Cheltenham Festival - Live!

ANGLO IRISH BANK SUPREME NOVICES’ HURDLE

Preamble: Good afternoon and welcome to the opening chapter of Cheltenham 2006. Prestbury Park is packed to the rafters for Champion Hurdle day and we’re less than an hour away from the famous roar that will meet the rise of the first tape.

Just so you can get in on the action (and in no way trying to rid the desk of tat), I’m going to set up a little tipping competition. All you have to do is send me an email with the name of your nap of the day in the subject bar, and whoever selects the highest-priced winner will win the shiny DVD sat next to my keyboard. The only conditions are that (a) entries are restricted to one per person, (b) entries must be in before the start of the first race, and (c) your selection must come from one of the races covered by Channel 4: the 2pm, 2.35pm, 3.15pm or 4pm.

I won’t waste your time with my tips for the afternoon as I’m simply going to stick to theguardian’s very own Ron Cox’s recommendations. Helpfully, that tactic also gives me someone else to blame should things go spectacularly wrong.

Weather update: It’s cool, grey and light rain has been dousing the course since mid-morning, but the going’s still good. Just to remind you, we’ve a multitude of bookmakers’ special offers available via our betting site with which to take on the layers and keep abreast of all the latest market moves for the meeting’s action.

1.12pm: According to John McCririck’s flailing arms down among the bookies, punters are steaming in to Brave Inca in the day’s feature Champion Hurdle (3.15pm), and the clear favorite is now trading at a shade under 2-1. And news of two non-runners today: Zaiyad misses the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (2pm) and Little Big Horse doesn’t go in the William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase at 4pm.

1.18pm: Probably time to cast a quick eye on to the opening race of the day, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. Sweet Wake is the 11-4 favorite and the Irish numbers swelling the crowd will be hoping a horse, regarded by some as their "hotpot" of the meeting, can give them a dream start. Paul Nicholls’s Noland is second in the betting at 7-1, with Quatre Heures (17-2), Straw Bear (11s), O Muircheartaigh (12-1) and Crow Wood (16s) also fancied. My cash is with the latter, offering some value after impressing with a handicap hurdle win at Musselburgh last month, while my colleague Paul Doyle has taken an each-way punt on the 18-1 about Buena Vista.

1.21pm: Derek Thompson is inside the course’s impressive Centaur centre, asking punters with pints who’s going to win the big Champion Hurdle. A gruff man mumbles something resembling Arcalis, before the Channel 4 man brings a belated halt to the sorry piece-to-camera.

1.25pm: Quatre Heures is drifting a little in the opener, and Willie Mullins’s charge is now available at 9-1.

1.31pm: The sports desk is somewhat deserted as assorted colleagues hotfoot it down to the bookmakers with their ripped-out-of-newspapers £1 free bets in hand. Their faith in the Racing Post’s Pricewise service could lead them to shamelessly hand the tokens over in support of Nicholls’ Natal (22s) in the opener.

1.35pm: My erstwhile colleague Paul Doyle’s ears have just pricked up at news that Buena Vista, to be ridden by Timmy Murphy for Martin Pipe, is now 12-1 and receiving major backing on the exchanges. Howard Johnson’s Masafi is also being supported, trading at 20s from 25-1.

1.38pm: Just 22 minutes to go in our tipping competition: only one horse has been selected in the opener - Natal, if you’re interested. And remember (for those who have emailed in with a nap in one of the non-TV races!), your selection MUST come from one of the races covered by Channel 4: the 2pm, 2.35pm, 3.15pm or 4pm.

1.43pm: It’s probably best to have a quick read of this article for Ron Cox’s Cheltenham golden rules. As far as today’s action is concerned, he’s warning against backing Korelo in the William Hill Trophy: trainer Pipe has incredibly never had a winner in 26 attempts in this race.

1.45pm: While money’s flowing in for Natal and Rasharrow (both now available at 14-1), the favorite is also being backed; Sweet Wake has come in to 5-2. Quatre Heures has also come back in to 8-1, while Noland remains solid at 7s.

1.48pm: The horses are in the parade ring ahead of our opener, and the stats are coming thick and fast. Five of the last 10 winners of this race have come to National Hunt from the Flat, while every Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner since 1995 finished at least fourth on their previous run - bad news for Rasharrow, fifth last time out.

1.51pm: Noel Meade, trainer of Sweet Wake, reckons "the calmest person going around here is the horse". Accepting that the 5-2 is a somewhat short price, he said: "He seems to be well, has done everything we’ve asked of him and done well when we’ve run him." One bookie has just taken a £20,000 bet on Sweet Wake, while £10,000 each-way has been put on Noland. Puts my fiver into perspective.

1.53pm: "How many times on Channel 4 have the words ‘the Irish’, ‘Guinness’ and ‘St Patrick’s Day’ been linked together in a sentence? I’ll offer 6-1 it’s no less than seven times already and I’m not even watching the coverage," chimes Ben Parker. Surprisingly, I think you might get some takers for that action, Ben: the presenters are restraining themselves manfully.

1.56pm: While the horses go to post ahead of the first race, the tragic Best Mate’s owner Jim Lewis is officially opening a commemorative statue of the late Gold Cup hero. Meanwhile, Noland is in to 13-2, Quatre Heures is out to 10-1 and Straw Bear has drifted to 11s.

1.59pm: As the runners for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle circle around at the start, we’re just waiting for the tape to rise ...

Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices’ Hurdle And they’re off ... eight hurdles to be cleared as they all leap the opening two clean. Buena Vista and Crow Wood are prominent, while Sweet Wake is dropped into the pack ... Masafi is now leading the pack on to the back straight ... Pablo Du Charmil goes down at the fourth with Masafi still leading ... around the top turn, Sweet Wake is down in eighth ... Orcadian and Buena Vista are pushing on as Straw Bear accelerates ... Straw Bear is being pulled back by Sweet Wake ... it looks like a storming rails run by Noland has pipped Straw Bear on the line! Photo! Noland looks to have it, Straw Bear second, and Buena Vista third.

Official result: 1) Noland (Ruby Walsh/Paul Nicholls) 6-1; 2) Straw Bear (Tony McCoy/Nick Gifford) 11-1; 3) Buena Vista (Timmy Murphy/Martin Pipe) 14-1.

Race one postamble: A thrilling start to the 2006 Festival and great news for backers of Ditcheat’s favourite son. "A good start and a great ride," says Nicholls. "He stays on so strongly." AP McCoy will be gutted to have been pipped as he was, but Straw Bear just didn’t have the stamina coming up the hill, dramatically losing at least three lengths to the winner over the final 100 yards or so.