Cheltenham Festival day 1 Tips: Lucky 15, Accumulator and bet365 Super Boost

Telegraph

10-03-2025

Day one of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival is headlined by the Champion Hurdle (4pm). The two-mile championship race is one of four Grade 1 contests on the card that have clear favourites, while some others have big fields and greater potential for outsiders to triumph. So look no further for your Lucky 15, accumulator or bet365 Super Boost selections.
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Today's expert tips for Cheltenham day 1
1.20
Kopek Des Bordes @ 10/11 with Betfair
2.00
Majborough @ 8/15 with Betfair
2.40
Search For Glory @ 20/1 with Betfair
Victtorino @ 22/1 with Betfair
3.20
Lossiemouth @ 4/6 with Betfair
4.00
Constitution Hill @ 4/7 with Betfair
4.40
Liam Swagger @ 14/1 with Betfair
Ephesus @ 50/1 with Betfair
5.20
Stuzzikini @ 25/1 with Betfair
Odds provided by Betfair and correct at the time of writing. Each-way selections are highlighted in the analysis below.
Cheltenham Day 1 Acca tips
Kopek Des Bordes, Majborough and Lossiemouth @ 3.88/1 with Betfair
Cheltenham Day 1 Lucky 15 tips
Romeo Coolio, Search For Glory, Liam Swagger and Stuzzikini each-way @ 61,424/1 with Betfair
If you are looking for a bookmaker to use for day 1 of the Cheltenham Festival check out our list of betting offers from the UK's best betting sites.
1.20, Cheltenham – Michael O'Sullivan Supreme Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1, 2m ½f)
The first selection at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival goes to the Willie Mullins-trained KOPEK DES BORDES.
Being the first race of the week the adrenalin can get high in this race, leading to a frantic pace that ultimately results in stamina coming to the fore in the closing stages. Today's selection is a sizable horse that has plenty of scope to stay further – likely over larger obstacles – and at the Dublin Racing Festival last time out he proved he certainly has the class for victory here and get the tipped accumulator off to a win.
Recent history does suggest that the winner has to come from the top three in the market as this is where 11 out of the past 12 victors have come from, but Willie Mullins has form lines in the yard with both Romeo Coolio and Workahead, so market confidence will be encouraging.
Last off the list was Salvator Mundi who has form with the superstar Sir Gino when trained in France, but after Patrick Mullins getting the ride he has quite rightly taken a drift in the market with his record against professional jockeys very poor.
2.00, Cheltenham – My Pension Expert Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices' Chase (Grade 1, 2m)
It is no surprise that MAJBOROUGH is this year's Arkle selection with a field that is widely regarded as sub-par after the setback to Sir Gino.
Both those horses were looking to break trends, as five-year-olds have a record of 0-16 since 2007. The field was thoroughly analysed for an older runner capable of turning over the short-priced favourite, but the ultimate conclusion was that none of them had enough class.
The Willie Mullins-trained horse won the Triumph hurdle last year – and while that was on the new course, it is form that should be easily transferable today. This season Majborough has not put a foot wrong, with a perfect 2/2 record both in fine fashion. What sets this horse apart, however, is the intelligence to correct himself when in a spot of bother. Couple that with his speed and you have a formidable chaser.
L'eau du Sud poses the biggest challenge and also boasts a perfect record this season, but he hasn't beaten a great deal in the process and lacked a bit of class when pushed out to win by just one length last time out at Warwick.
We will include this horse in our acca for today, but also keep your eyes peeled for any bookmakers boosting Majborough's odds to evens or better on the day.
2.40, Cheltenham – Ultima Handicap Chase (Grade 3, 3m 1f)
The Ultima is a race that is usually very consistent year-on-year, so trends can be quite strong indicators of who is going to run well. This year there was a distinct drop in the number of entries, suggesting that maybe not all trends will be upheld in this renewal.
SEARCH FOR GLORY is this year's first selection who won on chase debut back in October and the form of that race reads very well ahead of subsequent winner Sa Majeste. He then followed up and proved he can stay three miles with a short-head second to stablemate Stellar Story, who holds claims in bigger races than this at the Festival. The Gordon Elliot-trained runner is unexposed and could have something in hand for today's handicap.
Historically in this race, however, you would want to be backing an experienced stayer who is trained in the UK and that is certainly the case for VICCTORINO, who has 18 chase runs to his name and is trained by Venetia Williams. Something has certainly clicked this season with a place and two wins with all three runs on ground with good in the description, suggesting that he will relish today's challenge.
3.20, Cheltenham – Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle (Grade 1, 2m 4f)
