Cheltenham Festival - Day One: Into Overdrive bidding for glory on opening day

Mark Walford’s progressive horse lines up in the third race of the day – the Ultima Handicap (2.50) – where he is currently at the top end of an ante-post market headed by last year’s winner, Lucinda Russell’s Corach Rambler.

The Sheriff Hutton-trained eight year old has won five of his last six starts, including Boxing Day’s Rowland Meyrick Chase at Wetherby.

There the bottom weight held off the strong challenge of Ruth Jefferson’s Sounds Russian, who was giving the winner 15lbs, and is set to ruin in Friday’s Gold Cup.

Into Overdrive will be ridden by Jamie Hamilton for his mother Wendy, who owns the horse which was bread by her and his father Michael, a clerk of the scales.

He started the season with a victory at the Charlie Hall meeting before being beaten by last year’s Brown Advisory winner L’Homme Presse in the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle at the end of November, before bouncing back at Wetherby the following month.

Walford will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Bingley trainer Sue Smith, who won the 2021 renewal with Vintage Clouds.

A tweet on the trainer’s Twitter account @mwalfordracing yesterday read: “Into Overdrive had his last jumping session this morning under @HamiltonJamie1. All the team at Cornborough Manor have done a great job getting him ready @CheltenhamRaces here we come!!”

Catterick trainer Phil Kirby, who took his Cheltenham-bound horses to Redcar to exercise on the beach last week, has former Grand National runner Top Ville Ben in the race.

The horse finished third when last seen at the start of February in the Bulmers Leopardstown Handicap Chase under Thomas Dowson who is set to take the ride today.

His last chase victory came in the 2019 renewal of the Rowland Meyrick although he won the Cazoo Hurdle at Lingfield in January 2022.

Kirby also has outsider Jason the Militant lining up in today’s feature race, the Unibet Champion Hurdle (3.30) and ridden by Joe Williamson.

There all eyes will be on Nicky Henderson’s horse for the ages, Constitutional Hill.

The unbeaten six-year-old has had this date with destiny circled on the calendar since leaving a packed house at Prestbury Park staggered with an imperious display in last year's Supreme Novices' Hurdle.

His outings this season have only added to anticipation surrounding his return to the Festival and Grade One contests throughout the season have simply been reduced to tasters building up to the big day.

He brushed aside stablemate Epatante to win both the Fighting Fifth and Christmas Hurdle at a canter and Henderson finds it hard to argue with the evidence as racing's latest superstar prepares to race.

"You'd have to say he's been round the track and broken records, so he's done most things you'd want to see and he hasn't done anything wrong," said Henderson.

"He's doing freakish things, but he's only had five runs in his life and you have to remember that it's very early days in his career. Normally when you're coming to a Champion Hurdle you're doing so on the back of between 10-12 races or something, so it's hard to gauge really apart from the fact he's done nothing wrong.”

State Man won the County Hurdle with ease at the meeting 12 months ago and has quickly progressed into a top-level operator.

He returns to the Cheltenham Festival as the Willie Mullins number one and second-favourite following his all-the-way success in the Irish Champion Hurdle.

He has the perfect profile to lay down a serious challenge to the overwhelming race favourite, but Mullins is well aware of the task at hand.

"Constitution Hill looks the full package. He's got speed, he can jump and he stays and he's going to be very tough to beat."

The other Irish challenger in the seven-strong field is Gordon Elliott's Zanahiyr who finished third in last year’s race but lost that placing when recently disqualified for failing a drugs test.

Nigel Twiston-Davies' I Like To Move It has a fine record on the old course at Cheltenham - winning the Greatwood Hurdle there in the autumn.

Henderson’s Jonbon gets the chance to emulate his brother Douvan and land the Sporting Life Arkle Challenge Trophy (2.10) when he takes on El Fabiolo.

The duo fought out a thriller over hurdles at Aintree last year, where Nicky Henderson's seven-year-old prevailed by a neck to gain compensation for his annihilation at the hands of Constitution Hill in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle.

Popular Irish mare bids farewell to the racecourse today and is sure to bring the house down if she prevails in the Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle (4.10) ahead of old foe Epatante and defending champion Marie's Rock, both trained by Henderson.