Trainer Henry De Bromhead, trainer of the Rachael Blackmore ridden Honeysuckle, can’t hide his delight at having won the champion hurdle for the second year in a row.

By Bill Heaney

Prepare for tears if Tiger Roll supplies a fairytale finale to his superb career at the Cheltenham festival today. In the feature race, Shishkin is a rare championship favourite for a home side that has been under the cosh in the races that ultimately decide the final pecking order.

For a second year in a row Rachael Blackmore and Honeysuckle won the Unibet Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and even by festival standards got a reception for the ages.

Follow the live blog of the day two action with Malachy Clerkin on The Irish Times’ sport homepage from 1pm.Further watering at Cheltenham has been put on hold with conditions close to the target of good to soft for the start of the Festival.

The first two days are run on the Old Course where the going was described as good to soft, soft in places after four millimetres of rain fell overnight on Saturday.

However, the next measurable rain may not come until today, Wednesday, with Thursday and Friday expected to be dry and mild.

The New Course, where racing takes place on Thursday and Friday, is soft, good to soft in places. The last watering was on the New Course on Friday.

Clerk of the course Jon Pullin, overseeing his first Festival, said: “We are certainly not doing any watering at the moment and we’ll monitor conditions and see how much it dries before making any decision on any further watering.

“Given where we are currently and the forecast ahead, we will be somewhere around good to soft for the start of the meeting.

“We’ve got a mainly dry forecast during the day today. There is a risk of a light shower but nothing significant in volume. Then we are dry tomorrow, dry Tuesday with temperatures around 13-14 C.

“There is a little bit of rain on the radar for Wednesday at the moment, so we are keeping an eye on that. At the moment it looks like 2-3mm and then Thursday and Friday looking dry, bright and sunny and temperatures up to 14C. There doesn’t look as though there is much rain around.”

Here is everything you need to know about the Cheltenham Festival 2022, from the latest news and odds to race times and TV schedule.

When does Cheltenham Festival 2022 start today?

See the full schedule including all the race times below.

What TV channel are the races on?

There are two options when it comes to watching Cheltenham on TV. The majority of races will be free to air on ITV, where Francesca Cumani, pictured above, will be one of the pundits, while Racing TV will also be showing the action. You will also be able to follow live updates on Telegraph Sport’s daily live blog.

What are the big races?

The Cheltenham Festival is not a case of separating the small races from the big races – it only contains big races and even bigger races.

Each of the four days has a headline event.  The Queen Mother Champion Chase tops the Wednesday bill – and this year’s Champion Chase clash between Shishkin and Energumene promises to be one for the ages.

Thursday features two prize races in the Ryanair Chase and Stayers’ Hurdle, and everything builds up to the Gold Cup on Friday. Minella Indo won the big race in 2021 and should be back to defend his crown against a field likely to include two-time winner Al Boum Photo and last year’s runner-up A Plus Tard.

Cheltenham Festival 2022 race schedule 

Wednesday, March 16

• 1.30pm, Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1), 2m 5f
• 2.10pm, Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (Grade 1), 3m 80y
• 2.50pm, Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3), 2m 5f
• 3.30pm, Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1), 1m 7f 99y
• 4.10pm, Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase, 3m 6f 37y
• 4.50pm, The Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Steeple Chase Challenge Cup  (Grade 3), 2m 44y
• 5.30pm, Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade 1), 2m 87y

Thursday, March 17 (St Patrick’s Day)

• 1.30pm, Turners Novices’ Chase (Grade 1), 2m 3f 166y
• 2.10pm, Pertemps Network Final (Handicap Hurdle) (Grade 3), 2m 7f 213y
• 2.50pm, Ryanair Chase (Grade 1), 2m 4f 127y
• 3.30pm, Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle (Grade 1), 2m 7f 213y
• 4.10pm, Paddy Power Plate (Handicap Chase) (Grade 3), 2m 4f 166y
• 4.50pm, Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2), 2m 179y
• 5.30pm, Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase, 3m 2f
• It’s traditional that punters pray for a winner of this race.

Friday, March 18

• 1.30pm, JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1), 2m 179y
• 2.10pm, McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3), 2m 179y
• 2.50pm, Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1), 2m 7f 213y
• 3.30pm, Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1), 3m 2f 70y
• 4.10pm, St James’s Place Hunters’ Chase, 3m 2f 70y
• 4.50pm, Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Grade 3), 2m 4f 127y                              Pictured right Sir Tony McCoy
• 5.30pm, Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (0-145), 2m 4f 56y

Check out the best Cheltenham free bets for the 2022 Festival

Five horses to watch at the Cheltenham Festival 2022

By Marcus Armytage

Tiger Roll (Glenfarclas Cross-Country – Wednesday)

It is almost unthinkable that the Champion Chase, one of the most eagerly awaited races of this year’s Festival and the rematch between Shishkin and Energumene, is not Wednesday’s top story. But if Tiger Roll, the two-time Grand National winner, bows out with a record equalling sixth Festival win and a fourth in the Glenfarclas Cross-Country, then it will raise the roof. Gordon Elliott is confident. “If the ground is decent, they won’t see which way Tiger goes,” he says. “He’s flying.’ After that it will be back to Michael O’Leary’s for an honourable retirement.

Galopin Des Champs (Turners Novice Chase – Thursday)

An impressive winner of last year’s Martin Pipe, the Willie Mullins trained six-year-old appears to have improved no end for fences and has hacked up on both his starts. He is up against last year’s Ballymore Hurdle winner Bob Olinger so it is no gimme, but, a bit like Constitution Hill, he goes into the meeting filed under the heading ‘could be anything.’

Galvin (Boodles Gold Cup)

Gordon Elliott took me into his stable on a recent visit to the yard and the eight-year-old, originally bought to give Scotland based owner and sponsor Ronnie Bartlett, a bit of fun at Perth during the summer, does not fit the typical template for a staying chaser. He is quite small but it is a case of ‘handsome is as handsome does’ in this game and he will take all the beating in Friday’s blue riband. We know he stays further and ominously for his rivals, the trainer has been working on his speed and believes he has got him faster.

Constitution Hill (Supreme Novice Hurdle – won on Tuesday)

Nicky Henderson will never tire of telling the story of how when the five-year-old first arrived at Seven Barrows he rang his vendor, his former jockey Barry Geraghty, and asked him why he had sold him a horse which was so slow it held up the string in the mornings. But on the gallops and on the racecourse it has been a different story; he is doing things few other horses have been capable of at Seven Barrows. If the Irish horse Sir Gerhard runs he might not even start favourite – but if I am reading it right this horse might never start odds-against again in the future.

Honeysuckle (Unibet Champion Hurdle – won on Tuesday)

Henry de Bromhead’s mare is 14 wins from 14 starts and is odds-on to make it 15 and get Rachael Blackmore’s week off to a flying start. Not only is she rated 3lbs better than her nearest rival and biggest threat, Teauphoo, but she gets a 7lbs mares’ allowance. She’s the reigning champion and if she defends her title she will become the first mare in the history of the race to win it twice.