LOSSIEMOUTH is the standout horse in the Mares Hurdle – and given her official rating of 160 she should really be lining up in the Champion Hurdle with a solid each-way chance.
She took a bad fall last time out at the Dublin Racing Festival when looking like she had State Man dealt with – who went on to win. However, after that setback it seems that connections have opted to get her confidence back with this easier challenge.
The pick is in a league of her own compared with the mares she runs against today and is very unlikely to get beaten, but that is reflected in her odds-on price. She is also added to our accumulator for the day.
Selection: Lossiemouth @ 4/6 with Betfair
4.00, Cheltenham – Unibet Champion Hurdle Trophy (Grade 1, 2m ½f)
There is no denying that CONSTITUTION HILL is a good horse, but today he gets to prove that he is a grade above that, a truly remarkable and special competitor. He looks to put his name beside greats such as Istabraq and Night Nurse as the best hurdlers ever.
He has had a mixed season that started with a setback as he missed the Fighting Fifth, followed by an impressive win ahead of superstar mare Lossiemouth in the Christmas Hurdle, and rounded off by a slightly less convincing win in the Unibet Hurdle.
The Gordon Elliot mare Brighterdaysahead poses the biggest threat. She has shown glimpses of herself of being generational talent with three wins, twice claiming the scalp of last year's Champion Hurdle winner State Man. Ultimately though she has a lot more to prove today and the likelihood is that Constitution Hill will put her in her place.
4.40, Cheltenham – Hallgarten And Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3, 2m ½f)
Unlike the Ultima, this race has gone to Irish-trained horses for the past seven years. So while he has been balloted out of the race, thus needing two horses to drop out before he qualifies, EPHESUS certainly fits the bill having been schooled by master trainer Aidan O'Brien before his current handler Denis Hogan. He has a classy pedigree, being by Galileo out of a debut-winning Shadwell mare, and his mark could certainly be lenient given he has run his race every outing without getting his head in front.
LIAM SWAGGER could hold the best claims of the horses trained on the eastern side of the Irish Sea. He is an 84-rated middle-distance horse on the Flat and proved he is in good health when taking a 12-furlong race at Southwell last month. His autumn runs on good ground, including a Listed win, suggest that today's conditions will suit and he can add to an amazing season for dual-purpose trainer James Owen.
5.20, Cheltenham – National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices' Handicap Chase (Class 2, 3m 6f)
Second-season novices typically have a good record in this race where experience is certainly beneficial at the extended staying trip. STUZZIKINI, who made his chase debut last May, stands out as a second-season novice chaser who is a proven stayer and will relish the drying ground.
He has won twice this term, first over 3m 2f in a novice chase in October and then the following month over 3m in open company when winning the valuable Grade 2 Troytown. His most recent run in the Thyestes will have blown away the cobwebs, leaving him ready to hit his peak today.
Transmission, last off the list, certainly looks like the trip will suit after some impressive staying-on finishes. But Patrick Mullins, called up after James Bowen's ban for overuse of the whip, again has to be factored in as a negative because of his poor record against professional jockeys.
What is the Cheltenham day 1 bet365 Super Boost?
bet365 Super Boosts are being announced at 10am every day during the Cheltenham Festival. bet365 will be considerably boosting the price of one selection each day – this will typically be a popular odds-on shot boosted to evens, but you may even see prices such as 6/4 or 2/1.
Last year three out of the four bet365 Super Boosts were successful.
Cheltenham tips: Frequently asked questions
What is an accumulator bet?
An accumulator or acca is a bet that consists of multiple bets (or legs) that multiply together for bigger odds if they all win.
What is a Lucky 15?
A Lucky 15 is a bet with four legs that consists of 15 separate bets: four singles, six doubles, four trebles and a fourfold accumulator.
What is an each-way bet?
An each-way bet is when you not only bet on your horse to win, but you also bet on them to finish in the top designated places in a race (this will vary from race to race and bookmaker to bookmaker).
The bet to finish in the places will be a fraction of the win odds (usually 1/5, but sometimes 1/4).
What does NAP mean?
Nap is short for Napoleon and denotes a tipster's best bet of the day.
What does SP mean?
SP stands for starting price – a horse's odds when a race begins.
BOG stands for best odds guaranteed, an industry standard offer. Regarding bets placed after a certain time of day, if a horse's starting price is bigger than the odds you bet on, you will get the larger odds.
Click here for the best Cheltenham BOG operators