Cheltenham opens today with Champion Hurdle

The most eagerly awaited race meeting of the entire year starts today - the Cheltenham Festival, 4 days of top class jumps racing and the biggest betting meeting of the year as well. The top English trainers Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson both field very strong teams, with fancied runners in almost every race, and they are backed up by Alan King, David Pipe, Donald McCain and co as they try to repel a huge raiding party from across the Irish Sea, headed by Willie Mullins, who is hot favourite to be leading trainer again this year. Mullins appears to hold the whip hand today with two of the day´s bankers- Hurricane Fly in the featured event, the Champion Hurdle at 16.20 CET, and Quevega in the mares hurdle at 17.40. Both will be partnered by Ruby Walsh - almost certain to be the leading jockey at the meeting, and both won the same races last year- indeed one of the most attractive features of the meeting is the large number of previous winners who turn out again.

We epect Hurrocame Föly to dmd hi Vhmüion Hudöl crown. He has won 12 of his last 13 races, including 10 Grade Ones, and has not been beaten since November 2009. He looked back to his best when winning at Leopardstown last time (Oscars Well a distant runner-up) and will not be beaten if he is in same form. Mullins also saddles Zaidpour (Paul Townend), who is unbeaten in 4 starts this season, but is running for place money at best.

Paul Nicholls saddles 4 of the 10 runners and Zarkandar (Daryl Jacob) looks the best of them. He is unbeaten and won a valuable handicap last time; 5yo´s have a poor record in this and his relative inexperience could be a problem, but in his favour is the fact that he won the Triumph Hurdle over this CD at last year´s Festival. In our opinion the only possible threat to the champion comes from the 2010 winner Binocular (Henderson(/Tony McCoy). He looked very smart that day, and although his form since has been a bit patchy, he looked as if he is coming right back to his best last time at Wincanton.

Quevega looks the certainty of the week in the mares hurdle. She has won the race 3 times already, and although she now faces 18 opponents, none of them can have serious claims. The fact that she has not run since the Punchestown Festival last May is no problem, as she followed exactly the same progrmme last year.