“The highlight of the Jump season” as Cheltenham proclaims itself, is returning in mid-March, with the 2nd largest purse in jump racing outside of The Grand National. Let’s take a look at the premier events that’ll be happening from March 15th-18th.

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

The first race of the festival is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race for courses age four years and older. This race is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of 3319 meters. As the name implies, this race is for novice hurdlers, and given that it is the first race of the event, always gets a loud ovation and is generally a fan favorite. Jockey Rupert “Ruby” Walsh has won this event 4 times of the last 5 years. The Supreme Novice’s race is brought to you by William Hill–Find past Cheltenham races results and top notch horse racing odds at William Hill Online.

Champion Bumper

The Champion Bumper is a Grade 1 National Hunt flat race, for horses aged 4-6 years. The race was once known as the “Festival Bumper” with support over the years by various sponsors, until 1997, when Weatherbys began its sustained sponsorship and the race grew in notoriety. Now the Championship Bumper is the most prestigious flat race in the National Hunt schedule. Though the race is flat, it often features horses that go on to win jump races.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup

The Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham. The race is 5331 meters long with 22 fences to jump, making it one of the longer jump races in England. The purse for race is £575,000, with £327,326 going to the winner. So nothing to sneeze at. Last year’s gold cup was won by a novice, Coneygree, which had only 3 previous starts over fences. This was the first time in 40 years a novice won the race.