish since its inception back in 2005, with only Balthazar King (2012, 2014) and Easysland (2020) managing to stop the Irish domination.
Leading banks trainer Enda Bolger has taken five renewals of the Cross Country (Spot Thedifference 2005, Heads Onthe Ground 2007, Garde Champetre 2008, 2009, Josies Orders 2016) making him the most successful in the race’s history, yet in terms of equine popularity, there is no name more synonymous with the Cross Country than dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll, who landed a third Cross Country 12 months ago and will be bidding to take an unprecedented fourth renewal in March.
The Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Steeple Chase Challenge Cup
Formerly the final race of the Cheltenham Festival, the addition of the Mares’ Chase saw the Grand Annual switched to a Wednesday slot in 2021, where Jonjo O’Neill’s Sky Pirate claimed the spoils.
The Grand Annual has produced some shocks in recent years, whilst Sky Pirate’s 14/1 SP was one of the tamer recent results, there have been recent winners at 20/1 & 28/1, whilst in 2019 the veteran Croco Bay caused a huge shock when running out a 66/1 winner of the race.
The Weatherbys Champion Bumper
Day Two of the Cheltenham Festival concludes with the Weatherbys Champion Bumper, the only race contested at the Festival that is not run over obstacles.
The race has kickstarted the careers of multiple Cheltenham Festival winners, whilst anything Willie Mullins runs should be strongly feared, with the Festival maestro sending out 11 winners of the Champion Bumper, most recently 12 months ago with Sir Gerhard.
Sir Gerhard’s victory came in the famous Cheveley Park silks, and that was the Jumps powerhouse’s third consecutive Champion Bumper winner, following on from the 2019/20 victories from Envoi Allen and Ferny Hollow.
We Got You Covered For Each Day of The Cheltenham Festival
Day Two, which is Ladies Day, is just the second day of the Cheltenham Festival 2023. There are two other fantastic days of racing lined up
Here are the feature races of each of the other days:
- Cheltenham Festival Day 1 – The Festival begins on Tuesday with the Champion Hurdle taking centre stage
- Cheltenham Festival Day 3 – Thursday is St Patrick’s Day featuring the Ryanair and Stayers’ Hurdle
- Cheltenham Festival Day 4 – It’s the big one – Cheltenham Gold Cup Day
Wednesday’s Results
| TIME | RACE | OUR TIPS |
| 1:30 | Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle | See Result |
| 2:10 | RSA Chase | See Result |
| 2:50 | Coral Cup | See Result |
| 3:30 | Champion Chase | See Result |
| 4:10 | Cross Country Chase | See Result |
| 4:50 | Fred Winter Handicap | See Result |
| 5:30 | Champion Bumper | See Result |