Cheltenham Festival: Bob Olinger records third Prestbury Park victory with Stayers' Hurdle success

Bob Olinger maintained his flawless Cheltenham Festival record when storming up the hill to take the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle under Rachael Blackmore.

Henry de Bromhead's 10-year-old was seemingly the second string for owners Robcour, with their reigning champion Teahupoo the 7-4 favourite for Gordon Elliott.

It was those two horses involved in the finish as Jack Kennedy rode the latter, but after they locked horns jumping the last, it was Bob Olinger who came out on top by a length and threequarters to triumph at 8-1.

Bob Olinger won the 2021 Ballymore Novices' Hurdle and capitalised on the fall of Galopin Des Champs in the following year's Turners Novices' Chase.

De Bromhead said: "It's unbelievable, a super ride from Rachael and great work from all the team at home. To get him back like that is incredible and I'm delighted for everyone.

"Davy Roche, my assistant, he'd take a bullet for him - he adores him. He said he worked well the other day and he'll be ecstatic.

"He's just a class horse and he was unbeaten here. I was at a preview event a few weeks ago and I wasn't looking at the betting, but he was 66-1 and I was thinking 'oh my God', I couldn't believe it.

"He's a bit of a poser and a dude who loves the attention and deserves every bit he gets. He comes alive here and obviously loves it here.

"We had a couple of funny years with him, but he's back now. You always hope they'll come back and win another big one, but I never foresee anything winning anything!

"You live the dream and you hope and try to maintain them as well as you can. It's so hard to get a good horse, so when you get a good one, you want to try and maintain them for as long as you can and I really feel we try to do that.

"It's brilliant for Rachael. She's just so good and is such a professional who works so hard. When she came back from injury our horses hit a bad patch of form, but she just does what she does - she's class."

Owner Brian Acheson added: "To see Bob coming up the hill like that when I didn't think he would stay well, it was a dream.

"We ran him at Navan and then decided to wait for Rachael, who gets on so well with him.

"He came out of the clouds today and I said here comes the dude, because that's what he is - a dude."

Blackmore said: "We were very hopeful coming here, but for him to do it is fantastic.

"He's a phenomenal horse and he's unbeaten here. I know one day it was a fortuitous win after Galopin Des Champs fell at the last, but you need that bit of luck and today is a great day.

"He was a great ride everywhere today. He's got speed and was able to use it at the end.

"When you're riding for Henry, it's a great help.

"It's an incredible place, it's where every jockey wants to be and I've been very lucky here. Any time you go up onto that podium, it's very special."

Fact To File cruises to easy Ryanair Chase victory

Fact To File proved a different class to his rivals when running out a comfortable winner of the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham.

Willie Mullins' eight-year-old opted for the intermediate contest instead of the Gold Cup and his charge was ridden by Mark Walsh in a field of nine.

The JP McManus-owned gelding jumped and travelled neatly throughout and looked perfectly poised to put the race to bed at the foot of the hill, something he did with ease when cantering across the line nine lengths ahead of Heart Wood.

Mullins said of the 6-4 favourite: "It was a hell of a field and he won very easily, he's a proper horse.

"They went a good gallop and he just stayed with them and got his jumping right and coming off the bend I don't think Mark was worried, he just needed to get over the last two fences and he did that well.

"It's a surprise the manner he has won it and I was hoping coming here he was good enough to win it and he would win it, but when you've got Il Est Francais and Protektorat in the field, they are good horses and horses of a lifetime for some people. He was able to beat them like that, which is huge.

"Every day of the week, I think he would be the one to give Galopin Des Champs the biggest problems, I do, and he was in the Gold Cup but we felt it was better to bide our options and let him come to this race.

"He could be a Gold Cup horse next year and he will be a year older, we just felt at this stage of his career, a hard race in the Gold Cup if it turned up soft is not what he wants. That was the way our thinking was all season and JP was very pro that, we just didn't want him to have a hard race in a Gold Cup, as sometimes that can ruin a horse's career.

"I'm not going to talk about two-year plans after Lossiemouth, but I imagine that's where he will be going next year."

Fact To File was beaten just under five lengths by Galopin Des Champs at Leopardstown last time and Mullins added: "Probably some people felt after the Irish Gold Cup that he didn't really see it out and that maybe the Gold Cup was a year too soon.

"I heard someone say Mark had a job pulling him up and that is extraordinary.

"He was a lot more mature there."

The manner of the victory was not unexpected for McManus, who said: "I had a little on today, I couldn't let him run loose! He's a nice horse.

