By Bill Heaney

Happy St Patrick’s Day to everyone. It is not often you hear the favourite booed for winning a race. Yet that is exactly what happened yesterday at Cheltenham as Delta Work galloped past stable mate Tiger Roll to take the Cross Country Chase by three quarters of a length.

Ultimately, the fact that the dual-Grand National hero Tiger Roll, a five-time festival winner, and perhaps the most popular horse in the sport, was denied a perfect career finale in such agonising fashion felt like an injustice.

Soaked to the skin – Tiger Roll and Delta Work at the finish of yesterday’s big race.

In Wednesday’s other much-anticipated race, Willie Mullins filled the last notable gap in his big-race CV when Energumene finally gave him success in the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

After rival Shishkin was pulled up at the eighth fence and Chacun Pour Soi blundered and shot Patrick Mullins out of the saddle at the next obstacle, what was one of the festival’s most hotly anticipated races turned into a damp squib.

Today (Thursday’s) most lucrative race is the Ryanair Chase but the most intriguing one is the Turners Novice Chase. It will see only four runners, but crucially two of them are early favourites for the Gold Cup in 2023, Bob Olinger and Galopin Des Champs.

It wasn’t just raining at Cheltenham on Wednesday. It was hosing it down. The Irish were in their element.

Tony Bloom, the owner of Ergumene – we can’t say whether he has a family connection with Leopold and Molly from James Joyce’s Ulysses – but he would have been standing a pint of Guinness or ten in that pub where Leopold bumped into The Citizen had we been back in the rare ould times.

Tony, who for his sins also owns Brighton FC – The Seagulls – could not wipe the smile off his face after his horse Ergumene, ridden by Paul Townsend, won the Queen Mother Champion Chase and gave Willie Mullins the last piece of silverware he needed to complete his portfolio of wins in all the big Cheltenham races.

Top picture: The most popular horse in racing, Tiger Roll, with Davy Russell on board for Gordon Elliott and owner MIchael O’Leary of Ryanair notoriety. They beat stablemate Delta Work, ridden by Jack Kennedy, to take the Cross Country Chase by three quarters of a length. In the montage above Tiger Roll and Delta Work are pictured heading for the winners’ enclosure. Willie Mullins and a delighted Tony Bloom along with Paul Townsend, who had a double on the day; winning jockeys Charlie Deutsch and Shane Fitzgerald, who had a 50-1 winner for Gordon Elliott and Michael O’Leary. Ahoy Senor just failed to make it a Festival double for Scotland when the horse came second for Lucinda Russell, Peter Scudamore and Derek Fox. Pictures by Bill Heaney

After the heavy rain of day two, the going is set to be soft again but the sun has come out to improve conditions at the Greatest Show on Turf. The day’s action is headlined by the Stayers’ Hurdle and Turners Novices’ Chase, as excitement builds ahead of Friday’s Gold Cup.

Flooring Porter is aiming to add his name to an illustrious list who have won the Stayers’ Hurdle on more than one occasion following his dominant performance 12 months ago, while Rachael Blackmore rides again on Bob Olinger following their stunning victory in the Ballymore last year.

Fans have flocked back to Cheltenham after the festival was held behind closed doors last season, and have been treated to two exciting days of action so far.

Cheltenham Festival: Day three tips

Mares’ Novice Hurdle – 4.50pm

It seems interesting that Colm Murphy decided against running Impervious since the Royal Bond in November. She is now back among her own sex in the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle and may give the Mullins talking horse Dinoblue something to think about.

Paddy Power Plate – 4.10pm

Imperial Alcazar looks the class act in the Craft Irish Whiskey Co. Plate Handicap Chase but he may have shown his hand too much when winning by 10 lengths last time out.

In contrast, Grand Paradis looks a typical Gordon Elliott novice in a handicap that he does so well with.

Stayers’ Hurdle – 3.30pm

Flooring Porter can add his name to an illustrious list who have won the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle on more than one occasion.

Gavin Cromwell’s seven-year-old is without a win in his last three outings, but it is hard to forget his dominance of 12 months ago.

Last year he was allowed to dominate from the front and was given an excellent ride by Danny Mullins, and the pair may have been allowed an easy time of it given they were slightly unconsidered.

But a theme of his performance was his incredibly slick jumping and if he can repeat that on slightly quicker ground, then he is the one to beat again.

In his three subsequent runs, he can be excused for being over the top at Punchestown, where he was also unsuited by going right handed, he fell on his return to action at Navan when looking the likely winner and ran with credit at Leopardstown.

That day his plan to make all was thrown into disarray at the start when Klassical Dream stole a march on his rivals, grabbing a five-length lead which meant Flooring Porter was never get back on terms.

Cromwell has kept his charge fresh, while Klassical Dream has since suffered a surprise defeat at Gowran Park, and Flooring Porter can add his name to the likes of Barracouda, Inglis Drever and Big Buck’s who have won this race more than once.

Ryanair Chase – 2.50pm

Another horse chasing a repeat win in the same race is Willie Mullins’ Allaho, and if he runs within 7lb of what he produced 12 months ago, the rest may as well not bother turning up.

However, thankfully they have, and there is a reason to believe Allaho might not quite be able to reach those heights again.

His run was so good last year – a good deal better than anything he has produced before or since – that it looks like the exception rather than the rule.

That is to be expected, though, as he never put a foot wrong and genuine Grade One horses were taken out of their comfort zone by halfway, but he has not looked anything like the same horse since taking on stablemate Chacun Pour Soi over two miles at Punchestown after it.

First time out this year he was made to work extremely hard to win the John Durkan and scrambled home by two lengths from re-opposing stablemate Janadil, who, while a good horse, is just below the very best.

Then last time at Thurles his only serious rival, Fakir D’oudairies, nearly came down at the first and was on the back foot thereafter.

He is the most likely winner, no doubt about it, but at such prohibitive odds it might be worth backing Shan Blue against him instead.

Dan Skelton could have gone for a handicap off his mark of 148 so he must be getting the right signs, even though he has not run since falling with the Charlie Hall at his mercy.

Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle – 2.10pm

The Pertemps Final has drawn its usual ultra-competitive field and Alaphilippe is worth supporting after a satisfactory return when fifth at Warwick in a qualifier for this in January.

Turners Novices’ Chase – 1.30pm

Not many line up in the Turners Novices’ Chase but from a long way out this has only concerned two, Bob Olinger and Mullins’ Galopin Des Champs.

Both won at the Festival last year but in different circumstances. Bob Olinger put up a jaw-dropping display in the Ballymore, leaving a top horse like Bravemansgame toiling in the straight.

Galopin Des Champs ran in the Martin Pipe when he was literally a Grade One horse in a handicap, as he went on to prove at Punchestown.

It is debateable whether any horse has made such a striking impression as he did on his chasing debut at Leopardstown and he followed up in Grade One company next time.

We know he has an engine, which when combined with deadly jumping makes him as exciting a prospect as there is in the game. On the other hand Bob Olinger has not impressed with his jumping and is likely to be on the back foot coming down the hill.

Cheltenham Festival: How to watch on TV

You can watch the coverage unfold on STV with live coverage of the first five races of each day – coverage starts at 12:40pm.

The only place to watch the entirety of each day though is Racing TV, which offers subscriptions starting from £10 for a day pass, as well as monthly and annual deals and is also part of some Sky Sports TV packages. You can follow coverage there from 10am each day. There is a live stream of the action across ITV Hub and theRacing TV website or app.

You can listen to the races live with the first four races of each day live on talkSPORT, including the headline race at 3.30pm.