The Cheltenham Festival is back for 2023 with a thrilling week of racing lined up in the Cotswolds for what is known as ‘The Greatest Show on Turf’, as racegoers descend on the iconic course.
The Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup bookend the four-day meeting as perhaps the two highest-profile Grade 1 races, with the Champion Hurdle contested on the opening day on Tuesday and superstar horse Constitution Hill showed his class to win at a canter after starting as the overwhelming, heavily-backed favourite.
Meanwhile, Rachael Blackmore returns to Cheltenham looking to create more history after an astounding win to retain the Gold Cup in 2022 –a victory that helped the Irish trainers triumph handily over their British counterparts to easily land the prestigious Prestbury Cup, with a mighty 18 wins compared to just 10 for the home horses.
The festival provides a massive £274m boost to the local economy, a study from the University of Gloucestershire has found, and while organisers will be hoping the rain holds off, it promises to be an exciting week of racing regardless.
Follow all the Day 1 action from Cheltenham below:
