2024 Cheltenham Festival Day 3 Tips

We enter the third day of the Festival and the line-up of Cheltenham day 3 races promises to be another fantastic afternoon of top class sport. There are three Grade One contests on the card including the Ryanair Chase and the Stayers’ Hurdle. As with opening two days of the Festival, our expert tipsters will bring readers and punters their Cheltenham Festival day 3 tips for all seven races on the card.

Cheltenham Day 3 Races 2024

The line-up for Cheltenham day 3 races sees seven top quality National Hunt races starting at 1.30pm with the Turners Novices’ Chase and closing at 5.30pm with the day three finale, the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase.

TIME	RACE	DISTANCE	PREVIEW
13:30	Turners Novices Chase Tips	2m 5f	Race Preview
14:10	Pertemps Final Hurdle Tips	3m Hurdle	Race Preview
14:50	Ryanair Chase Tips	2m 5f	Race Preview
15:30	Stayers’ Hurdle Tips	3m	Race Preview
16:10	Paddy Power Plate Chase Tips	2m 5f	Race Preview
16:50	Mares’ Novice Hurdle Tips	2m 2f	Race Preview
17:30	Kim Muir Chase Tips	3m 1 1/2f	Race Preview

For the third day in a row the famous Cheltenham roar will send the runners on their way as the horses set out for the opening Turners Novices’ Chase.

The race was introduced at the 2011 Cheltenham Festival and has proved a big hit with Irish trainers, scooping nine of the first twelve renewals. Only Philip Hobbs and Nicky Henderson have interrupted the dominance of Irish Trainers in the past eight years. 

Competitive handicap action follows with the Pertemps Network Final in which Hughie Morrison ended a run of six consecutive Irish victories last year. Our attentions will then turn to the two feature races on the card, the Grade One Ryanair Chase and Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle.

Willie Mullins has won the Ryanair Chase five times in the past seven seasons but 2021/2022 winner Allaho will not be fit to attempt a hat-trick this season. In his absence, all eyes will be on Nicky Henderson’s hugely talented Shishkin, so disappointing 12 months’ ago in the Queen Mother Champion Chase but will surely be amongst the most popular Cheltenham Thursday tips. The Stayers’ Hurdle features a hat-trick bid for the front-running Flooring Porter but he faces opposition from Great Britain and France.

Further handicap action follows with the Paddy Power Plate which is always a competitive affair, and that Grade Three handicap contest is backed by up by the Grade Two Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. Willie Mullins won the first five renewals of this fledgling event but Great Britain got on the board for the first time in 2022 with Love Envoi.

Amateur riders take centre-stage in the finale, the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Steeple Chase which is often run at a furious pace.

Our expert tipsters will have their Cheltenham Festival day 3 tips through the card for all seven races.

Cheltenham Thursday Feature Races

The feature races across all four days of the Cheltenham Festival bring together the very best horses over a wide range of distances and disciplines. The Champion Hurdle and Queen Mother Champion Chase are the focal point of many peoples’ Cheltenham tips on Tuesday and Wednesday.

There are two feature races for the best Cheltenham tips on Thursday with the Ryanair Chase and Stayers’ Hurdle. They are the stand-out events amongst the Cheltenham day 3 races and opinion remains divided which of the pair is the dominant race of the day.

14:50 Ryanair Chase – (Grade 1) Cl1 (5yo+) 2m5f

Open to horses aged five and over, the Ryanair Chase is designed to accommodate horses who fall between the two stools of the Gold Cup and Queen Mother Champion Chase. Some top steeplechasers lack the speed for the two miles of the Champion Chase and do not possess enough stamina for the three and a quarter miles of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. At two miles and five furlongs, this race provides them with the ideal opportunity for Grade 1 glory at the Cheltenham Festival.

Introduced in 2005, the Ryanair Chase soon became established as one of the highlights of the Cheltenham Festival. Irish Trainers did not win the Ryanair until Vautour in 2016, the first of five victories in seven years for Willie Mullins. 2009 winner Imperial Commander went on to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup the following year while Frodon (2019) won the King George VI Chase in 2020.

Allaho (2020 and 2021) became only the second horse to win the race twice after Jonjo O’Neill’s Albertas Run, successful in 2010 and 2011. Nicky Henderson trained Fondmort to win here in 2006 and Riverside Theatre in 2012. He saddles the odds-on favourite Shishkin in 2024.

5 key trends to consider

• 9/9 winners either ‘made all’ or ‘tracked leaders’.
• 13/13 winners rated 161+.
• 11/11 winners aged 7-9.
• 9/9 winners were French-bred.
• 6/7 winners were Irish trained.

15:30 Stayers’ Hurdle – (Grade 1) Cl1 (4yo+) 3m

Previously known as the World Hurdle, the Stayers’ Hurdle is the Championship race for three-mile hurdlers in the Cheltenham day 3 races line-up. This year’s renewal features the best stayers from the UK, Ireland and France including hat-trick seeking Flooring Porter.

The Stayers’ Hurdle is open to horses aged four and upwards and famous names on the roll of honour include four-time champion Big Buck’s and triple-winner Inglis Drever. France also tasted success here with dual-champion Baracouda. The French representative this year is Gold Tweet who is to be supplemented after springing a 14-1 surprise in the Cleeve Hurdle

Nicky Henderson’s Marie’s Rock could also prove popular on many peoples’ Cheltenham Thursday tips. She won the Grade 1 Mares’ Hurdle last season and was impressive in the Relkeel Hurdle here on New Year’s Day. Teahupoo and Home By The Lee add further strength to the Irish challenge while Emma Lavelle still believes that former winner Paisley Park is a live contender at the age of eleven.

