FOUR is the magic number for National Hunt fans heading to the 2005 Cheltenham Festival.

Next week, for the first time in the history of the championship meeting, racing will take place over four days.

Four races have been added to the old 20-race schedule to create four six-race cards of the highest quality.

The most prestigious addition is Thursday's Daily Telegraph Festival Trophy Chase - a championship race over two miles and five furlongs.

The other new races are the cross country Sporting Index Handicap Chase (3m7f), the Brit Insurance Novices' Hurdle (3m), the Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase (2m5f) and the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (2m110yds). The Cathcart Chase has been discontinued.

As usual the festival will begin on Tuesday with the Supreme Novices' Hurdle followed by the Irish Independent Arkle Chase and the day's main event - the Smurfit Champion Hurdle.

Wednesday's showpiece races remain the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Royal and Sun Alliance Chase, while the Ladbrokes World Hurdle - formerly the Stayers' Hurdle - takes top billing on Thursday.

The festival's premier event, the Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, will now take place on Friday, when Best Mate and jockey Jim Culloty will be aiming for an historic fourth victory in the race.

Should the Henrietta Knight-trained ten-year-old succeed he would become the only horse bar Golden Miller (1932-1936) to record more than three Gold Cup wins.

Best Mate is rated a 5-2 chance to take the victory despite coming up short in his only real test of the season so far.

Following a win in the William Hill Chase at Exeter on his seasonal reappearance, Best Mate could only manage second place behind Ireland's Beef Or Salmon (8-1) in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown.

However, the champion's connections blamed the unsuitably soft ground for the seven length reverse and are confident that the tables can be turned come Friday.

The Leopardstown victory saw Beef Or Salmon installed as second favourite for the Gold Cup behind Best Mate, but the Michael Hourigan-trained star has drifted in the market after a disappointing follow-up.

Rule Supreme (9-1), who was battling for second place with Best Mate when falling at the last in the Lexus, saw off Beef Or Salmon to take the Irish Hennessy Gold Cup, again at Leopardstown.

King George VI Chase winner Kicking King (8-1) looked set to miss the festival but could yet line up to go for a spectacular double.

However, the extra stamina that the Gold Cup will demand may better suit King George runner-up Kingscliff (11-2).

Robert Alner's charge found the Kempton race to be too much of a test of pace and he could come into his own on the tougher Cheltenham track.

But the most interesting challenger to Best Mate looks to be the powerful Grey Abbey (6-1) who demonstrated his credentials over the Prestbury Park course in January when taking the Pillar Property Chase.

Grey Abbey also beat last year's Gold Cup second Sir Rembrandt (16-1) in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby and the latter's chances here have seemingly diminished as stable jockey Robert Thornton has chosen to ride Kingscliff instead.

Paddy Power Gold Cup and Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup winner Celestial Gold (9-1) has the form to go close but is another that may lack the required stamina for the big race.

Paul Nicholls' Strong Flow (7-1) looked every inch a Gold Cup contender when winning last season's Hennessy but his subsequent injury problems have to cast doubt over his ability to win here.

Best Mate looks to have the measure of his rivals on paper, but if the ground is soft on race day Grey Abbey could well take the Gold Cup north for trainer Howard Johnson.

Wednesday's Queen Mother Champion Chase is a much tougher race to call with the three market leaders all very well matched.

Nicholls' reigning two-mile champion Azertyuiop (13-8), 2003 victor Moscow Flyer (7-4) from Ireland and last year's Arkle Chase winner Well Chief (3-1) could produce the race of the festival.

The three contenders met in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown earlier in the season and it was the Irish raider that came out on top.

Moscow Flyer maintained his proud record of never having lost a race that he has completed, to win a thriller from favourite Azertyuiop with Well Chief close behind in third.

Azertyuiop has since got back to winning ways with a victory over Well Chief in the Game Spirit Chase, although the latter produced one of the performances of the season when giving Thisthatandtother (a horse sent off favourite in Well Chief's Arkle win here a year ago) 20 lbs to win the Victor Chandler Chase on this course.

With a clear round Moscow Flyer should come out on top, but the punishing Cheltenham fences caught him out last year so it is by no means a foregone conclusion.

Azertyuiop will be ready to capitalise on any errors, although history may be on the side of Well Chief as the previous year's Arkle winner has won this event in each of the last two seasons.

The problem for Martin Pipe's charge is that those two winners were Moscow Flyer and Azertyuiop.

A win from outside the top three would be astonishing, but Armaturk (40-1) did beat Well Chief over course and distance in November and so could be the best of the rest.

Those chasers lacking the pace for the Champion Chase and the stamina for a Gold Cup tilt will contest the Daily Telegraph Festival Trophy Chase.

Our Vic (2-1), Thisthatandtother (9-2) and Rathgar Beau (5-1) head the market and of those three Rathgar Beau looks most likely, as he is a two and a half-mile specialist.

Old stagers Edredon Bleu (25-1), Native Upmanship (25-1) and Tiutchev (20-1) have been crying out for this race for years and could all run into contention as the latter did in the Champion Chase a year ago.

The Smurfit Champion Hurdle on Tuesday looks to be a wide-open affair.

Harchibald (5-1) had been installed as favourite after three impressive wins over most of his rivals, but reports of a poor workout last week have cast doubts over his very participation.

Instead, Edward O'Grady's Back In Front (100-30) leads the market.

The Cheltenham specialist already has a festival win under his belt and was giving Harchibald 5 lbs when going down by a length and a half at Punchestown in November.

However, the third horse that day, Macs Joy (8-1), may be the one to watch. The six-year-old has twice beaten rivals Brave Inca (7-1) and last year's winner Hardy Eustace (7-2) off level weights this season.

Punters looking for each-way value could do a lot worse than pick 2003 champion Rooster Booster (14-1), who will enjoy the break-neck gallop more than most. In Thursday's World Hurdle Baracouda (5-4) will be aiming for a third success in the race.

With his conqueror of twelve months ago, Iris's Gift, now going over fences, Baracouda looks a class above his rivals for the race.

The Francois Doumen-trained nine-year-old took the Long Walk Hurdle at Windsor in December, seeing off Crystal D'Ainay (9-2) and Rule Supreme (9-2).

Crystal D'Ainay has failed to come out on top in several tests this season but is perhaps running into form at the right time having beaten Monet's Garden into second place in the Rendlesham Hurdle at Kempton.

Rule Supreme could have what it takes to defeat Baracouda if he can show the form that earned the win over Gold Cup hope Beef Or Salmon, but Willie Mullins' charge may yet head for the big one himself.

Tom Taaffe's Emotional Moment (10-1) is an in-form horse at more attractive odds for each-way punters.