Cheltenham 2024 Day One LIVE: Latest tips and racecards ahead of action packed opening day… with trainer Willie Mullins boasting SIX favourites across today’s seven races

As you may have gathered, things have been a little wet and wild in the Cotswolds, and although today’s races will be unaffected, tomorrow’s picture is a little murkier.

You can read Marcus Townend’s full report here.

Mail Sport’s MATT HUGHES has an intriguing special report ahead of the start of the Festival proper, with a look at the seamier side of Cheltenham – and its army of illegal bookmakers courting high-rollers in hospitality.

For more on the hundreds of millions pounds set to leave the sport via unlicensed bookmakers, you can read through Matt’s report below.

Mud masks remain a highly prized facial treatment, so, swings and roundabouts.

In a move that would likely have Mullins’ rival trainers green with envy, the Irishman opened his doors to Mail Sport’s Dominic King ahead of the start of the Festival, and plying him with delectable-sounding smoked salmon on soda bread, opened up about the secrets to his success.

You can read more from Dominic’s visit below.

The former Scotland international and pundit – and Mail Sport columnist – has turned up at the course in a very natty checked jacket, in an appearance that may come as a surprise to his former Rangers striker Ally McCoist, who once shared that the his ex-boss used to fine him every time he went to the races as a player.

If he returned all the fines I had to pay for going to the track, I’d be retired by now!

McCoist told the Mirror in 2023…

If he returned all the fines I had to pay for going to the track, I’d be retired by now!

Speaking a glittering Cheltenham future into existence, Blackmore – who bagged leading jockey in the 2021 running of the Festival – shares her first trip to the course with Mail Sport’s DOMINIC KING.

You can read more from the former Gold Cup winner below.

Getting a feel for the course early, the Irish trainers runners took to the gallops on a misty morning ahead of their day’s action.

A horse for whom Tuesday exercise will be his only run-out on the turf is Ballyburn, pulled from the first race of the day – the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – to feature in tomorrow’s Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle.

The six-year-old was considered a clear favourite for the former, which could give it an interesting wrinkle, but Mullins’ Tullyhill and Mystical Power are likely more than ready to take up the mantle as racewinner, and do battle against Henry De Bromhead’s Slade Steel, who’ll have Racheal Blackmore aboard.

Also out this morning – eight-time Grade 1 winner State Man (below), looking in fine fettle ahead of the looming Champion Hurdle.

Every day, Mail Sport’s Marcus Townend and former Cheltenham Gold Cup jockey Lizzie Kelly will be sharing their tips for the day’s action from the Festival itself.

Check out the unmissable first episode below!

It was up at the crack of dawn for Mail Sport snapper ANDY HOOPER to catch a Cheltenham hopeful exercised in picturesque style.

Have a flip through his photos of James Owen’s Grozni, and his Kempton-bound stablemate Too Friendly out not-so-bright and early on Holkham Beach.

Last year’s leading trainer scored six winners across the Festival including capturing the Gold Cup with Galopin Des Champs, and he starts off this year’s tilt at the title with a titanic six favourites across his 20 runners on day one.

Most of the talk on Champion Day will settle on his State Man, for whom the Champion Hurdle is already being seen as a processional.

But could the trainer really match last year’s record on one spectacular starting day?

The frankly miserable scene from Cheltenham, which will soon benefit from being gussied up by well-dressed punters.

Go on, have a look at what Mail Sport’s racing experts have to say about the action every day this week.

You’ll find views from Mail Sport journalists, top jockeys, and pundits, and they share their thoughts below.

Clerk of the Course Pullin’s prediction seems set to hold up, as we should now dodge serious rain for the rest of the day. Not to tempt fate, or anything.

The answer is, of course, the towering Istabraq, 32 years young and still as camera-ready as the day of his final Champion Hurdle win in 2000.

Mail Sport’s DOMINIC KING was granted an audience with him, which you can read about below.

Retirement at Martinstown Stud seems to be treating him well.

And he gives us the morning’s report on the going on today’s track, the Old Course.

Cheltenham Racecourse Clerk of the Course Jon Pullin has said the worst of today’s rain should have passed by 11am. Today is the first day of The Cheltenham Festival 2024, Champion Day.

Speaking this morning after announcing that there will be an inspection of the Cross-Country Course tomorrow morning, he said: ‘We were initially forecast, going back two or three days, to be dry today. Then 48 hours ago that forecast updated to some light showers but only around a millimetre of rainfall. Then yesterday it was updated again to 2-4mm for this morning.

‘The forecast which we got last thing yesterday then increased further and gave us some cause for concern and by 6.30am this morning we had actually had 6mm, with a further 4-6mm forecast through the morning. A heavier band of rain is due to arrive around 11am but it should be all over by around lunchtime. We might get an odd shower later in the afternoon but that should not be anything too measurable – the worst of this rain should finish this morning.’

Pullin explained that while the Old and New courses have ‘taken the really rain well’, the Cross-Country Course is more of a challenge as it does not drain as well.

He said: ‘Both the Old and New Courses have taken the rain really well and have been updated to Soft, Heavy in places. We will walk the course at 10.30am and see if that description needs updating.’

Mail Sport’s Cheltenham experts will be giving us a daily debrief via their Cheltenham Breakfast reports, and with anticipation building ahead of the start of the raceweek, today’s installment is a doozy.

Have a peruse at your leisure, below.

Hello and welcome to Mail Sport’s live coverage of day one of this year’s Cheltenham Festival, with just under an hour and a half to go until the crowd unleashes the legendary Cheltenham Roar ahead of our first race.

Make sure to set your watches for 3.30pm: that’s when the day’s showpiece race, the Champion Hurdle, will take place.

But before we get what should be a spine-tingling week of racing going, we’ll bring you all the build-up, going reports, and latest odds ahead of 1.30pm’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.