We’ll have a full day two report from Greg Wood shortly, but for now the last word belongs to Charlotte Giles.The late Michael O’Sullivan’s girlfriend was here to see two horses he previously led to victory at Cheltenham – Marine Nationale and Jazzy Matty –both win again on an emotional, extraordinary afternoon.“Michael loved the horse very much, they started their careers together and went on a journey together,” Giles told PA Media.“The horse has certainly put his heart and soul into today and it means a lot.Michael was certainly with him every step of the way and it was incredible to watch it.

”“I think the horse has shown what a connection he had with Michael, they understood each other and Michael always rated the horse so highly.In moments like this, we get a great sense that he is here with us.I think it’s moments like this that show he is here with us and he’ll always be there.”Time to start assessing your options for Thursday? Greg Wood can help.The Prestbury Cup battle between British and Irish trainers now stands at 10-5 to Ireland after a 6-1 scoreline today.

British yards were 5-3 ahead after Dan Skelton won the day’s opening race,Willie Mullins has enjoyed five victories in the opening two days; nobody else has earned more than one, and Gordon Elliott has yet to win any races,Mullins, who needed six wins to be the leading trainer last year, already looks a cert for 2025,In the jockeys’ race, Paul Townend still leads with two wins, but he saw three other jockeys – including younger sister Jody – win for Mullins today,She is one of 12 jockeys to win one race across the opening two days of the festival.

Here are all today’s winners:1,20 The New Lion (H Skelton, D Skelton) 3-12,00 Lecky Watson (SF O’Keeffe, W Mullins) 20-12,40 Jimmy Du Seuil (DE Mullins, W Mullins) 16-13,20 Stumptown (KM Donoghue, G Cromwell) 11-4F4.

00 Marine Nationale (SW Flanagan, B Connell) 5-14.40 Jazzy Matty (D Gilligan, C Collins) 15-25.20 Bambino Fever (J Townend, W Mullins) 5-1Cheltenham 5.20 1 Bambino Fever (Miss J Townend) 4-1 2 Heads Up (S Bowen) 33-1 3 Shuttle Diplomacy (D Meyler) 66-1 17 ran Also: 5-2 Fav Kalypso’chance, 150-1 Caballero Cliff 4th5.20 Champion Bumper It’s Jody Townend – Paul’s sister – on Bambino Fever who has the winning line, getting away from the tireless Heads Up down the home straight.

It’s a 14th bumper win for Willie Mullins,5,20 Champion Bumper Copacabana and Fortune De Mer move wide in a bid to catch up,The grey He Can’t Dance is still well placed as they jostle behind Heads Up, with Bambino Fever moving the quickest …5,20 Champion Bumper They’re moving at a steady pace at halfway, with Heads Up still leading and Caballero Cliff in the leading group.

5,20 Champion Bumper Heads Up leads from He Can’t Dance, with Kalypso’chance behind them in third,About 10 to 12 lengths covering the field at this early stage,5,20 Champion Bumper Time for the final race of the day, with Willie Mullins chasing a 14th victory in this event – which doesn’t feature any jumps.

Champion Bumper latest oddsOdds via OddscheckerKalypsochance 7/2 Bambino Fever 7/2 Copacabana 9/2 Gameofinches 11/2 Aqua Force 10/1 No Drama This End 14/1 Fortune De Mer 16/1 El Cairos 20/1 Idaho Sun 25/1 He Can’t Dance 33/1 33-1 bar; 17 runnersMarket movers via Oddspedia: Bambino Fever (13/2 into 7/2) Kalypso’chance (11/2 into 7/2)The winning jockey, Danny Gilligan, who delivers a first festival win for trainer Cian Collins.That’s not what’s on his mind just now, though.“There’s someone very special looking down on us today,” he tells ITV.“I had a dream run around, never missed a beat, and it’s down to everyone who do the work on him every day.”After Marine Nationale’s Champion Chase victory, Jazzy Matty – the other horse Michael O’Sullivan rode to victory on the opening day in 2023 – has won the next race.

Extraordinary stuff.Result: Cheltenham 4.40 1 Jazzy Matty (D J Gilligan) 15-2 2 Unexpected Party (Harry Skelton) 11-2 Fav 3 Midnight It Is (S W Flanagan) 25-14.40 Grand Annual Chase it looks like a battle between pre-race favourites as Jazzy Matty takes up the lead at the last, from Unexpected Party, who can’t keep pace down the home straight.My Mate Mozzie loses ground, allowing Midnight It Is to grab third.

