The Cheltenham Festival is one of the highlights of the sporting calendar, especially for avid horse racing fans. Every year, almost 250,000 fans travel to the four-day event as the best horses, jockeys and owners battle it out in a number of prestigious races.
Without a doubt, the highlight of the week is the Cheltenham Gold Cup and horse racing aficionados from all over Britain will travel to Cheltenham specifically for the big race – that’s how widely respected the event is.
However, the opening day of the meeting is also growing in popularity, especially after Ruby Walsh’s dominance in recent years. The Willie Mullins-Ruby Walsh combination enjoyed an opening day treble last year but might not repeat the feat after Faugheen was forced to pull out of the Champion Hurdle.
While Mullins and Walsh will be gutted, their odds on winning the Gold Cup have shortened with Vautour’s potential entry in the race and Coral punters should back the 2015 Ryanair Chase champion to win the prestigious trophy this year.
If you’re as lucky as Mullins and Walsh, you might find accommodation right in the heart of Cheltenham town centre. While the majority of hotels are already fully booked, there are a few remaining and you should book your accommodation for the Cheltenham Festival as soon as possible.
Like most Gold Cup odds, the amount of available accommodation will shorten in the coming weeks and racegoers should concentrate on booking a hotel very soon. If nothing else, you could always find somewhere outside of Cheltenham.
For example, both Gloucester and Worcester are very local to Cheltenham racecourse and plenty of travellers will choose to stay in the surrounding area, including Tewkesbury. While Cheltenham is a lovely town, many enjoy the opportunity to explore a new city and this ensures they can relax outside of the epicentre of festival life.
With plenty of hotels to choose from in both cities, this may be the best solution for those of you who have left it late to arrange accommodation. But not to worry, there are plenty of direct trains, buses and other transport links to the town and shuttle buses will be organised to take you to the racecourse.
If nothing else, the Cheltenham Festival is set to be a superb meeting – in fact, it might even be better than last year’s event. Coral and other bookmakers will be hoping for an opening day victory after Walsh’s “Ruby Tuesday” in 2015 but most importantly, punters should ensure they have plenty of fun throughout the day. After all, this is the Cheltenham Festival we’re talking about!
