Image source, Reuters

Shattered Love kicks in with two to go, nosing in front of favourite Terrefort. Jack Kennedy gets the mare moving and there's no stopping her. She's powered to victory in the opener!

Oh no! Invitation Only has stopped. Willie Mullins' horse second-favourite grinds to a halt...

Two out.... it's between Terrefort and Shattered Love....

Kemboy, ridden by Paul Townsend, and Barry Geraghty's Modus make mistakes at successive fences to drop down the field.

Up to the top of the hill... Bigmartre still leading the way....

Bigmartre is leading the way early doors, gliding over the fences. You could throw a blanket over all 10 horses. Tight.

Another boozy cheer goes up as the runners go past the 20,000-odd crowd for the first time today.

Terrefort is the name that keeps cropping up for this opening race. It's the 11-4 favourite. Invitation Only is the other one mentioned.

The 10 horses are trotting up to the start line... here we go... a huge roar goes up from the crowd...

We're OFF!

Frank Keogh
BBC Sport at Cheltenham

I've been asking some of the 5 live team for their selections, and they have been enjoying a largely profitable week. Tiger Roll (7-1) came in for commentator John Hunt on Wednesday. Can our man strike again today?

Commentator John Hunt:13:30 Terrefort

Few horses have made quite the impression that Terrefort did when winning on his British debut at Huntingdon in January. He backed that up with a Grade One victory at Sandown and will relish the testing conditions.

Reporter Gina Harding: 14:10 Sort It Out

Trained by the shrewd Eddie Harty, Sort It Out was second in the County Hurdle in 2015 and returns to the Festival this year with another excellent chance of landing a big pot. He was an eye-catching third staying on from the back of the field under Barry Geraghty in a qualifier for this race at Punchestown and should figure in this fiendishly-competitive handicap.

Anyway... back to the racing...

"It's a very good drizzle. Very moist," was the Tuffers verdict.

That's got us thinking about cake and sport. Nottingham Forest Gateaux? Trevor Cherry Cheesecake?

You can do better. Tweet #bbcracing.

Rory Burnand
BBC Radio 5 live at Cheltenham Festival

But how do they stack up with the cakes in the TMS commentary box? Tuffers gives the lemon drizzle a go...

Clare O'Donoughe
BBC Radio 5 live at Cheltenham

The cakes on offer for the BBC racing team today...

You can't keep a good man down, they say. And that certainly applies to Ruby Walsh. He's at the course today on crutches apparently.

Sister Katie tells BBC Radio 5 live she expects to see him return "sooner rather than later".

I'd be sat on the sofa with my leg up and popping the painkillers. And eating loads of cake. Speaking of which...

Cornelius Lysaght
BBC horse racing correspondent at Cheltenham

Compare & contrast: Stayers Hurdle favourite Sam Spinner’s transport from the low profile Yorkshire stable of Jedd O’Keeffe with...

...the battalions from Gordon Elliott’s Irish base.

Image source, Getty Images

Luck? More like the skill and hard work of the Irish. Quite aptly, the nation dominated St Patrick's Thursday at last year's Festival.

Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh stole the show by combining to claim four of the seven races, despite going into the day without a win to their names that week.

Adding to the Mullins-Walsh rides of Nichols Canyon, Yorkhill, Un De Sceaux and Let's Dance, victories for Presenting Percy and Road to Respect meant the Irish were heading for a clean sweep. Or should that be 'green sweep'?

However, it was prevented when Gina Andrews steered Domesday Book to a surprise 40-1 win in the day's final race, the Kim Muir Challenge Cup.

Hope you've got the prescription shades Frank? Looks like the sun is peaking out.

Frank Keogh
BBC Sport at Cheltenham

The weather this week has been as hard to predict as some of the winners - rain, sunshine, wind, we've had it all.

It's been breezy so far on Thursday, with clouds but occasional sunny spells after 9mm of rain fell at the course overnight.

Action switches today to the New Course, where the going is described as Soft, Heavy in places.

Clerk of the course Simon Claisse said: "The rain that we had overnight has petered out and we are looking forward to a dry afternoon with some spectacular racing."

Image source, Frank Keogh

Image source, PA

Top jockey Ruby Walsh is out of the Cheltenham Festival after suffering a suspected stress fracture to his leg.

The Festival's all-time leading rider, who only returned from breaking his right leg six days ago, hurt the same leg when Al Boum Photo fell in the RSA Chase on Wednesday.

Walsh, 38, came back from nearly four months out on Thursday and had two winners at Cheltenham on Tuesday.

Glastonbury? Pah. Cheltenham is the festival with all the star acts in this part of the country.

However... it's headliner has been ruled out...

BBC Radio 5 live

Giddy up! Our coverage has already started over on BBC Radio 5 live - they're quick off the mark, those lot.

John Inverdale is leading the coverage from Cheltenham and the team will be on-air on 5 live until 16:00 GMT before switching over to 5 live Sports Extra for the final three races of the day.

They are only a click away - look at the top of this page - from your ear drum.

Simon Foat
BBC Radio 5 live at Cheltenham

Image source, BBC Sport

The car park at Cheltenham also acts as a picnic area during the festival. Plenty on offer here to help get these punters through Day Three.

For those of you who aren't completely familiar with what's going on, I'll draw your attention to the Stayer's Hurdle at 15:30 GMT - that's today's main event.

Sam Spinner is the favourite there (more on him later), although Supasundae is among those expected to push him close.