THE FESTIVAL 14-17 MARCH 2023
It’s St Patrick’s Thursday, so who will have the luck of the Irish in the two Championships and can the reigning champion Flooring Porter retain his crown? DAY THREE
E very headline act needs a good supporting cast and if Gold Cup Day is the big hitter at the Cheltenham Festival, there aren’t many better precursors than St Patrick’s Thursday. Any regular Festival-goer will tell you that Cheltenham is not Cheltenham without Irish participation – Four Days of Extraordinary simply wouldn’t be as extraordinary without them - and St Patrick’s Thursday is our homage to our friends from the Emerald Isle. It doesn’t always fall on the real St Patrick’s Day and is 24 hours early in 2023. It features two Championship contests and both races have a distinctly Irish feel to them to boot, with the Ryanair Chase and the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle both sponsored by Irish businesses that have loyally supported the Cheltenham Festival for years. This day is a true celebration of everything Irish, although Ireland’s hugely successful yards took things a little too literally in 2021, winning 23 of the week’s 28 races. As you’d suspect, the standings for The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. Prestbury Cup – a trophy that’s hotly contested between British and Irish runners – begin to take shape today and any Irish winner that is able to charge up that Cheltenham Hill is met with an even more affectionate
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