5 key trends to consider

• 20/20 winners had previously won a Grade 2 race.
• 12/13 winners had run at least once at Cheltenham before.
• 8/9 winners aged 6-7.
• 17/19 winners finished first or second last time out.
• 7/9 winners were second season hurdlers.

Other Races On Day Three

13:30 Turner Novices’ Chase – (Grade 1) Cl1 (5yo+) 2m4f

A superb start to proceedings on day three with some exciting novice chasers to set the pulse racing. Last year Henry De Bromhead’s Bob Olinger benefitted from the fall of Galopin Des Champs and there is sure to be more drama in 2024.

5 key trends to consider

• 10/10 winners had at least two starts in the season.
• 10/10 winners were aged 6 or 7.
• 10/12 winners raced within 54 days of the race.
• 7/8 winners no bigger than 4/1.
• 9/12 winners were Irish trained.

14:10 Pertemps Network Final Hurdle – (Listed) Cl1 (5yo+) 3m

Given that only two favourites have won in the past twelve seasons, ante-post favourite Shoot First looks mighty short at 7-2. Could we see another shock result to follow Third Wind at 25-1 last year?

5 key trends to consider

• 13/13 winners had at least six previous runs over hurdles.
• 6/7 winners were Irish trained.
• 6/7 winners wore tongue ties.
• 10/11 winners aged between 6-8.
• 10/12 winners rated 138+.

16:10 Paddy Power Plate Chase – (Grade 3) Cl1 (5yo+) 2m5f

A sequence of four well-backed winners including three favourites came to a shuddering halt 12 months’ ago with the 22-1 victory of Coole Cody. Can punters get back on top in this race in 2024?

5 key trends to consider

• 10/11 winners aged 6-9.
• 8/8 winners had won already that season.
• 10/13 winners had not won a Graded race previously.
• 8/9 winners had no more than 8 chase runs.
• 4/7 winners were Irish trained.

16:50 Mares Novices’ Hurdle – (Grade 2) Cl1 (4yo+) 2m1f

Love Envoi became the first British-trained winner of this race last year and many pundits believe that Nicky Henderson’s Luccia can make it two in 2024. Can she strike for Britain or will five-times winner Willie Mullins recapture the prize for Ireland?

5 key trends to consider

• 5/7 winners were trained by Willie Mullins
• 4/7 winners carried 11st 7lbs.
• 4/7 winners aged 5.
• First three winners of this race were favourites – no winning favourite since.
• Three of the last four winners all finished third on their previous race – two of those were in the Mares Handicap at Dublin Racing Festival.

17:30 Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Chase – Cl2 (5yo+) 3m2f

With two 40-1 winners in the past six seasons, this race can prove tricky for punters. Gavin Cromwell’s Stumptown won nicely at Sandown last month and will be among those to feature in Cheltenham day 3 tips.

5 key trends to consider

• 12/13 winners had run at least times over fences.
• 18/18 had run at least twice that season.
• 6/8 winners went off at single-figure odds.
• 16/18 winners aged 7-9.
• 5/9 winners were Irish trained.

Cheltenham Day 3 Betting Tips

The opening contest on the Cheltenham day 3 races line-up is the Turners Novices’ Chase. Gordon Elliott’s Mighty Potter will feature heavily in punters’ Cheltenham race tips for Thursday. He has hardly put a foot wrong in three runs over jumps, winning two Grade 1’s impressively at Fairyhouse and Leopardstown.

The second race is the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle which looks as competitive as ever. Ante-post favourite Shoot First looks to have been laid out for this valuable prize since winning here in October. David Pipe’s Thanksforthehelp has halved in price from 12-1 to 6-1 since winning at Chepstow in a canter last month. The Trainer knows what it takes to win this race having struck twice with Buena Vista in 2010 and 2011.

Shishkin will be the one horse bookmakers will want to see beaten in the Ryanair. He looks Cheltenham Festival banker bet material after his emphatic return to form at Ascot. The Stayers’ Hurdle is shaping up to be a cracker of a race with Flooring Porter facing a strong field of stayers. Cheltenham Festival day 3 betting tips on this race will also feature the improving Teahupoo and Nicky Henderson’s Marie’s Rock.

The Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle is sandwiched between two ultra-competitive handicaps, the Paddy Power Plate and the Kim Muir Challenge Cup. It could be a great day for Nicky Henderson with several fancied runners including Luccia in the Mares race.

The RacingTips team will have their Cheltenham Thursday tips published in good time for every race through the card. Please check back often on the run-up to the Cheltenham day three races to find out our final selections!

Cheltenham Free Bets For Thursday

When it comes to Cheltenham free bets for Thursday our team will be busy collecting and collating all the unmissable bookmaker free bets and betting offers. New customers can claim a Unibet £40 money back bonus by staking a minimum £10 on the Cheltenham Festival. The bonus bets must be placed within 7 days and full details are on the website.

Our experts will also be providing all their Cheltenham race tips for Thursday to hopefully help punters turn a profit by taking advantage of the many concessions that will be on offer on the day.

Other days at Cheltenham Festival

Why not check out our tips for the other days at Cheltenham Festival 2024? You can see each days tips here:

• Cheltenham Festival Day 1 tips
• Cheltenham Festival Day 2 tips
• Cheltenham Festival Day 4 tips