A cracking final day at the Cheltenham Festival is in the offing on Friday and we provide a selection for three races.
Day 4 of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival takes place with the main event of the week taking place, the Gold Cup.
Galopin Des Champs lines up in a bid to win his third Gold Cup and become the first horse since Best Mate to do so.
Our expert, Lee Sharp, has a trio of Cheltenham betting selections on the card including one in the Gold Cup, one in the opener and another in the Hunters Cup.
Cheltenham Day 4 tips
13:20 Triumph Hurdle – Mondo Man /
Rated 111 on the flat, Mondo Man made his hurdles debut against the well-hyped Lulamba, finishing a creditable second, just three and a half lengths behind. He then went to Kempton for the Adonis, where he was well-fancied to go one better, but the race was not run to suit him.
They went slow early and he was far too keen throughout, pulling violently as the jockey tried to settle him at the rear. By the time they quickened, he had already wasted too much energy and was unable to show his best.
The form of his debut race has worked out well, with the third and fifth winning next time out.
We have yet to see Lulamba again, but he is expected to go well here. However, at a huge price of 40/1, Mondo Man looks a far better proposition.
There will be much more pace in this race, which should help him settle better. He is the best of these on the flat and. if he relaxes and travels well, he should be right in the mix.
16:00 Gold Cup – Galopin Des Champs /
Bidding to win his third Gold Cup and secure a fourth Festival victory, it is very hard to imagine any other result than a win for Galopin Des Champs.
Quite simply, he is the best staying chaser we have seen in some time and he deserves to be spoken of among the greats.
He has followed the same path as last year, starting at Punchestown in the John Durkan, where he typically gets beaten, before back-to-back runs at Leopardstown, winning both the Savills Chase and the Irish Gold Cup in splendid fashion.
He comfortably beat what would have been his main rival, Fact To File, on both occasions.
With Fact To File unable to beat him, connections opted to drop him back in trip for the Ryanair, leaving Banbridge as the only real challenger.
However, Banbridge is untested over this trip and has not yet reached the level of the two-time Gold Cup winner.
If Galopin Des Champs gets round without any issues he wins, it’s as simple as that.
16:40 Hunters Chase – Angels Dawn /
Angels Dawn comes into this with a rating of 143, making her the top-rated horse in the race and she’s no stranger to the Festival, having won the Kim Muir here two years ago.
She returned for the same race last year and was travelling well before falling two out, she would have likely at least placed on that occasion.
It has been a fairly quiet season for her, with just two runs in point-to-points at the back end of last year. She went off favourite in both and won comfortably, which should have set her up nicely for this race.
She arrives here fresh, having not run in 74 days, which could be a big advantage and also benefits from a 7lb allowance for being a mare, which should stand her in good stead here.
