Cheltenham Festival 2015: Tuesday summary

Surely one of the most dramatic opening days of a Cheltenham Festival for a long while.

• Four winners for trainer Willie Mullins: Douvan (2/1f), Un De Sceaux (4/6f), Faugheen (4/5f), Glens Melody (6/1)
• Mullins saddles the first three home in the Stan James Champion Hurdle: Faugheen, Arctic Fire and Hurricane Fly
• Three winners for jockey Ruby Walsh and a double for Paul Townend
• AP McCoy draws a blank on Jezki, Jollyallan et al.
• Annie Power falls at the last flight in the OLBG Mares' Hurdle when leading and on her way to a sure victory
• The Druids Nephew (8/1) wins the Ultima Business Solutions Handicap Chase - a first Cheltenham Festival winner for trainer Neil Mulholland
• Owner JP McManus has a Festival winner on his birthday in the form of Cause Of Causes (8/1)

Bookies fearful of Mullins mauling

Bookmakers could take a battering on the opening day of the 2015 Cheltenham Festival if all four of the Willie Mullins-Ruby Walsh combination of favourites are victorious.

Douvan, Un De Sceaux, Faugheen Annie Power have the potential to get the Festival off to a winning start for the punters.

Ladbrokes' David Williams explained: "The Ruby Walsh 'acca' [accumulator] has the potential to do untold damage."

"It's going to be the most popular accumulator bet we've ever known. If all four horses win we'll never have known a day like it at Cheltenham. It could run to tens of millions of pounds."

"We'll be desperate to see one of them beaten. Anything more than that will be a luxury but we dare not dream."

"We simply want to get through the opening day in one piece and there's no guarantee it will happen."

Bookmakers' bleatings about how much they stand to lose (or have lost) should always be taken with a large dose of salt. In any case, they have three further days to win it all back.

Cheltenham Festival 2015 race preview: World Hurdle

Cheltenham Festival 2015: World Hurdle

Festival race preview: Ladbrokes World Hurdle

The announcement by Willie Mullins last weekend that his unbeaten mare Annie Power (7/4) will take her chance in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at the Festival has added extra spice to the event.

Four-time winner Big Buck’s (7/4) is aiming to return to reclaim his crown and the sponsors cannot split the two in the betting.

Big Buck’s’ record at Cheltenham is not in question but at 11 years old, is age catching up with him? Annie Power is six years old and the last six-year-old to win this race was… Big Buck’s.

At Fishers Cross (5/1) posted a much better effort in the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham back in January when finishing a narrow runner-up to Knockara Beau (Big Buck’s was in third on his comeback from injury).

After an excellent season in 2012/2013, Rebecca Curtis’ gelding had not been able to recapture that form at the start of this season.

Festival race preview: Stan James Champion Hurdle

It is a case of experience (and age!) versus youth in the 2014 Stan James Champion Hurdle.

Hurricane Fly is the defending champion (as well as winning it in 2011 and being third in 2012) and is 3/1 with the sponsors to defend his title at the age of 10.

His main rivals are considerably younger, in the form of The New One (six years old; 3/1), My Tent Or Yours (seven; 9/2) and Our Conor (five; 9/2).

Hurricane Fly is unbeaten in nine races since the Festival last March and has beaten Our Conor and Jezki (10/1) on a couple of occasions this season.

Willie Mullins’ eventual Festival plans for the unbeaten mare Annie Power (8/1) could well shake up the betting. She is entered in the Champion Hurdle but it seems likely that she will be kept apart from stablemate Hurricane Fly.

UPDATE: Willie Mullins told At The Races on Sunday 2 March that Annie Power will take on Big Buck's in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle.