SIR ALEX FERGUSON, the legendary Manchester United manager, will again be present at the Cheltenham Festival this year.
And Fergie is being tipped to land a whopping £250,000 windfall at Prestbury Park!
What horses is Sir Alex Ferguson running at Cheltenham?
The Manchester United great is one of the co-owners of superstar chaser Protektorat, his sole charge this year.
Trained by Dan Skelton, the seven-year-old was a devastating 25-length winner of the Grade 2 Unibet Many Clouds Chase at Aintree last December.
Former Gold Cup winner Native River had to make do with second as Fergie‘s horse won without breaking a sweat.
And now that romp over the three-mile trip is being viewed as perfect preparation for a tilt at the Gold Cup by one of the horse’s other owners, John Hales.
The Gold Cup is one of the richest races in Britain, with last year’s winner Minella Indo scooping just over £260,000.
Similar prize money will be on offer this year and Hales thinks he and Fergie, plus other owners Ged Mason and John’s daughter Lisa, have a good chance of winning it.
Punters agree, with the horse already being backed from around 14-1 into 10-1. And you can back to below by clicking the odds.
Friday, March 18: Gold Cup – Protektorat (10-1)
All you need for Cheltenham Festival 2022
- Cheltenham Festival LIVE – Latest results and tips from day four
- Cheltenham Festival FREE BETS – new customer offers
- Race schedule, TV channel and live stream info for the biggest show on turf
- Piers, Harry and Chris Hughes – read latest picks from our celeb tipsters
- Gold Cup 2022 guide – all the latest odds for Friday’s showpiece race
What is the Cheltenham race schedule for each day?
Seven races will take place each day, with the marquee race of the day off at 3.30pm.
Tuesday, March 15 – Champion Day
- 1.30pm Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 2.10pm Arkle Novices’ Chase (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 2.50pm Ultima Handicap Chase (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 3.30pm Champion Hurdle (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 4.10pm Mares’ Hurdle (ITV 1)
- 4.50pm Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Racing TV)
- 5.30pm National Hunt Novices’ Chase (Racing TV)
Wednesday, March 16 – Ladies Day
- 1.30pm Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 2.10pm Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 2.50pm Coral Cup (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 3.30pm Champion Chase (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 4.10pm Cross Country Chase (ITV 1)
- 4.50pm Grand Annual Handicap Chase (Racing TV)
- 5.30pm Champion Bumper (Racing TV)
Thursday, March 17 – St Patrick’s Thursday
- 1.30pm Turners Novices’ Chase (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 2.10pm Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 2.50pm Ryanair Chase (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 3.30pm Stayers’ Hurdle (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 4.10pm Paddy Power Plate (ITV 1)
- 4.50pm Mares’ Novice Hurdle (Racing TV)
- 5.30pm Kim Muir Challenge Cup (Racing TV)
Friday, March 18 – Gold Cup Day
- 1.30pm Triumph Hurdle (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 2.10pm County Hurdle (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 2.50pm Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 3.30pm Gold Cup (ITV 1/ talkSPORT)
- 4.10pm Festival Hunters’ Chase (ITV 1)
- 4.50pm Mares’ Chase (Racing TV)
- 5.30pm Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle (Racing TV)
