Irish punters and trainers ready to dominate Cheltenham again
A view of Gordon Elliott’s string on the gallops. Picture: Tom Maher/Inpho
Irish punters are set to turn Cheltenham green in the hopes of once again dominating the annual racing festival.
In years past, the Irish contingent have flooded the stands at one of horse racing's most cherished locales. Some 230,000 people are expected to land in Cheltenham over the coming days, with an unsurprisingly healthy proportion of those coming from Ireland.
Cork Airport is gearing up for one of its busiest weeks this year as over 53,000 passengers are expected to travel through the airport over the St Patrick’s Bank Holiday weekend.
While tens of thousands will take the opportunity to travel overseas for the long weekend, thousands more will jet off to Cheltenham.
Ryanair has added 30 extra flights on the Dublin to Birmingham route during the festival. Around 20,000 customers will use Ryanair.
The masses may be descending on the Cotswolds this week, but pubs across Ireland anticipate a bumper week too, with strong footfall, particularly in the afternoons, as punters gather to watch the racing, says a spokesperson for the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland.
"City pubs, as well as rural venues with a strong racing following, will see significant increases in trade across the week.
They added: "Many pubs are organising special Cheltenham events, including racing sweepstakes, themed food and drink offerings, and live entertainment in the evenings."
Not only will the Irish crowd be pumping money (an expected £1bn worth of bets) into the economy, but Irish trainers and jockeys will be doing their best to claim some of that money back for themselves.
An Irish-trained horse has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup 25 times since the inception of the festival, a fact that bodes well for the likes of Willie Mullins (who already has 103 winners), Gordon Elliott, and Henry de Bromhead.
Irish influence at Cheltenham began growing around a decade ago. In fact, this year’s festival marks the 10th anniversary of the last time British trainers saddled more winners than their Irish peers. In the spirit of the punt, Ireland's odds of extending its dominance into the next decade are 1-9.
Irish supremacy has been spearheaded by legends of the sport such as Mullins and Elliott — who trained Gold Cup champion Don Cossack and Grand National winner Tiger Roll.
Last year, Irish trainers won 18 of the 27 races. Additionally, they accounted for 12 of the 14 Grade One winners. Eight of those Grade One winners were horses trained by Mullins.
Irish dominance at Cheltenham is both quantitative and qualitative. Since 2022, Ireland has supplied a majority of runners and entries. The 2025 festival will see another flood of Irish runners, as they are expected to outnumber their British rivals once again.
Ireland and Britain compete directly in the annual Prestbury Cup, where the nation that secures the most winners over the four days claims the trophy.
Since 2014 — when the cup became an official part of Cheltenham — Ireland has won it eight times.
Furthermore, over the last 11 years, Ireland has dominated overall when it comes to winners, securing 184 victories compared to the 120 of their British counterparts.
The question is: Can Ireland maintain this ascendancy in the 2025 edition? All signs point to yes.