"I wasn't surprised how he did it to be honest, it was very straightforward."

Caldwell Potter provides Nicholls with landmark 50th Festival win

Caldwell Potter was a poignant winner of the Jack Richards Novices' Limited Handicap Chase, as Paul Nicholls brought up his 50th winner at the Cheltenham Festival.

Running in the colours of the late John Hales, he was subject of a mammoth €740,000 transfer fee in February 2024 with former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson also amongst the seven-year-old's group of owners.

A Grade One winner in Ireland for Gordon Elliott, Caldwell Potter had won one of his three starts since switching to Ditcheat and was given an enterprising front-running ride by Harry Cobden.

Cobden and the exuberant grey never missed a beat as they led the field a merry dance from and when the champion jockey asked his mount to lengthen entering the home straight, the result was soon a formality as Caldwell Potter silenced the doubters with real interest.

Ken Budds' 125-1 Anyway picked up the silver medal, with another outsider, Willie Mullins' O'Moore Park back in third.

Nicholls said: "We switched him into John's colours, I don't think we even told the other boys we were going to do that and Pat (Hales, wife) is obviously delighted.

"I knew we had him right, he's taken a long while to get right. He's done some good work at home but he's had some problems with his feet and that's all disappeared of late.

"He had a positive plan, he jumps brilliant. Everyone was trying to tell me what to do and what not to do trip-wise, I felt he wants a trip and I think he'd gallop forever.

"It's just good to get him back. He's such a brilliant jumper and such a genuine horse.

"Just because he had a big price tag, he's had to put up with plenty of stick but it doesn't matter, when they come through that front gate, they're all worth the same.

"You've just got to work away to get them right and today he was right."

Of notching his 50th Festival win, Nicholls added: "I never thought I'd ever do that when I started, any winner here is fantastic.

"John was such a brilliant supporter of mine, and a friend to a lot of people in racing, to win in his colours is just unbelievable."

Hales' daughter Lisa underlined the faith her father had in Caldwell Potter, despite a couple of slight disappointments following his headline-making purchase.

She said: "Dad really believed in this horse and he'll be so sad he's missed today.

"He so deserved it as I gave him some stick over buying him, to be honest. He was the only one that believed in him out of the family and look at him, he's gone and repaid him.

"Words can't explain how it feels. It wasn't until they set off that I realised he was in dad's colours. Paul said 'yeah, I didn't ask anybody, I just put them on'.

"To have a winner here in his colours, less than two months after he passed, is incredible."

Hales was uppermost in Ferguson's thoughts, as he said: "We shared lots of great days together and John introduced me to the level you have to get to in National Hunt racing.

"The horses we've bought with him have been more expensive than the ones we normally would have bought, like Regent's Stroll and this one, but when you see that today, it doesn't matter what the price is.

"You can't buy how I feel now, it's fantastic.

"The difference in football is if you buy an expensive player, you have plenty of time to assess them, you work out the type of player you need and what will fit your team and do they have the character - you can't do that with a horse, you can't look into their character, so it's a gamble.

"With a footballer, it's a long-term thing, they can start at 17 and play until they are 41, like Ryan Giggs, whereas with a horse, when they get to 10, 11, 12 you start to wonder how much longer they will last.

"No matter how long this horse lasts, he has done something today we are so proud of.

"I didn't know it was Paul's 50th winner here, so that's great for him - I think he owes us another one!"

The Jonjo and AJ O'Neill-trained Springwell Bay suffered a fatal fall during the race.

A statement from Cheltenham said: "In our second race of the day, Springwell Bay was immediately attended to by our veterinary professionals, but sadly sustained a fatal injury. Our heartfelt condolences are with his connections."

Doddiethegreat becomes another poignant Cheltenham winner

The memory of Doddie Weir was honoured at the Cheltenham Festival, as Brian Hughes produced Doddiethegreat to perfection to lead home a Nicky Henderson one-two in the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle.

Running in the colours of Kenny Alexander, the nine-year-old is named after the former Scotland rugby union great, who died of motor neurone disease in November 2022, with prize-money earned throughout Doddiethegreat's career donated to the foundation set up by Weir to raise funds and aid research into MND.

Second at Haydock in his previous start, Doddiethegreat was sent off at 25-1 in the hands of Hughes - picking up a chance spare ride for Henderson - and was always catching the eye as he eased into contention on the second circuit.

