Cheltenham Festival LIVE: Results, tips and odds for Queen Mother Champion Chase and more

It was a big day for jockey Paul Townend as he celebrated three triumphs, the third coming on Lossiemouth in the 16:10 Mares’ Hurdle.

Cheltenham Festival returns for day two with Style Wednesday ready to provide more thrills after an action-packed opening day.

There will be 21 races to enjoy with Friday’s finale featuring the prestigious Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Legendary Irish trainer Willie Mullins will be looking to make it six years in a row as the trainer with the most wins at the Festival, while his jockey Paul Townend has been the outstanding rider in three of the past four years.

The jockey who broke that streak, Rachael Blackmore, will also be riding at Cheltenham this year.

14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls spoke to Betfair about the upcoming Cheltenham Festival and previewed his best picks for the week.

Nicholls has stable stars Bravemansgame and Saty Away Fay prepared to compete in the Gold Cup and Brown Advisory and has a dark horse he feels will perform well.

Stay Away Fay is riding in the 21.0pm Brown Advisory on Wednesday and Nicholls said: “He had a nice gallop at Kempton last week and he is ready now.

“He races behind the bridle so we are thinking about putting cheek-pieces on him, to focus his mind a bit. We will put them on him to work and if that sharpens him up then he will wear them in the Brown Advisory.”

Some breaking news this morning. The always-popular Cross Country Steeple Chase has been cancelled due to excessive rain making the cross-country course unrunnable in places.

So we’ve got a slightly revised schedule for today, with the first four races all moving slightly later:

• 13:45 – Novices’ Hurdle
• 14:30 – Novices’ Steeple Chase
• 15:15 – Coral Cup Hurdle
• 16:00 – Queen Mother Champion Steeple Chase
• 16:10 – Cross Country Steeple Chase – CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
• 16:50 – Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Steeple Chase Challenge Cup
• 17:30 – Champion Bumper

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the first five races of the day on ITV 1, with coverage on the channel beginning at 1pm GMT every day until 4.30pm GMT. The races can also be streamed online via ITVX.

There is also a preview show each morning from 8.30am GMT to 10am GMT which is shown on ITV4 and ITVX.

The final two races of each day will not be shown on ITV but fans wanting to watch can do so via Racing TV. Subscriptions for the channel, which shows every race from the festival, are available through Sky and Virgin Media and online through its website and app.

Coverage on Racing TV begins at 12.30pm GMT every day, with coverage ending after the final race.

Every sport has its peak. That one test of endurance, ability, skill, and luck. For professional footballers and rugby stars it would be the World Cup, England cricketers may point to the Ashes, for National Hunt jockeys? That pinnacle is the Cheltenham Festival.

At Cheltenham there’s a champion race each day with Tuesday hosting the Champion Hurdle, Wednesday the Queen Mother Champion Chase, Thursday the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle and Friday culminating with the 100th anniversary of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Victory in any of these ensures horse and rider get their names in the history books. Winning the Gold Cup puts them on the verge of legendary status.

After a blockbuster set of race on Tuesday it’s now time for Day 2 of the Cheltenham Festival. Paul Townend was the clear winner of the opening day riding Gaelic Warrior, State Man and Lossiemouth to victory in three of his four rides yesterday.

His only loss coming in the Supreme Novices Hurdle where he was bested by Rachael Blackmore and Slade Steel. Yesterday there was rain, there was excitement, there was drama and Wednesday’s action promises to follow suit with the headline race being the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

We’ll have all the latest updates, odds and tips throughout the day so stick with us.