4,40 Grand Annual Chase Fringill Dike, Dancing On My Own and My Mate Mozzie are in the group behind the leaders, with Jazzy Matty also improving,It’s Unexpected Party in the lead over the second last …4,40 Grand Annual Chase Primoz hasn’t settled and is struggling to stay in touch at the back; Western Zephyr leads from Traprain Law, with the grey Unexpected Party in third,4.

40 Grand Annual Chase: After another false start – and more words exchanged among the jockeys, the senior figures imploring everyone to calm down – we get away at the second time of asking …Could we see a rare French success at the festival on Thursday? That and much more in Greg Wood’s day three tips.4.40 Grand Annual Chase latest oddsOdds via Oddschecker: Jazzy Matty 13/2 Unexpected Party 13/2 Primoz 13/2 My Mate Mozzie 15/2 JPR One 8/1 American Mike 12/1 So Scottish 14/1 General Medrano 14/1 Traprain Law 16/1 Third Time Lucki 18/1Market movers via Oddspedia: Primoz (28/1 to 7/1) General Medrano (20/1 to 14/1)ITV just had a word with Nico de Boinville, who was very unhappy with the start of that race and says Jonbon “didn’t like the tape right under his nose”.We’ve got two more races to come – the Grand Annual Handicap and Champion Bumper.It’s the biggest reception of the week so far in the winners’ enclosure for Marine Nationale.

Michael O’Sullivan’s girlfriend, Charlotte, is here to congratulate Sean Flanagan; this must be such a difficult day for her.The trainer, Barry Connell, says this is the race he always wanted to win – even more than the Gold Cup.“Michael and myself went on a journey with this race,” Connell adds.“It’s an absolute tragedy that he’s left us, but he achieved more than many do in a much longer career.It’s been horrendous these last few weeks, but hopefully that’s a fitting end.

”Energumene was pulled up late in the race, and we also saw Quilixios and Libberty Hunter – hopefully all are OK.Here are the closing stages of Marine Nationale’s win.This article includes content provided by Instagram.We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies.To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'.

Cheltenham 4,00 1 Marine Nationale (S W Flanagan) 5-1 2 Jonbon (N de Boinville) 5-6 Fav 3 Captain Guinness (Rachael Blackmore) 25-1 8 ran Also: 12-1 Solness 4thTwo years ago, Michael O’Sullivan led Marine Nationale to the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle,Some things are just meant to be, aren’t they? “Hugely emotional for a lot of reasons, all of us jockeys have been under a cloud lately,” says Sean Flanagan,“I’m only the man who rode him round today, Michael’s the one who made him what he is,Michael, this is for you.

” Sorry everyone, there’s something in my eye,4,00 Queen Mother Champion Chase Approaching the last, it looks a two-horse race between Marine Nationale and Quilixious – but the latter falls at the final fence, and it’s going to be a poignant victory for Marine Nationale – with Jonbon recovering to finish second,4,00 Queen Mother Champion Chase Jonbon gets it all wrong at the fifth-last, and is dropped to the back of the field! Solness is back in the lead, from Quilixios and the improving Marine Nationale, while Libberty Hunter has fallen …4.

00 Queen Mother Champion Chase Energume and Quilixios start off at a whip, but the pack are able to reel them in, and Solness joins the leading pair.Libberty Hunter and Captain Guinness the back markers.4.00 Queen Mother Champion Chase A bit of jostling on the turn, with Nico de Boinville (on Jonbon) sending some choice words in the direction of Solness’ JJ Slevin.There’s a false start the first time, but we’re off at the second time of asking.

Two jockeys – Jack Kennedy and Sam Ewing – have been stood down for the rest of the day due to injuries,Kennedy was due to ride Galvin in the Cross-Country, but was replaced by Derek O’Connor,Dr Jennifer Pugh said: “Both Sam Ewing and Jack Kennedy are sore having slightly aggravated previous injuries and have stood themselves down for the remainder of the day,They will be reassessed prior to racing tomorrow,”Updated Jockey Changes @CheltenhamRaces : pic.

twitter,com/6cEQagiUzeToday’s feature race comes down to one question: can Jonbon finally deliver his best form at the Cheltenham festival? Here’s Greg Wood’s prediction …What was already an intriguing renewal of the two-mile chasing championship is becoming more interesting by the minute today as Jonbon, a 5-6 chance overnight, has drifted to even money in the face of support for Energumene, the winner of this race in 2022 and 2023, who is 6-1 (from 7-1),It might just be punters getting cold feet after a couple of odds-on reverses on Tuesday, but Jonbon’s nasty habit of getting beaten at the festival (and, in 20 career starts, only at Cheltenham) may also be playing on some backers’ minds,He did, after all, hand a convincing defeat to Energumene at Ascot in January, and his overall form has reached a new high this term,Jonbon, in fact, arrives off the back of five straight wins, and nine in his last 10 starts, including seven at Grade One level.