At the business end, it was stablemate and 11-2 favourite Jeriko Du Reponet that proved the biggest danger but Doddiethegreat was not to be denied as the result represented not only a turnaround in the fortunes for Henderson, in a week Jonbon and Constitution Hill have suffered reversals, but also a first winner at the Festival for Hughes since Mister Whitaker in 2018.

Henderson said: "We all like Doddie; he's named after Doddie Weir and it all goes to the foundation.

"He got the most horrible overreach and spent time up in Ayr. It didn't look like he would get back to a racecourse, but thankfully he did."

Regarding his one-two, the trainer added: "Both of their chasing careers were cut short but both travelled into the race beautifully today. I would like Jericho to try chasing again."

Hughes commented: "Opportunities for me at the Festival have been few and far between but it was lovely to get the chance to ride this horse at Haydock, where he ran really well.

"He has his quirks and has been called a monkey but I think that's harsh, and going over three miles today, he jumped and travelled.

"I think the lack of opportunities for me is because the good horses are not in the main housed in the stables I'm riding for, but I'm not done yet."

Air Of Entitlement swoops late for Mares' glory

Rachael Blackmore produced an inspired finish aboard Air Of Entitlement as she secured her first win at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival in the Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle.

Blackmore and trainer Henry de Bromhead had so far drawn a blank at this year's showpiece meeting, with the Robcour-owned six-year-old sent off a 16-1 chance to change matters.

There was early drama and after a false start, Maughreen - one of Willie Mullins' fancied runners - whipped round and was left by the pack at the second attempt to get the race underway.

It was left to outsider Brendas Asking to lead the field along from Ben Pauling's Diva Luna, with Gavin Cromwell's 85-40 favourite Sixandahalf always close by and tracking the pace.

Keith Donoghue looked to be sitting pretty aboard Sixandahalf as the runners turned to face the Cheltenham hill and although beating off the challenge of Diva Luna after the final flight, Blackmore was conjuring every ounce of effort from her mount as the line approached, delivering Air Of Entitlement in a power-packed drive to edge a half-length victory over the market leader.

Diva Luna held off Mullins' Karoline Banbou for third, a further six lengths adrift.

De Bromhead said: "We knew we had the stamina and obviously the New course suits. We always worry about being too handy in this race and Rachael got it spot-on. I thought they went a really good gallop and she gave her some spin.

"She stayed on really well. I thought when we winged the last we had a chance and I knew Keith (Donoghue, riding Sixandahalf) was up there the whole way, which historically hasn't worked.

"It's a long way up that straight, I thought we had a chance after jumping the last and I'm delighted."

Air Of Entitlement was having just her second start and De Bromhead added: "It's funny but I always say I much prefer coming here fresh and happy than feeling like I need to give them runs for experience.

"She was in Colin Bowe's as a point-to-pointer, so she'll have jumped more fences than most of the fillies in that field. It's always a concern, but I wouldn't be me if I wasn't concerned about something!"

Blackmore, riding her 17th Festival winner, said: "It's an incredible feeling. I read an interview recently with JP McManus when he said some people are born luckier than others and I definitely feel like I was born luckier for going round here anyway.

"I've been so lucky with the horses I've got to ride and this mare is another one. Henry brings his horses over here in such incredible form and she was just phenomenal there. She travelled through the race and jumped well and got her head in front at the right time."

On having to wait until day three of the Festival for a winner, Blackmore said: "You can't lose faith, we're only halfway through the week. We've been a bit spoilt in the last few years as every Tuesday I've walked home with a winner under our belt. It wasn't the case this year but I'm so grateful to get one today.

"I missed three months before Christmas and Cheltenham is the main thing to be back for. It was so difficult to watch all these horses you should have been riding, but I'm grateful the injury didn't happen the other side of Christmas because this is the most important place to be for all us jockeys."

Cromwell said of the runner-up: "She was a little unfortunate and probably could have done with a lead for a bit longer to be honest.

"She then jumped the last a little bit big and after that I suppose there was always a target on her back.

"She ran really well and jumped really well everywhere. She's travelled the best and she does stay well but she was just in front for a long time.

"Punchestown is a possible, but to be honest I haven't thought beyond today."

Pauling had said repeatedly in recent weeks that he thought he had Diva Luna back in top shape and she backed him up by finishing third.

He said: "She's run a blinder. It was probably a case of we knew we hadn't had her right, but we were hoping we had and that could be a big step back in the right direction now.

"She will probably run again this season, we'll see, she's looked in great form recently but she's run her heart out there.

"She did miss the last but it didn't cost her the win, she would have just been a closer third so it was a good result.

"Aintree is possible but it comes quick enough this year."