Cheltenham Festival Day 1 Preview, Racecard, Runners, Riders and Favourites

Cheltenham Festival Day 1 – Tuesday 14th March 2017

Tuesday 14th March the talking stops as punters see the curtain go up on the 2017 Cheltenham Festival. Months of preparation comes to a head as we see the biggest names in UK and Irish horse racing put their reputations on the line in search of glory.

As is often the case at this time of year, bookmakers are falling over themselves to attract your business, meaning it is very much a buyer’s market. But just who should you trust, and what’s the best way to invest your festival betting balance? There’s certainly no lack of tips flying around, which only serves to muddy the water. We aim to lead you through the wilderness towards the winner’s enclosure with our expert betting tips and race predictions. Below you will find our NAP and next best on day one, and if you scroll to the bottom of this page you will find a selection in every race, designed to boost up your lucky 15 bets and multiples.

Cheltenham Festival 2017 – Top Day 1 Offers

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How does it work?

Simply bet £10 on any horse race and William Hill will put a £5 stake on the winner of the Champion Hurdle for you. This offer takes the difficulty out of picking the winner, you know you’ve got a fiver on it so it’s simply a matter of how much you will win! Click the banner for full details:

Other Cheltenham Day 1 offers:

Cheltenham Festival Day One – Racecard

Race of the day on Tuesday goes in the form of the renewal of the OLBG Mares Hurdle. A grade one contest, we’ve seen flip-flopping favourites in the build-up, with Limini currently shading Vroum Vroum Mag.

The market leader, trained by Willie Mullins, arrives at course on the back of an impressive win last time out in the Quevega Mares Hurdle at Punchestown. The six-year-old not only won the race that day, she slapped down a Cheltenham rival in odds-on favourite Apple’s Jade in the process, beating the 2/5 SP jolly home in comfortable fashion. That result caught the eye of odds-compilers and Coral have her at 13/8 to double up here.

I am not so quick to jump aboard however, and find myself sticking with Vroum Vroum Mag. Another darling of the Mullins yard, she arrives with a CV showing 12 wins and a second from 13 career starts. She won this race last year, when going off at 4/6, beating Rock On The Moor by 2 ¾ lengths. She was also in winning shape in her final warm-up for this race, taking the prize money in the Doncaster Mares Hurdle, edging out Midnight Jazz.

The winning distance of a head would’ve been far too close for comfort, especially for a 1/5 fav, but she did get the desired result, and would’ve come on for it. I am happy to keep faith, giving Vroum Vroum Mag as the best of my race betting tips, and Paddy Power’s 11/4 offer makes that decision easy to make.

The next best of my Cheltenham Festival day one predictions is Ballyandy in the Supreme Novices Hurdle, which will hopefully get us off to a flying start. He too goes as second-favourite in the current betting, behind Melon 7/2 (Betfair) – but looks well worth a shot.

A representative of team Twiston-Davies, Ballyandy was last seen winning the Betfair Hurdle around Newbury in February, squeezing past Movewiththetimes by ¾ length. A performance of real note, but it was the way he finished the race that caught my eye, keeping on when it mattered most and showing a real desire to get his head in front.

The selection has now won half of his 10 starts, including last year’s Champion Bumper. 4/1 is available across the board at the time of writing, and that’s enough to get my attention. A nice price in our betting tips about a very nice horse.

Cheltenham Festival – Tuesday Predictions

We’ve got a pick in every race, you can add them to your Cheltenham daily acca, or take each one on its own. As most seasoned punters know it’s very difficult to pick out a long list of winners, so something like a Lucky 15, Lucky 63 or even a super heinz should ensure you get something back for your stake.

1.30 – Ballyandy
2.10 – Yorkhill
2.50 – Noble Endeavour
3.30 – Yanworth
4.10 – Vroum Vroum Mag
4.50 – Champers On Ice
5.30 – Itsafreebee