Cheltenham Festival Day Three - Thursday

Day 3 of the Festival and the two main races of the day are the Ladbrokes World Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase. The World Hurdle traditionally is a race that punters have a great chance of backing the winner as the favoruites have a top record. This is generally because there are so few quality long distance hurlders and the form is so transparent. This year once again Big Bucks for Paul Nicholls and Ruby Walsh are very much the banker of the 2011 Cheltenham Festival. There are some really good handicaps to get stuck into on day 3, so make sure you check out our resident tipster Tom Lee or his Cheltenham Festival Day 3 Tips.

On the third day of the Cheltenham Festival we have all the form guides and tips for these races on this site. You can also select from any number of Cheltenham Festival Free Bet offers from all the major bookmakers and you can avail of these free bets by clicking on any of the bookmakers links.

1:30	Jewson Novices Chase	Info   |   Free Bets
2:05	Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle	Info   |   Free Bets
2:40	Ryanair Chase	Info   |   Free Bets
3:20	Ladbrokes World Hurdle	Info   |   Free Bets
4:00	Byrne Group Plate	Info   |   Free Bets
4:40	Kim Muir Challenge Cup	Info   |   Free Bets

Cheltenham Day 3 Schedule - Off The Track - St Patricks Day - 17th March 2011

10.00am Cheltenham Radio, powered by Timeform, goes on air. Tune in 87.7FM, online at www.cheltenham.co.uk or by using a Sound Dec earpiece which are available to buy on the racecourse.

10.30am Gates open. There will be Irish dancers in The Centaur and a St Patrick’s Day parade will wind its way through the enclosures. There will also be some special Irish Fashion Awards. Shopping available in the tented village.

12.15pm Paddock interviews with connections of the day’s leading contenders. Hosted by Ian Carnaby and Jonathan Powell.

5.15pm The St Patrick’s Day Derby. Run over one mile and five furlongs on the Flat, this is a Charity Race run in aid of Cancer Research UK. Four-time Derby-winning trainer Henry Cecil will be the Guest of Honour. The dozen confirmed riders are Alice Plunkett (38, from Dorset – Channel 4 Racing Presenter), Jamie Insole (19, Essex – nephew of Jump jockey Will Kennedy), Lorna Fowler (32, Newmarket – Cheltenham Radio presenter), Killian McCarthy (32, Kildare, Ireland – brother-in-law of Ruby Walsh), Liz Ampairee (38, Surrey – runs her own marketing and management company), Guy O’Callaghan (25, Naas, Ireland – works at Yeomanstown Stud and a cousin of leading owner and Ryanair supremo Michael O’Leary), Rachel Wyse (26, London – presenter with Sky Sports News), Andrew “Frostie” Kelly (30, Carlow, Ireland – former apprentice with Aidan O’Brien turned jockeys’ agent), Rodger Sargent (39, London – owned Festival winners Tikram and Top Cees), Niamh Flynn (28, Co Meath, Ireland – Marketing Executive for Tattersalls Ireland), Chloe Bowkett (26, Gloucester – Events Manager at Cheltenham Racecourse), Peter O’Reilly (49, Dublin, Ireland – roder as amateur in the 1980s and 1990s).