Top Tips for The Cheltenham Festival 2024 – From the horses mouth!
The Cotswolds have the most trainers in one area of the United Kingdom outside Newmarket, and with Cheltenham as the home of jump racing, it is the best place to look for your top tips.
Jonjo O’Neill, Nigel Twiston-Davies, Ben Pauling and Fergal O’Brien to name but a handful, all live a stone’s throw from each other near Stow-on-the -Wold.
As Festival fever begins to build in the run up to meeting, locals together with punters from the Emerald Isle, begin to gather. Binoculars seem to fill the hills with those looking for a glimpse of their favourite bankers of Festival week in work, before the meeting opens on Tuesday 12th March, and the crowd roars.
On the first day, The Champion Hurdle is now slightly more open with Constitution Hill no longer running. State Man seems to have had an ideal preparation for the meeting and should put in a strong performance.
The Queen Mother Champion Chase could provide Nicky Henderson with a solid win if Jonbon maintains a rhythm and jumps comfortably.
Local Cotswold trainer, Ben Pauling, has a number of horses with a chance at the meeting and Handstands is looking an attractive each way bet in the Baring Bingham Novices Hurdle.
The Gold Cup has a hot favourite this year, in last seasons’ winner from the Mullins yard, Galopin Des Champs, when he beat Bravemansgame by seven lengths.
The Glenfarclas Cross Country race always attracts a huge following with its unique course over varied obstacles and a test of stamina at 3 miles 6 furlongs. The Irish love it and have been hugely successful over the years. This year’s list of runners looks no exception as they field some eleven runners between them. Enda Bolger has a good record in this race and runs two outsiders in Stealthy Tom, and Easyland for JP McManus. Gordon Elliott has the brave Delta Work, Conflated and Galvin sitting high up in the betting. Dan Skelton and Martin Keighley are boldly flying the flag for the English with Latenightpass Back on the Lash respectively. Both have respectable each way chances.
The JCB Triumph Hurdle is the opening race of the final day of The Festival, and whilst many will go with the safer option of Sir Gino, another Henderson horse, Burdett Road, trained by James Owen, may well challenge some of the many Mullins runners for a place, if not the top spot.
Have a great week, and remember the bank always wins!
January Market Comment
January has seen us firmly up and running across the Cotswolds. Activity has been encouraging, with positive levels of interest and a busy start to the year. We have already agreed a good number of sales across our three offices in a range of different price points, which is a positive indicator of buyer intent following what was a very cautious 2025, with low confidence and many delays.
January Market Comment
Three Quintessential Cotswold Cottages – Full of Character & Charm
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, there’s something undeniably romantic about the idea of escaping to a cosy Cotswold cottage. Think honey-coloured stone walls, crackling log fires and soft lamplight spilling across plush sofas - perfect for long conversations, shared glasses of wine and slow, unhurried mornings. In winter, the Cotswolds reveal a quieter kind of beauty, with misty lanes, frosted fields and snug village pubs just a gentle stroll away. It’s a setting steeped in charm and warmth, and utterly quintessential in its British appeal.
Three Quintessential Cotswold Cottages – Full of Character & Charm
EPC Regulations - UPDATE
The government has made the decision to delay the introduction of the new EPC Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for rental properties. Originally scheduled to change in 2028, the government have now delayed this until 2030.
EPC Regulations - UPDATE
Snowdrops in the Cotswolds: A Winter Highlight at Painswick
As winter begins to loosen its grip on the Cotswolds, one of the most uplifting signs of the changing seasons quietly emerges, snowdrops. These delicate white flowers, often pushing through frost-hardened ground, bring a sense of hope and renewal, and nowhere is this more beautifully displayed than the snowdrops at Painswick Rococo Garden.
Snowdrops in the Cotswolds: A Winter Highlight at Painswick
