The opening day of the Cheltenham Festival provided thrills and excitement as Golden Ace took the Champion Hurdle trophy for Welsh jockey Lorcan Williams in dramatic fashion.

The Cheltenham Festival is here and Wales' leading jockeys and trainers will descend on the Cotswolds bidding for glory at jump racing's biggest four days.

Leading Welsh trainer Sam Thomas was proud of his two horses’ efforts at the Coral Welsh Grand National even though Val Dancer emerged from the murk to seize victory. Val Dancer tenaciously held off Thomas’ dual challenge of Jubilee Express and Iwilldoit at Chepstow to win a race that was only visible at certain stages due to thick fog.

Welsh trainer Sam Thomas is hopeful Jubilee Express can prove “a special horse” by winning the Coral Welsh Grand National for him – just as Iwilldoit did three years ago. Thomas sends both horses to the start line at Chepstow on Friday with Jubilee Express most fancied to provide a home winner in Wales’ leading race in the calendar, which carries £150,000 of prize money.

The final meeting of the calendar year at Ffos Las Racecourse takes place on Wednesday with a seven-race offering to celebrate the Christmas Jumper Raceday. The action gets underway at 12.22pm as nine runners tackle the class four handicap hurdle before the action comes to a close at 3.50pm with the bumper – a Flat race ran over Jumps rules for runners making their way in the early stages of their career.

Sean Bowen secured his 100th win of the season on board Dominic’s Fault at Lingfield on Monday – and is confident he can further strengthen his position at the top of the Jump Jockeys’ Championship. The Championship runs from 4th May 2024 to 26th April 2025 and is based on the amount of winners jockeys ride over the course of the season.