Taking place from March 10th to 13th in Gloucestershire, South West England, the 2020 Cheltenham Festival is one of the most prestigious steeplechase events of the year. It attracts a passionate following from the UK and Ireland and is a focal point for sports betting throughout the country. The competition is strictly for Grade I horses, specifically those aged four years and older.
Cheltenham Festival 2020, is a steeplechase or jump horse racing festival which comprises of four races in the schedule, beginning from 10th March 2020 to 13th March 2020 at the Gloucestershire, South West England. The Cheltenham Festival grabs Irish-English crowd for the festival, also the money betted over the horse pools abundantly for this particular event across the United Kingdom country. Being the prime period for the racers and betters in the year, Grade I, aged four and above horses will race in the event.
The festival's itinerary begins on March 10th with the Champion Hurdle. The second day, March 11th, features the high-stakes Queen Mother Champion Chase, while March 12th is dedicated to the Ryanair Chase. The entire event reaches its climax on March 13th with the final race, the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup 2020.
The 2019 leaderboard saw Mark Walsh and Espoir D’Allen winning the Champion Hurdle, while Nico de Boinville and Altior claimed victory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase for the second year running. Bryony Frost and Frodon emerged triumphant in the Ryanair Chase, and the festival concluded with Irish jockey Paul Townend and Al Boum Photo winning the Gold Cup.
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a challenging two-mile sprint featuring 13 fences. This year, the competition faced a setback when Altior, a 10-year-old Irish-British trained Grade I horse, was discovered to have a leg injury on the morning of March 8th. Altior had been striving to match the legendary record of Badsworth Boy, who won the title three times. Trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey Nico de Boinville have dealt with similar setbacks before, and Henderson expressed hope that if luck is on their side, Altior might still be able to compete at Cheltenham.
Altior, a standout of Irish-British training, boasts an impressive record in both hurdles and chases. The horse is known for dominant winning streaks, including three consecutive victories in the Game Spirit Chase from 2018 to 2020, as well as a hat-trick of wins in the Celebration Chase between 2017 and 2019.