Cheltenham Festival 2024: Teahupoo wins the Stayers' Hurdle

Teahupoo (5-4 favourite) went a couple of places better than last year with a superb victory in the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle on day three of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival.

The Gordon Elliott-trained seven-year-old had been third behind stable-mate, Sire Du Berlais, in the Grade One feature of the third day at Prestbury Park last year. But sent off the well-backed 5-4 favourite, he came through to give his County Meath handler a second successive victory in the race – but a first of the week – as he powered up the hill to triumph under Jack Kennedy. Teahupoo was winning at the top level over three miles for the first time – he did score in a Grade Two at Gowran Park last January – after being fourth in the Punchestown Stayers' Hurdle following last year's Cheltenham third. But having won the 2m4f Hatton's Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse in December, he showed he is the young improving staying hurdler in the division with this latest success at Cheltenham.

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Under Jack Kennedy, Teahupoo was sat deep in the pack behind the front-running Flooring Porter, a winner of this race twice in 2021 and 2022, and he moved through smoothly to take over the lead coming to the final flight. And having jumped well he powered up the hill to the score by three-and-three-quarters-of-a-length from the game Gavin Cromwell-trained Flooring Porter. Joseph O'Brien's Home By The Lee (16-1) was third another two-and-a-quarter lengths back, with the Paul Gilligan-trained Buddy One (40-1) the same distance further adrift in fourth. On St Patrick's Thursday it was suprisingly the first Irish-trained winner of the afternoon after Brits Dan Skelton (two) and Paul Nicholls had taken the opening three