Day one of the Cheltenham Festival is here and hunt racing fans are already queuing up to get through the gates. Day one is often one of the best days of racing at Cheltenham. The track is clean so no one is really sure how it is going to race. Bookmakers, punters, and even the trainers and riders have their opinions, but it’s not until they jump in the first that we’ll know for sure.

There have been a lot of market moves over the last week, along with a few surprising omissions, the most surprising being Binocular. There are still plenty of horses to look at, however, and I’m sure there’s a winner or two that can be found. Cue Card (5/2) stands out in the first and it would be a great start to the Festival to land a winner first up. Cue Card won the Bumper last season and those winners have often gone on to win a race over the fences the following year.

If you like to follow the money, then Maljimar could be worth watching. This horse has been backed in to 6/1 second favourite late in betting while the favourite Garde Champetre has been steadily easing and is now out to 5/1. Maljimar could well start equal favourite the way betting is moving.

At longer odds, Laccordioniste (the Mares Hurdle) has been backed into 10/1 and could be a good eachway bet at those odds. Quevega dominates betting at 1/1 but do you really want to risk a short price over the fences? Of course, find a bookmaker that is willing to offer a refund for a fallen horse and it may be worthwhile.

The Cheltenham Festival brings Gloucestershire to life for four days each year. It’s one of the best run and most entertaining race festivals anywhere in the world – it’s also one of the best for backing a few good winners.