We’re already a decent chunk into 2025 – where does the time go? – but that only means that the excitement and intrigue of the National Hunt calendar goes up a notch or two.
There’s still a trio of big festivals to be held, with more than 40 Grade 1 races to be contested…so we still have ample opportunities to see the best of the best lock horns.
To mark your card, here’s the pick of the National Hunt racing still to come during this 2024/25 season.
Cheltenham Festival
With 14 Grade 1 renewals, plus a stack of other high-quality races, the Cheltenham Festival remains the pinnacle of jumps racing on UK soil.
There’s Cheltenham races in all disciplines; whether that’s to find the best young hurdlers and chasers (Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Turners Novices’ Chase), the hardiest stayers and jumpers (Stayers’ Hurdle, Cross Country Chase) or to crown the finest horse in the two broad categories of jumps racing (Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase).
And there’s still time for perhaps the most eagerly anticipated race of the Cheltenham Festival: the Gold Cup.
This three-mile, two-furlong renewal crowns the best horse in the UK and Ireland over that beloved 3m trip, with a prize pool of £625,000 – with £325,000 to the winner – certainly concentrating the minds of jockeys, trainers and owners alike.
In 2025, Galopin Des Champs could become the first in two decades to win three consecutive editions of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Although individual glory is the name of the game in horse racing, the Cheltenham Festival also boasts its unique Prestbury Cup, which pits British trainers against their Irish counterparts to see who can claim the most winners.
The trophy has been dominated by the Irish in recent years, so will that trend continue in 2025 or will British trainers wrestle back control?
Aintree Festival
The Grand National is – and will forever be – the most popular horse race on UK soil for both purists of the sport and more casual observers alike.
It’s the unique characteristics of the Grade 3 steeplechase that set it apart. A large field of the toughest staying horses contest the Grand National over the gruelling four-mile, two-furlong trip, tackling 16 fences (most of them twice over two laps) that are so iconic that they’ve even been given their own names, like The Chair, Becher’s Brook and Foinavon.
The Grand National is the headline act on the Saturday of the Aintree Festival, with many interested to see if I Am Maximus, the 2024 champion, can retain his title despite being given top weight of 11st 12lb.
But that should not divert attention from the fact that the meeting at the Merseyside venue promises three days of elite action in all.
There’s a dozen Grade 1 races contested at the Aintree Festival, with Thursday’s highlights including the Manifesto Novices’ Chase, Aintree Bowl and Aintree Hurdle.
The Friday, meanwhile, plays host to a selection of races that are typically excellent primers for future success as Aintree, Cheltenham and beyond: the Mildmay Novices’ Chase, Melling Chase and Sefton Novices’ Hurdle chief among them.
Punchestown Festival
Irish jumps racing is amongst the strongest on the planet, with the very best horses, jockeys, trainers and owners given multiple opportunities to strut their stuff on the big stage – the Dublin Racing Festival, held each January and February, a prime example of that.
The curtain will fall on the season – as far as elite racing is concerned, anyway – at the Punchestown Festival, which is hosted at the vaunted track that bears its name each April and into May.
With the leading Irish horses well rested following their endeavours at the Cheltenham Festival, the Punchestown meeting gives them and their connections a chance to sign off on the campaign on a high.
Held over five days, the Punchestown Festival crowns a series of ‘champions’ for the season, from novice hurdlers and chasers to four-year-olds, mares and all-ages hurdlers and chasers.
Willie Mullins’ domination of the Champion Chase – he trained the winner every year between 2018-2023 – came to an end in 2024, with Joseph O’Brien’s Banbridge coming out on top.
But the legendary trainer would have revenge in the Champion Hurdle, winning for the second year running with State Man.
Meanwhile, Fastorslow has won back-to-back editions of the Punchestown Gold Cup…and he would have been aiming for the hat-trick in 2025, however, he is currently side-lined with injury which has ruled him out of the rest of the season.
So, we will definitely be looking at a new winner – but which one?
With these three festivals still to come this season, plus other Grade 1 races at Fairyhouse and Sandown, there’s still plenty of top-notch racing to enjoy in 2024-25.
