Cheltenham Festival 2026 LIVE tips and results: Majborough eyes Champion Chase glory on Day 2

The Cheltenham Festival roared back into the public consciousness with a sensational opening day that saw Lossiemouth, and jockey Paul Townend, claim the Champion Hurdle spoils in the latest act of glory for this legendary horse.

The Willie Mullins-trained mare, famed for her grey coat, headlined the first champion race of the four-day festival and was a class above the rest of the field.

And that is saying something, as the race featured previous Cheltenham winners Golden Ace and Poniros, as well as Dan Skelton’s favoured The New Lion, who hoped to threaten but failed to make his move early enough.

Lossiemouth was only confirmed for the race at the weekend but quickly became the pre-race favourite and set off at 7/5 odds to the full backing of a packed grandstand. However, there remained a question over her quality and whether she could handle a competitive champion race, having only previously won novice and mares hurdles here.

Read Michael Jones’s full day one report from Cheltenham:

Ladies Day returns to Cheltenham Festival today after a five-year hiatus, with bosses targeting an upsurge in numbers on the lowest-attended day of the week-long event.

Chief executive Guy Lavender, appointed last year, has not commented on the “woke” jibes that were triggered when the day was later resold as the unisex Style Wednesday in 2024.

But after falling to its lowest attendance last year in 30 years, he conceded it was the day with the “most opportunity for growth”.

So last year, following a review, The Jockey Club, which owns the racecourse, decided revive Ladies Day – and figures released on the eve of the event suggest it was a good move.

The Cheltenham Festival is back as the National Hunt jump racing season gathers pace with the four-day bonanza of horseracing goodness one of the highlights of the sport’s calendar.

The Festival began with Champion Day yesterday before Ladies Day today and then St Patrick’s Thursday, with Gold Cup Day bringing the event to a close on Friday.

Here’s everything you need to know:

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.

After a fascinating opening day, it’s time for day two as Ladies Day makes its return to Prestbury Park