Will they, won’t they? When will we know for sure? Which of the big four contenders will contest the 2025 Champion Hurdle? A total of 16 horses were entered this week for the first day Festival highlight.

Constitution Hill is due to run at Cheltenham next weekend, while Brighterdaysahead is on the ‘straight to Cheltenham’ boat, leaving Lossiemouth to reestablish herself as a leading contender in the Irish Champion Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival, possibly against her stable companion and 2024 Champion Hurdle winner State Man, who was left trailing 30 lengths behind Brighterdaysahead at Christmas.

Brighterdaysahead would be bidding to emulate Honeysuckle (2021/’22), Annie Power (2016) and Flakey Dove (1994) as the most recent mares to win the championship.

Constitution Hill would emulate Comedy Of Errors and Hurricane Fly in taking back his crown, though both of those were placed in the year between their successes.

Constitution Hill beat State Man by nine lengths in 2023.

Nicky Henderson has also entered Arkle favourite Sir Gino, who deputised and won the Fighting Fifth in December, in the absence of his star stablemate.

Willie Mullins has also entered Fairyhouse Grade 3 winner Anzadam, the five-year-olds Kargese (also in the Mares’ Hurdle) and Kitzbuhel, as well as Winter Fog.

The Japanese have been an increasing presence on the international racing scene, but no one expected to see a Japanese entry for this race in the shape of All The World. The eight-year-old finished third in the Tokyo High Jump, one of the country’s leading jump races, in October.

Best odds: 5/6 Constitution Hill, 4 Brighterdaysahead, 9/2 Lossiemouth, 10 State Man, 12 Anzadam, 25 Brentford Hope, Sir Gino, 33 Burdett Road, 40 King Of Kingsfield, 50 Kitzbuhel, Winter Fog, 66 Golden Ace, Kargese,

The Stayers’ looks like Teahupoo’s to lose, as he stands head and shoulders above the opposition in the field of 36 entries, with little from the younger brigade emerging from last season.

Flooring Porter did the double in 2021/’22. Previous double winners this century are Baracouda, Inglis Drever and four-time winner Big Buck’s.

The opposition just doesn’t look that strong, with all of last season’s Festival Grade 1-winning novice hurdlers gone over fences. Leopardstown Grade 1 winner Home By The Lee has run in the race three times and his third last season was his best run with Crambo back in seventh.

Strong Leader, a Grade 1 winner at Aintree, disappointed last time, while Grade 2 Relkeel Hurdle winner Lucky Place doesn’t look good enough. He was fourth to Langer Dan in last year’s Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle.

Dan Skelton’s dual Festival winner lost out narrowly in the Grade 1 William Hill Aintree Hurdle last season, but has been below that form in his two Grade 2 outings this season, something that has seen plenty of debate on his merits.

The Wallpark, now in the J.P McManus colours carried to success in this race most recently by Sire De Berlais, is the interesting newcomer, having made his way up the ratings with four handicaps wins, culminating in a Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle qualifier win at Cheltenham in October. He wasn’t disgraced and finished well in Grade 1 company, three and a half lengths fourth behind Crambo at Ascot in the Long Walk Hurdle in December. Mystical Power, whose dam Annie Power finished second in the race in 2014, and the Albert Bartlett winner of last year Stellar Story have also been entered from last season’s novice hurdle crop.

Best odds: 6/4 Teahupoo, 8 Home By The Lee, 16 Crambo, Lucky Place, Hiddenvalley Lake, 20 Langer Dan, The Wallpark, 25 Strong Leader, 25 Gowel Road, 33 Mystical Power, Stellar Story, 40 Asterion Forlonge, Monmiral, Winter Fog, 50 Hewick, Rocky’s Diamond, Bob Olinger

The market is dominated by three mares who all also hold entries in the Champion: Lossiemouth, Brighterdaysahead and Kargese.

Kargese, in the same colours as dual winner Honeysuckle, looks the most likely to be a certain runner here and she was twice a Grade 1 winner last season, when her only defeats were to top talents Majborough and Sir Gino. She is following a similar route to the festival as stablemate Lossiemouth did last year. Runner-up in the Triumph Hurdle, she has been declared to make her belated seasonal debut at Windsor today.

Irish-trained mares hold the first five positions in the ante-post markets, including Jade De Grugy and July Flower. The Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle winner Golden Ace and Dan Skelton’s Kateira are the shortest-priced of the British entries.

July Flower, winner of the Grade 3 Beat The Bank.ie Irish EBF Mares Hurdle at Leopardstown at Christmas is joined here by the second and third there, Kala Conti and Jetara.

Surprisingly, the Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (first five runnings won by Willie Mullins) has not proved a pointer to a follow-up success in the Grade 1 Mares’ Hurdle (only Love Envoi going close).

Last year’s novice race saw Golden Ace surprisingly have too many guns for Brighterdaysahead, but while the Elliott mare has gone from strength to strength, Golden Ace has been campaigned at two and a half miles-plus on her two runs and did not appear to stay, and she has a Champion Hurdle entry.

Gala Marceau, second to Lossiemouth in the 2023 Triumph, is interesting at a big price.

Best odds: 13/8 Brighterdaysahead, 2 Lossiemouth, 3 Kargese, 7 July Flower, 10 Jade De Grugy, 12 Kateira, 20 Golden Ace, Kala Conti, 33 Dysart Enos, 50 bar.