Throughout the 2025 Cheltenham festival, Andrew Halligan is providing daily Cheltenham tips and advice on the best bets. These are his tips for day three.
We switch courses for day three of the Cheltenham Festival, as staying is the name of the game on the new course.
The mares get us underway with the Mares Novices' Hurdle for the first time in Cheltenham Festival history. All eyes will be on Maughreen who was named after the late Maureen Mullins, mother to the most-winning Cheltenham Festival trainer Willie Mullins. A win for Maughreen is sure to have a flood of emotions pouring from the master of Closutton.
The Ryanair Chase at 3:20 is the main supporting race on day three, where Fact To File, who was an intended runner in tomorrow's Gold Cup, has been switched here after back-to-back defeats to the greatest three-mile chaser of all time, Galopin Des Champs.
He has a standout chance of coming home in front today, but he did look like a horse that was feeling the effects of trying to get the better of the two-time Gold Cup here when only managing to take 3rd place in the Irish Gold Cup at the Dublin Racing Festival.
We barely have time to reflect on the Ryanair Chase aftermath as the Stayers Hurdle is up next. Teahupoo will look to add his name to the list of back-to-back winners. But he will not have it all his own way.
The 10-year-old Home By The Lee has been better than ever this season and is one of many who can put it up to the Gordon Elliott-trained favourite, along with Rocky's Diamond, trained by Declan Queally, who we featured in our Hero the Horses' series. Jazzy Matty - who won yesterday - was also featured in the series.
Andrew's Cheltenham Festival Day Two Betting Tips
1:20 Aurora Vega 9/1 (e/w)
2:00 Firefox 8/1 (e/w)
2:40 Win Some Lose Some 8/1 (e/w)
3:20 Protektorat 13/2 (e/w)
4:00 Home By The Lee 6/1
4:40 Jagwar 9/2
5:20 Midnight Our Fred 9/1 (e/w)
Yesterday's winners, all each way - The Yellow Clay, Vanillier, Jazzy Matty
