Cheltenham Festival 2025 LIVE: Results, tips and latest updates on Day 3

St. Patrick’s Thursday is being represented in full force as punters arrive at the course for the day three action.

The final two races of each day will not be shown on ITV but fans wanting to watch can do so via Racing TV. Subscriptions for the channel, which shows every race from the festival, are available through Sky and Virgin Media and online through its website and app.

Racing TV coverage begins at 12.30pm every day and ends after the final race. The Independent will also have a dedicated live blog covering the action which you can follow.

A number of betting sites and apps also show all the races, provided you have a funded account with them.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the first five races of the day on ITV1, with dedicated coverage on the channel beginning at 12.45pm GMT every day until 5pm GMT. The races can also be streamed online via ITVX.

There is also a preview show each morning from 9am GMT to 10am GMT which is shown on ITV4 and ITVX.

The weather, expected to be dry with some showers, has taken a turn at the course and is currently hailstoning.

There are no current worries over the downpour which is expected to ease shortly.

Marine Nationale and Jazzy Matty won back-to-back races on a day of surprises in an emotional tribute to jockey Michael O’Sullivan.

O’Sullivan, a 24-year-old jockey who passed away last month after a fall at Thurles racecourse, only won twice at the Cheltenham Festival with both victories coming on day one of the 2023 edition.

His horses that day were Marine Nationale and Jazzy Matty who both triumphed inside 40 minutes on Style Wednesday providing the perfect farewell to their previous rider.

The other main type of jump race is called a steeplechase, or more commonly just a chase. Cheltenham’s Gold Cup (Friday 14 at 4pm) is a steeplechase event.

Chases are run over distances that range between 2 and 4½ miles with obstacles including plain fences, water jumps or open ditches. The fences are taller than hurdles being a minimum of 4½ feet high and are made of a mixture of birch and spruce.

Horses that run in steeplechases are called chasers and tend to be older having previously run in hurdle races to gain experience and learn how to jump.

The horses start behind tapes that stretch across the racecourse and when the tape drops the race begins.

The first thing you should know is that the Cheltenham Festival is the culmination of the National Hunt jump racing season. Jump races are races that include obstacles for the horse and jockey to jump over.

These obstacles are known as hurdles or fences and the season usually takes place across autumn, winter and spring.

Jump races test stamina and jumping ability and horses that take part tend to be older than those who run flat races (races without jumps). The courses are a variety of distances from 2 to 4½ miles.

Within jump racing there are different designations of races and Cheltenham will showcase most, if not all, types of them.

Sir Alex Ferguson spent a sporting career picking up trophies and it remains a trait he has maintained throughout his retirement.

The most decorated manager British football has ever seen has also enjoyed a successful link with horse racing stretching back decades, although unlike his management career, it hasn’t always been plain sailing.

A much-publicised 2003 dispute with Coolmore supremo John Magnier over unpaid stud fees regarding 2,000 Guineas winner Rock Of Gibraltar, ended in an ugly public row with matters complicated still further by Magnier and business partner JP McManus holding a near quarter share in Manchester United at the time.

Ruby Walsh’s tip: Teahupoo 6/4

I’m not Teahupoo’s biggest fan, but I’ve looked this race up and down for six weeks and I can’t find a horse to oppose him.

Sam Turner’s tip: The Wallpark 13/2

Reigning champion Teahupoo has undergone the same preparation as last year and his form took a boost yesterday when his Morgiana Hurdle conqueror, Lossiemouth, hacked up at the third successive Festival. Home By The Lee runs in this event for the fourth time and it is probably asking a lot for him to win it at the age of 10, so the younger legs of The Wallpark and Lucky Place could be the ones to trouble Teahupoo.

The Wallpark narrowly gains the nod having won over three miles on the Old Course last October and he was unsuited by a sluggish gallop at Ascot last time. There should be no such issues with Gowel Road in the field today.

Ruby Walsh’s tip: Jungle Boogie 12/1

Fact To File will be the hardest to beat but his price is plenty short. I’ve thought for a long time Jungle Boogie is the each-way shout. He ran a cracker in last year’s Gold Cup but didn’t stay. Going left handed suits him better than right and he’s very lightly raced for an 11-year-old.

Oli Bell’s tip: Fact to File 5/4

The super boost horse in the Ryanair Chase is Fact to File and I think he’s got a great chance. I’m delighted he’s in this race as I think he’s the best horse in this race and I think he will win.