He has made his own running in a majority of those races, however, and seems unlikely to be gifted a soft lead here with Solness, a front-running Grade One winner on his last two outings, also in the field, while Marine Nationale, the Supreme winner two years ago, is another interesting runner for all that he has just one win over fences to his name, in a beginners’ event in December 2023.SELECTION: JONBON.An update from the last race: Galvin is being treated by vets after pulling up late in the race – he walked onto the transport so hopefully it’s a precautionary measure.Champion Chase latest oddsOdds via Oddschecker: Jonbon 5/6 Marine Nationale 9/2 Energumene 6/1 Found A Fifty 11/1 Solness 12/1 Quilixios 33/1 Captain Guinness 33/1 Libberty Hunter 33/1Market movers via Oddspedia: Energumene (7/1 into 11/2) Found A Fifty (14/1 into 11/1)Preview: 5.20 Champion Bumper National Hunt Flat Race, 2m 87ydGiven that it is the only race at the festival without any obstacles for the runners to negotiate and Willie Mullins has saddled 14 winners since 1996, the Bumper has been a surprisingly difficult race to call over the years, not least because a majority of Mullins’s winners have come at double-figure prices in races where the stable also fielded a warm favourite.

The 25-1 success of Briar Hill, with then-stable jockey Ruby Walsh in the saddle, remains one of the most puzzling festival SPs of recent seasons, while Relegate (25-1), Champagne Fever (16-1) and Ferny Hollow (11-1) have also landed the spoils for Mullins since 2012.The market is currently struggling to find a favourite from three Mullins-trained runners – Copacabana, Bambino Fever and Gameofinches – and another, Kalypso’Chance, from the Gordon Elliott yard.All four are among the 10 unbeaten runners in the 17-strong field, and it will be fascinating to see how the market develops as race-time approaches.SELECTION: BAMBINO FEVER.Keith Donoghue wins the Cross Country Chase for a fifth time, and on a third horse, having previously led Tiger Roll and Delta Work to victory.

“I ride for the right people – Gordon [Elliott] before and Gavin [Cromwell] today,He didn’t jump all that well today, the ground was a bit tough for him, but he stayed in and once we got ahead, he was never going to be beat,”Cheltenham 3,20 1 Stumptown (K M Donoghue) 5-2 Fav 2 Latenightpass (Miss Gina Andrews) 11-1 3 Vanillier (S W Flanagan) 15-2 4 The Goffer (S Bowen) 6-1 16 ran3,20 Cross Country Chase: As they head onto the main track, Stumptown gets beyond Latenightpass at the last and pulls clear.

Victory for the favourite, ridden by Keith Donoghue, with Latenightpass second for Gina Andrews.Vanillier and The Goffer emerge from early struggles to finish third and fourth.3.20 Cross Country Chase: Minella Crooner is pulled up at the back and Escaria Ten takes up the lead, with Latenightpass moving through the field.Chemical Energy also improving alongside Stumptown and French Dynamite …3.

20 Cross Country Chase: Past the halfway mark and French Dynamite now leads, with Vanillier recovering well from that mistake.Gevrey and The Goffer near the back, Galvin mired in midfield.3.20 Cross Country Chase: As they head out on their second circuit, Mister Coffey still leads with Escaria Ten second.Stumptown, Iwilldoit and French Dynamite are near the front, but Minella Crooner is losing touch.

3.20 Cross Country Chase: Third time lucky as they finally get away, taking on a replica of the Chair on the third of 31 fences.Vanillier was the early leader but almost took a wrong turn after that jump; Mister Coffey now leads from Stumptown.A false start in the Cross Country, with the pack getting close to the first fence after a late flag.After Tiger Roll won in 2018, 2019 and 2021, Delta Work went back-to-back in 2022 and 2023 – but there was no race last year due to a waterlogged track