HOME BY THE LEE was fifth time lucky as Joseph O’Brien’s star finally won the Stayers Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Partnered by JJ Slevin, the 11-year-old was always a standout, racking up points even as he finished a quarter of a length behind Ballyburn.
Dan Skelton’s Cabral de Meissan ran strongly, but doubts about his stamina proved true when he struggled to climb the Cheltenham hill.
Last year’s winner Bob Olinger remained in third place.
Trainer O’Brien said: “We were expecting a good run and it was a great ride from JJ. We’re very happy that Sean O’Driscoll and his family have brought him up. He’s 11 years old and they’ve been with him all their lives. He’s tough as nails. It was a big team effort from all the locals.”
Home by the Lee (red) defeats Cabral de Matin in Stayers Hurdle
“We’ve been racing him a little more often than usual. We’ve tried to run him, but we usually keep him very fresh.
“He has the stamina and JJ gave him a great ride. He made the right moves every stage. Of all the horses I’ve ever trained, he has the most wins in terms of wins.”
“I’ve had him since he was probably just 4 years old, so he’s been here a long time. He trains hard every day, but when he’s off, he gets bored. He loves his job, he loves his job, he loves racing, and he’s never taken a lame step in his life. He’s a superstar.”
Hartwood is too good for Ryanair’s rival
At the Cheltenham Festival, Hart Wood won the Ryanair Chase in convincing style, winning easily.
Heartwood, trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Darragh O’Keeffe, missed out on a 9-2 run after Fact to File withdrew and was aiming for a better finish than second place to the same horse last year.
The 8-year-old always looked comfortable and was even with the leading JPR One on the turn home, then came up the hill to win by 10 lengths over the 2-1 favorite Jon Bon.
Darragh O’Keeffe’s jockey Hart Wood aims to win the Ryanair Chase on day three of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.
Elliot’s wudu ends as he waits for this week’s winner
Gordon Elliott missed the mark at the Cheltenham Festival when Wodoo justified his favoritism with a display of game in the Crows Brothers Mares Hurdle.
The six-year-old won the final race of the event, the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle, 12 months ago, providing another welcome tonic for his trainer after suffering a disappointing turnaround in the opening two days of the event.
With two wins this season, she placed the 5/6 market leader in the hands of Jack Kennedy, and in the previous race she held off last year’s runner-up Jade de Groogie, proving that she is in a class that will reach the highest level for the first time.
On day three of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, Wodoo rode Jack Kennedy to victory in the Crows Brothers Meles Hurdle
Pauling gears up for Gold Cup test
Meetmebythesea provided the perfect Cheltenham Gold Cup appetizer for Ben Poehling and Ben Jones, who cruised to victory in the Jack Richards Novice Limited Handicap Chase.
The King George Award-winning trainer and jockey will be aiming for gold on Friday with Jukebox Man, but Meet Me BiC has long been talked about as one of the Festival’s strong chances and has settled comfortably at odds of 9/1.
As is the theme of this week, jockey Jones kept the 6-year-old on the pace from beginning to end, racing with second-place Gold Dancer into the home straight, and then used an incredible jump at the end to put him 4 3/4 lengths ahead of Meet Me Bissey.
White Noise, ridden by Thomas Bellamy (centre), aims to win the Ryanair Mares Novice Hurdle
Bellamy Bag’s first festival winner
Tom Bellamy tasted success for the first time at the Festival as White Noise got his winning thread back in the Ryanair Mares Novice Hurdle.
The three-time winner at the start of the season was defeated in the Grade 2 Company at Warwick last month, but bounced back into form with a fine performance from the front end in a 40/1 chance.
Dan and Harry Skelton won their second handicap of the week as Supremely West justified their advantage at odds of 100-30 in the Pertan Network Final Handicap Hurdle.
Jockey Cass Williams, who took over her trainer’s license from her husband Evan this week after being found guilty of assaulting a dog walker on his land in the middle of the night, won the Roscon Group’s Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Amateur Jockey’s Handicap Chase with jockey Ask Brewster.
