Cheltenham Festival 2015: St. Patrick’s Thursday

If you love all things Irish, you can’t pick a more exciting day to go to the races than Saint Patrick’s Thursday.  Saint Patrick’s Day this year may be on Tuesday, March 17^th, but not at the Cheltenham Racecourse!  Attendees to this year’s upcoming Cheltenham Festival will be able to enjoy celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day early on Thursday, the 12^th.  The event gets started at 10:30 in the morning and runs until 6:00 in the evening.  Enjoy Irish-themed entertainment throughout the day, and of course, seven exciting races that will have you on the edge of your seat. 

It’s a good year for it too, as it turns out!  Gloucestershire Echo reports that twice as many horse-racing enthusiasts are coming over from Ireland this year to attend the Cheltenham Festival as did last year.  That will make for an amazing party atmosphere, and a great chance for Britons to celebrate with their fellows from across the sea.

There are a couple of noteworthy events on this day.  One is the St. Patrick’s Derby, a charity race which will raise money to support the Injured Jockeys Fund.  This race will feature twelve riders, and will be as bountiful as it is exciting.

The biggest event of the day however is The World Hurdle, won last year by More Of That, injured this year and out of commission for this year’s race.  There are a number of contenders to consider for this three-mile race.  Zarkandar and Saphir Du Rheu have both been trained by Paul Nicholls, famous for training Big Buck’s, the now-retired four-time winner of The World Hurdle.  Zarkandar came in fourth last year, won last November at Auteuil, and was beaten by a head at Ascot by Reve De Sivola. 

Saphir Du Rheu was racing fences, but failed to complete in two of three starts, which is why he’s dropped down to hurdles.  Other contenders to keep an eye on include Whisper and Rock on Ruby.  Whisper scored last year at Aintree and Cheltenham, and Rock On Ruby is a Champion Hurdle winner.

There are still tickets available at the Club, Tattersalls and Best Mate levels for those who want to attend Day 3 of the Cheltenham Festival in person.  Tickets are going fast, though, so be sure to put in an order quickly if you want to get a seat.  Many of the tickets for Day 4 are already sold out. 

What if you can’t make it to the Cheltenham Racecourse in person?  The next best thing is to turn on Channel 4, which will be broadcasting the entire event from start to finish, including the races on St. Patrick’s Thursday.  You can also tune into BBC Radio 5 Live for audio coverage, or check the web for live updates.  Get busy this week doing your homework; you will have the best chance of winning any bets you place if you do your research first and learn all you can about the contenders in this year’s World Hurdle!