Fact To File & Teahupoo sure to be popular as Day Three Cheltenham Festival Bankers

Punters will be hoping to get lucky with two Cheltenham bankers on day three – St Patrick’s Thursday at the Festival, which come in the Ryanair Chase and Stayers’ Hurdle.

Cheltenham Bankers Day 3: Thursday 13th March 2025

Fact To File looks well-suited to going back down in trip for the Ryanair Chase

After beating Galopin Des Champs in the John Durkan Chase over 2m 3½f at the start of the season, Fact To File failed to confirm the form in his next two runs against the reigning Gold Cup winner at 3m in the Savills Chase over Christmas and Irish Gold Cup last month.

That led the team at Closutton headed by trainer Willie Mullins to drop him back into cooler waters at 2½m for the Ryanair Chase on St Patrick’s Thursday at Cheltenham alongside some input from his owner JP McManus.

At this point in Fact To File’s career, it feels like the correct move.

At just eight-years-old, the horse has plenty of improvement left in him over the coming years and it’s important to he skipped a novice hurdling campaign entirely to go straight over fences.

The Gold Cup will still be on the calendar in 2026 and beyond when current Cheltenham Festival top trainer Mullins and McManus may feel that Fact To File holds a stronger hand in the fight, so going to the Ryanair this year could be the perfect stepping stone.

Il Est Francais is no certainty to prosper at Cheltenham, Protektorat is vulnerable to a rising star

Fact To File performs well over intermediate distances and is also more than capable of taking care of the current pool of horses in the Ryanair like Il Est Francais and last year’s winner Protektorat.

Il Est Francais may not enjoy going left-handed or the undulating nature of Cheltenham while Protektorat is ten-years-old now and has likely stopped improving. The younger, fresher legs could be the key to this prize.

Fact To File rates a strong Cheltenham banker on day three and this type of race is exactly up his street. Mark Walsh will ride him prominently and he boasts a high cruising speed with plenty of stamina to fall back on.

King George runner-up Il Est Francais will probably make the running here and expect Fact To File to sit handily, two or three lengths off the pace before staking his claim to the throne at the bottom of the hill.

Protektorat will be prominent here also, but he won’t be gifted the soft lead he enjoyed last time out at Windsor when storming home to beat fellow contender Djelo by 23 lengths and that could leave him vulnerable to Fact To File’s turn of foot.

Fact To File impressively won the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase last year and is undoubtedly a Gold Cup horse in time. McManus doesn’t usually buy horses to send them to Ryanairs, but he has to think about the future with this one.

WATCH: Fact To File wins breathtaking John Durkan Chase at Punchestown

Plenty are keen to take on Teahupoo in the Stayers’ Hurdle – but it’s impossible to pinpoint what could beat him

Reigning champion stayer Teahupoo is one of the lesser-fancied shorter-priced favourites at the Cheltenham Festival, which is somewhat surprising considering the horse’s profile and his opposition.

The eight-year-old was beaten by Mares’ Hurdle hero Lossiemouth in the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse in December and as is usually the plan with Teahupoo, he is then kept fresh for the festival – the key to his success.

Last season he rose to the top of the division with an impressive win over Impaire Et e in the Hatton’s Grace before successfully landing the Cheltenham-Punchestown Stayers’ Hurdle double.

Many argue the horse needs an almost bottomless surface to be at his best, but his trainer Gordon Elliott is adamant Teahupoo is much more ground versatile than you or I are led to believe.

His win at Punchestown came on yielding (good-to-soft) and we’re likely to see a similar going at Cheltenham on Thursday.

Is there any strong opposition to Teahupoo?

One of Teahupoo’s closest market rivals, Joseph O’Brien’s Home By The Lee, found himself well beaten by Robcour’s star three-miler on both occasions last season and while he has enjoyed a more progressive campaign this season, leaps and bounds of improvement is still required to sur the favourite.

Henry de Bromhead’s Bob Olinger finished runner-up to Home By The Lee in the Lismullen Hurdle at Navan in November and Savills Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas – who certainly wouldn’t be considered the stoutest of stayers. This will be his fourth run in the race having been 3rd in 2024, 5th in 2023 and 6th in 2022.

After that, you’re into Nicky Henderson’s Lucky Place who has to prove he can stay the trip and Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Gowel Road was a perennial handicapper at the start of the season.

The market leader won’t be losing any sleep over stablemate The Wallpark’s fourth-place finish to Crambo in the Long Walk Hurdle before Christmas.

Langer Dan doesn’t appear to stay 3m looking at his run in the Long Distance Hurdle in November and even if he is a rejuvenated horse come the spring, it’s doubtful he possesses anywhere close to the ability to win a Stayers’ Hurdle. He’s won the Coral Cup for the last two seasons.

This is an undoubtedly weak division and Teahupoo should be licking his lips looking at the challengers. He has raced 17 times in his career, winning 11 and five of his six defeats have come after a break of 49 days or less so Elliott’s methods are tried and tested – the other defeat was giving Lossiemouth 7lbs.

Ten of the last 12 Stayers’ Hurdle winners have been aged between six and eight – Teahupoo is now eight, arguably in the prime of his career and running in this race for the third time after a narrowly close third in 2023 and taking the crown in 2024.

As far as Cheltenham bankers go on day three, this is the closest you’ll get.

WATCH: Teahupoo wins the 2024 Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham

If you wanted to back both of the day three bankers in a double with the best horse racing betting sites in the UK, you can enjoy odds of around 9/2.

Cheltenham Festival Day Three 2025 Details

📅 Date: Thursday, March 13th 2025
⌚ Race Times: 1:20pm – 5:20pm
🏇 Racecourse: Cheltenham
📺 TV: ITV / Racing TV

See how to watch the Cheltenham Festival 2025 here as well as dates, times and TV channels for all 28 races.