Ireland is always very well represented at the Cheltenham Festival, thanks to its amazing horses and jockeys.
Irish runners on Wednesday
The hard work that they are putting into this sport is paying off every year at one of the most prestigious horse racing events in the world.
In 2022, there were a total of 18 Irish winners at this horse racing festival and people can’t wait to see this year’s results. In this article, we will cover the Irish horses and jockeys that are going to compete at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival.
The 2023 Irish Horses at Cheltenham
At the 2023 Cheltenham Festival, we will witness some of the best racehorses from Ireland, which will definitely compete for many prizes. May of them is well-known to the public as they’ve already appeared at these horse racing events.
Around 500 racehorses from the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, USA, and some more are competing at this unique horse racing event. This year there will be a total of 185 horses from Ireland running on all four dates at the festival.
Last year’s winner at the Mares’ Hurdle will compete in two Grade 1 races on the first and third day. The first race will be at the Stayers’ Hurdle while the second at the Mares’ Hurdle.
The Irish horserace called Kilcruit will once again appear at Cheltenham, but this time in three Grade 1 races during the first three days. Last year he ended in third place at the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and we hope that he will win at least one race.
Mullions’ power horse Stattler, which won the 2022 National Hunt Novices’ Chase, will appear in Ryanair Chase and the Gold Cup Chase. Both races are very prestigious and come with big prize money.
Last year, there were many punters who were placing bets on this horse to win. You should know that there are free bets for Cheltenham that you can use to bet on your favourite horses.
Flooring Porter, the winner of the 2022 Stayers’ Hurdle, will run in the same race this year. The winner of last year’s Champion Bumper race, Facile Vega, will compete in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle.
The amazing Sir Gerhard is looking for another prize from the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, as well as from four other races. Love Envoi, who won the 2022 Mares’ Novice Hurdle race, will compete in the Mares’ Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle.
Some other Irish racehorses that will appear at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival are Coole Cody, Bob Olinger, Banbridge, Minella Indo, Hewick, Conflated, and many more.
It is worth pointing out that Willie Mullins trains many Irish horses that compete and also win at this horse racing event. Last year this horse trainer had 10 winners, which is a record for the number of winners in a single Cheltenham festival.
Irish Jockeys at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival
Although the horses are doing most of the work, the jockeys are also very important at the horse races. Some of the best Irish jockeys will show up at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival and compete for the highest prizes. Below we will mention just the leading jockeys that you should be aware of.
Paul Townend
First to mention is of course Paul Townend, which is the number one jockey at the Willie Mullins yard. He was responsible for getting his boss his first-ever Gold Cup and managed to repeat it in the following year. In total, Townend has won 22 Cheltenham races.
Rachael Blackmore
Next up, we have the first female jockey to win the Grand National and the first female leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival with six wins. In 2022, she also became the first female jockey to win the Gold Cup. In total, she has won 23 races, 12 of which are at the Cheltenham Festival.
