Horseracing latest: Cheltenham day one

Forget Christmas and forget Easter because today the tapes go up on the greatest festival of them all – the Cheltenham Festival.

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What's more, you get four days of festivity, and even if you don't get to go down to Prestbury Park this week to jostle with the crowd and inhale the sweet vapours of Gloucestershire's racing mecca, you can still wager to your heart's content and watch all races live on television.

The two feature races of the day, the Supreme Novices Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle, see two of the fastest, pulse-quickening contests of the week, barring the Champion Chase on Wednesday.

Sizing Europe heads the betting for the Champion Hurdle at the 2/1 mark after two scintillating victories in his last two starts. He thrashed dual Champion winner Hardy Eustace by eight lengths last time out at Leopardstown in the AIG Hurdle, but it was his battling victory in the Greatwood Hurdle over course and distance that really earmarked him as a potential champion. Henry de Bromhead's favourite has been the best-backed horse of the day and he will be very tough to beat.

Take multiple former winner Istabraq out of the equation, and only two reigning champions have defended their title in the last 28 years, which makes Sublimity's chances look remote. John G Carr's eight-year-old hasn't had the best preparation to defend his title either and he was beaten by 18 lengths on his only start this season. Given that only one horse in the last decade has gone on to victory having not won his latest start in this race, it seems that we are going to have a new Champ this year.

The Supreme Novices Hurdle lifts the curtain to the meeting and every single punter will be straining every sinew to get the four days off to the best possible start. No winning favourite has ever started a Festival race at a bigger price than 8/1, but this race looks wide open and that stat may be broken this year.

Khyber Kim has been heavily backed for the opener and it is easy to see why, after his deeply impressive debut at Newbury over the Christmas period. He fluffed his lines on his latest start, but trainer Nicky Henderson, who has a sublime record in the race, was adamant that he suffered from the 'bounce' factor, which sees horses suffer on their second start after a long lay-off.

You'd be hard pressed to get better information if you knew the inner thoughts of multiple champion jockey Tony McCoy, but punters have got that in spades in this race as McCoy has plumped for Binocular over several other fancies in the line-up.  The punters have taken the hint too, and Binocular is vying for favouritism having been cut from 10/1 to 8/1 this morning.

Two wins from two starts over hurdles, Binocular has been heavily tipped and looks a solid selection in what poses to be a very difficult opener.

The best bet of the day however, could be in the last race, the Fred Winter Juvenile Novices Hurdle. Thomas Coooper's lightly-raced River Liane could not have been more impressive on his debut, and although it is always dangerous to bet on the basis of one run, the 7/2 on offer looks a worthy price.

Verdict: 2pt River Liane @ 7-2; 1pt Binocular @ 8/1 

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