The 2025 Cheltenham Festival threw up the usual mix of drama, close finishes and special stories, but it’s fair to say that bookmakers got one over the betting public during a week which saw a host of favourites beaten.
Bookmakers headed into day one fearing the worst, as punters eyed up a quartet of heavy favourites they could back. Kopek Des Bordes got things off to the ideal start in the Supreme Novices, but that ultimately proved to be as good as it got.
Tuesday
The second race of day one saw the first of the shocks, as Majborough blundered late on to give Jango Baie the victory. Lossiemouth’s win did provide some respite for favourite backers, but an action-packed Champion Hurdle saw disaster strike for trainer Nicky Henderson as the popular Constitution Hill fell when four from home. Second favourite Brighterdaysahead was unable to take advantage, and State Man then fell at the last when looking unbeatable, leaving Golden Ace to ruin many spectators’ days by winning as a 25/1 outsider.
Wednesday
More predictable results would have been hoped for heading into day two, but the reality was quite the opposite, as only one of seven favourites – Stumptown in the Cross Country Chase – justified their pre-race odds.
Ballyburn had been well fancied but his struggles started early on, making a bad mistake at the seventh fence and never jumping with fluency from then on, to leave 20/1 Lecky Watson as the eventual winner.
Jonbon was another to carry the hopes of much of the crowd in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, but a bad mistake put paid to his chances as he eventually came home as a distant runner-up, 18 lengths behind Marine Nationale.
Thursday
Day three belonged to Rachael Blackmore, as the former Gold Cup and Grand National winner got her day underway by beating yet another favourite in the opener, on board Air of Entitlement.
Fact To File did come out on top in the Ryanair later in the day, but this was undoubtedly Blackmore’s moment to come to the fore, as she came from last to first on board Bob Olinger to beat Teahupoo in the Stayers’ Hurdle.
Friday
The final day got underway with the biggest shock of the entire Festival, as Jonjo O’Neill swept through late on to win the opener on the 100/1 outsider, Poniros. If Kargese and Dinoblue brought brief respite for those watching on, the Gold Cup undoubtedly left bookmakers smiling, as Galopin Des Champs was denied a hat-trick of wins in the famous race.
Galopin Des Champs failed to assert his dominance throughout, ultimately finishing second behind Inothewayurthinkin who pulled out a mightily impressive finish over the final two fences to secure his victory.
The horse was a very late Gold Cup entrant, in a race that had been billed from months out as Galopin Des Champs vs Fact To File. However, Fact To File’s inability to live with Galopin Des Champs in warm-up races eventually saw him redirected to the Ryanair. This left little quality opposition to Galopin Des Champs, and a good run in the Irish Gold Cup was ultimately enough evidence to convince trainer Gavin Cromwell to pay the £25,000 to supplement Inothewayurthinkin’s entry.
The gamble more than paid off, as he secured a prize pot in excess of £360,000, and dust had barely settled before the rumours began over whether he’d attempt to follow up the Gold Cup victory with a win in the 2025 Grand National.
Inothewayurthinkin overtook I Am Maximus as the Grand National favourite in recent weeks, but it was his exploits in the Gold Cup which really saw his Grand National odds slashed, down from 8/1 to 3/1 in the moments following his impressive showing at Cheltenham.
Despite Inothewayurthinkin’s position as Grand National favourite, both Cromwell and owner JP McManus were reluctant to commit to the race with absolute certainty in the aftermath of the Gold Cup.
“Let’s celebrate this,” said McManus.
“We’ll savour today and see. The Gold Cup is a tough race and I have to look at what would be fair to the horse. I’ll see what Gavin (Cromwell) says, but don’t expect a decision in the next week.”
Until that decision comes, the speculation and excitement will continue to build. Only one horse – Golden Miller – has won the Gold Cup and Grand National in the same year before now, and that feat came way back in 1934. Many will therefore hope that Inothewayurthinkin is given a chance to write his name into the record books, although the relatively short three week turnaround will no doubt play a part in the final decision.