Joy, despair, fear... but no thermal camera

Our ITV innovation will not reappear after causing a sensation at this so-special meeting

So, here we go. The long wait is over. We are set for four of the best days in the sporting calendar. The Cheltenham Festival is so special because it brings the National Hunt season to a wonderful crescendo in one of sport’s great amphitheatres. It is a week with the lot: excitement, despair, glory, fear and celebration.

The big race on day one is the Unibet Champion Hurdle, but it is not possible to dress this year’s race up as a vintage renewal. The heavy ground will be a leveller, too.

The reigning champion, Buveur D’air, comes back without a competitive contest under his belt this season but should still win, not least because there is currently an alarming dearth of top-notch two-mile hurdlers.

My ITV colleague Mick Fitzgerald rates Buveur D’air as one of the slickest hurdlers he has ever seen. He gets from A to B quicker than any other hurdler because he takes the flights so low, although that is not without its risks. Further heavyweight support: Sir Anthony Mccoy has said that the horse reminds him of Binocular.

In the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, all the talk has been about Getabird and whether he will struggle with the Cheltenham circuit because he has only once gone around left-handed. He divides opinion, but I am confident he will go well.

In contrast to an uninspiring Champion Hurdle, the Racing Post Arkle looks like a classic and could be the race of the week despite the small field.

Footpad, Petit Mouchoir and Saint Calvados are all good enough to win a standard Arkle. I am keen on Footpad, who looks an absolute natural over fences in a race where jumping will be all important.

I am good friends with Simon Munir, who owns him with

Isaac Souede, and he is Arsenal-mad, so he could do with a bit of cheering up. Simon reckons this is his best chance of the week and, if he can stay with Saint

Calvados then he should have the class.

That being said, Saint Calvados will go from the front and he will love all this rain. If he was trained by a

Henderson or a Mullins he would go off much shorter.

This has been a year in which female jockeys have come to the fore and I think Lizzie Kelly could well be celebrating with Coo Star Sivola in the Ultima Handicap Chase. Star potential: Lizzie Kelly could taste first-day success on Coo Star Sivola

On a personal level, it is a huge honour to be presenting my second Cheltenham Festival and it feels very different to 12 months ago, which was a baptism of fire as day one was only our 11th broadcast on ITV.

We are much more experienced this time around and have good features lined up, plus some exciting innovations, including a “Social Stable”. Come and visit us there if you want anything about racing explained. We remain determined to broaden the popularity of the sport.

I am afraid our thermal camera will not be returning after causing an internet sensation last year by showing horses getting too warm, and especially, perhaps, a little bit too much of an inside track on one groom’s minimal underwear. Despite the lack of thermal cameras, our viewing figures on ITV are already 18 per cent up on this time last year so we enter the Festival in good shape.

I hope you enjoy the coverage and back plenty of winners.