Key events
Turners Novice Hurdle preview
1.20 Turners Novice hurdle, Grade one, 2m 5f
After the four British-trained runners filled the first four places in the Supreme on Tuesday, there is understandable interest in whether the home team can complete a double in the openers on Tuesday and Wednesday for the first time since 2012. It is a distinct possibility, as Paul Nicholls’s No Drama This End is a solid favourite at around 5-2 after his impressive win in the Challow Novice Hurdle at Newbury in December. Nicholls’s previous winners of that race include Bravemansgame, Stage Star and the mighty Denman, and while Denman came up just short in this race when favourite back in 2006, No Drama This End has an obvious chance to go one better.
The main opposition, according to the market at least, comes from the Willie Mullins stable: Sober, the mount of the trainer’s son, Patrick, and King Rasko Grey, the mount of stable jockey Paul Townend. Sober has plenty of high-class Flat form, including a Group Two success in France and a win in the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot last summer, and remains unbeaten after two starts over hurdles. Danny Mullins, the trainer’s nephew and perennial No 2 or No 3 rider, now has 32 career Grade One wins after his success in Tuesday’s Arkle, none of which were favourites, and attempts to make it 33 on Lucky. Act Of Innocence represents the same owner/trainer/jockey combo as Old Park Star, Tuesday’s Supreme winner, while Ballyfad is Jack Kennedy’s pick from a couple of live runners for Gordon Elliott.
Key form and selection:
G1 Challow Novice Hurdle, Newbury, 29 Dec 25 (No Drama This End)
G1 Ballymore Novice Hurdle, Naas, 9 Jan 26 (I’ll Sort That, Sortudo).
G2 Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle, Punchestown, 11 Jan 26 (Sober).
G1 Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle, Leopardstown, 1 Feb 26(Ballyfad, King Rasko Grey)
Timeform Top-Rated: No Drama This End.
Selection: No Drama This End.
Wednesday’s race card
1.20 Turners Novices’ Hurdle
2.00 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase
2.40 Coral Cup Hurdle
3.20 Cross Country Steeple Chase
4.00 Queen Mother Steeple Chase
4.40 Grand Annual Steeple Chase Challenge Cup
5.20 Champion Bumper
Here are the day two market movers and most popular bets:
Market movers:
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Jingko Blue – 5/1 from 10/1
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Pied Piper – 10/1 from 22/1
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Bossman Jack – 9/1 out to 16/1
Most popular bets:
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Majborough – 46% of Champion Chase bets
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No Drama This End – 28% of Turners bets
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Romeo Coolio – 24% of Brown Advisory bets
All odds via Oddschecker.
Sean Ingle reports on day one, with plenty of positives to report after a buildup marked by in-fighting and concerns for racing’s future.
Preamble
Greg Wood
Good morning from Cheltenham racecourse on day two of the 2026 festival meeting: Champion Chase day, and also now Ladies’ Day, as the track attempts to address the most obvious hole in the crowd figures after three straight years of declining attendance.
Last year’s Wednesday attendance dipped below 42,000 for the first time, and also below the (record) figure for the New Year’s Day fixture here two months ago. It might seem a little cursory to slap a “Ladies’ Day” tag on the card and expect a significant boost to the crowd, but hey, it’s worked like a charm for racecourses the length and breadth of the country over the last 20 years, so why not give it a try?
It should not, after all, be a difficult sell. The Champion Chase is one of four Grade One races on the card – the other three days have only three – and while the feature race is typically low on numbers, and sadly missing a defending champion too after Marine Nationale was ruled out last week, the quixotic Majborough is an intriguing favouritelikely to divide punters fairly evenly over whether he should be backed or opposed.
The going at Cheltenham is slightly quicker today, having shifted from good-to-soft to good-to-soft (good in places), and the action is underway at 1.20pm with the Turners Novice Hurdle, where Paul Nicholls’s No Drama This End will set off as favourite and attempt to complete an opening-race double for British yards after their 1-2-3-4 in the Supreme Novice Hurdle on Tuesday.
There is a maximum field for the 3m 1f Broadway Novice Chase at 2.00, vindicating the decision to axe the Turners Novice Chase over two-and-a-half miles. You can follow all the action, as always, here on the blog throughout the afternoon.
