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2.00 Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

1 Captain Cee Bee (R Thornton) 17-2
2 Binocular (A P McCoy) 8-1 co-fav
3 Snap Tie (R Johnson) 20-1

It was first blood to the Irish - and owner J.P McManus in particular - as the Festival got under way in thrilling fashion.

Captain Cee Bee and Binocular both carried McManus’s famous green and yellow silks and the pair dominated a stirring finish - Captain Cee Bee staying on stoutly to take the honours after Binocular had travelled best for most of the way.

Victory was joyous for Eddie Harty, who was saddling his first Festval runner, but misery for Tony McCoy, the champion jockey deserting the winner to ride the runner-up.

McCoy, who has just returned from a serious back injury, made his bid for home on the Nicky Henderson-trained four-year-old before the last, but Robert Thornton galvanised Captain Cee Bee up the hill to win by two lengths, with Snap Tie back in third and Kalahari King fourth.

It was a superb training performance from Harty as the winner had been off the track for almost four months since winning at Leopardstown.

“It’s a dream come true,” Harty said. “This is a better horse on good ground and I was a bit worried about the ground, but I tried to talk it down. It’s a great result for me. I had a speech lined up for AP (McCoy) had he ridden him but he didn’t.” Andy Stephens

2.35 Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy

1 Tidal Bay (Denis O’Regan) 6-1
2 Kruguyrova (A P McCoy) 9-1
3 Noland (R Walsh) 7-4 fav

Howard Johnson’s horses may have arrived at Cheltenham under a cloud but his Tidal Bay looked in the pink of condition as he turned the Arkle into a one-horse race.

Johnson has made no secret of the fact that many of his team have been coughing and his recent runners had done little to dispel fears that they were under the weather.

But Tidal Bay, who had finished second over hurdles at the Festival last year, was clearly at the top of his game and, despite a blunder at the fourth, surged clear under Denis O’Regan from the top of the hill to win by 13 lengths.

Noland, the well-backed favourite, travelled and jumped well but could not find any acceleration from the second last. It was left to Kruguyrova, who rallied after making much of the running, to chase the emphatic winner home. Andy Stephens

3.15 Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle

1 Katchit (R Thornton) 10-1
2 Osana (T Scudamore) 9-2
3 Punjabi (B J Geraghty) 25-1

Katchit may only be a tiddler but he joined the giants of the turf when lifting hurdling’s blue riband prize in dramatic fashion.

The statistics said that Alan King’s five-year-old could not win - the 73 from his generation to have tried to win the race since 1985 had all been beaten - but Katchit was an exceptional juvenile and, on a racecourse tailor-made for his terrier style, he pulled out all the stops to keep his pursuers at bay.

“It’s unbelievable,” King said. “I’ve been so relaxed all day as I honestly didn’t think he could win. I said to the owners if he was in the first four I would be very proud of him. It was a beautiful ride again and I’m so proud of the team.”

Sizing Europe and then Sublimity had looked far likelier winners in the home straight - both traded at odds on in-running - but the former stopped to nothing and was pulled up after the last, while Sublimity simply did not get home on ground that was riding much slower than anticipated.

While his rivals were wilting, Katchit kept responding willingly to Robert Thornton’s demands for more. He needed to, as well, because Osana, who had forced the pace, stuck to his task willingly when headed and briefly looked like getting back up.

Punjabi kept on well for third to deny Sublimity a place but Catch Me, who jumped sloppily, and Harchibald never threatened.

Blue Square make Katchit 5-1 to retain his crown next year. Andy Stephens

4.00 William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase

1 An Accordion (T Scudamore) 7-1
2 New Alco (D N Russell) 10-1
3 L’ami (A P McCoy) 11-2 fav

The first handicap of the meeting was won in gritty fashion by the progressive An Accordion, who provided Tom Scudamore with his first Festival winner.

Front-running Ollie Magern set a frantic gallop and, while he was a spent force long before the finish, that laid the foundations for a rousing finale.

An Accordion, trained by David Pipe, was in the thick of the action all the way but, going to the final fence, the well-backed Patsy Hall seemed to be going best - only to make an error and weaken on the climb to the line.

As he laboured, Scudamore drove An Accordion ahead, only for New Alco to loom into view on the outside. However, his challenge also petered out.

L’Ami ran well but, typically, lacked a change of speed. Fundamentalist was tanking at the top of the hill but did not last home. Andy Stephens

4.40 BGC Cross Country Chase

1 Garde Champetre (Miss N Carberry) 4-1
2 Native Jack (D N Russell) 40-1
3 A New Story (A J McNamara) 20-1

Golden girl Nina Carberry enjoyed her third Festival winner as she led home an Irish 1-2-3-4 aboard Garde Champetre in this dizzying spectacle.

Considering 32 obstacles had to be negotiated in the near four-mile contest, there was precious little incident to report.

It looked to be bubbling up nicely turning into the straight but then Carberry pushed the button on the Enda Bolger-trained nine-year-old and he took off - having the race in safe keeping bar a fall at the last, which he winged.

Native Jack, winner of the race in 2006, gave valiant pursuit on what was his first race for a year, but never looked like closing the gap.

Wonderkid, the 5-2 favourite, never got in the hunt and neither did Heads Onthe Ground, who had won the race a year earlier. Andy Stephens

5.20 Fred Winter Juvenile Novices’ Handicap Hurdle

1 Crack Away Jack (P Carberry) 14-1
2 Ashkazar (T J Murphy) 15-8 fav
3 Grand Schlem (C Pieux) 12-1
4 Indian Spring (A J McNamara) 66-1

More success for the Carberry family, with Paul, brother of Nina, coming from last to first aboard Crack Away Jack.

The Emma Lavelle-trained winner had come with a similar late challenge when scoring at Sandown on his previous start, but this was a marked step up in form as he wore down Ashkazar, who made a gallant attempt to follow up his Imperial Hurdle success of just three days earlier.

Defeat for Ashkazar, the favourite, capped a rotten day for most punters. All six market leaders on day one were beaten.

For a long while it seemed that Ashkazar would finally give them something to cheer about. He was never far away but, after fending off Grand Schlem early in the home straight, could not repel the calmly-ridden winner. Andy Stephens