chic in a navy blue coat and a matching hat, zara tindall cut a glamorous figure as she arrived for the first day of the cheltenham festival this morning making the most of the spring sunshine, the 33 year old was all smiles as she strolled through the vast crowds with friends before taking a seat in a private box topping off her look was a stylish cloche hat by milliner rosie olivia, which matched the bespoke dark wool coat by london fashion week favourite, irish designer paul costelloe looking good: zara gets a kiss from former trainer trevor hemmings as she takes a seat in her box  looking good: the 33 year old cut a glamorous figure in her dark blue coat and matching cloche hat  sharing a joke: zara was spotted enjoying a joke with her husband mike tindall, 36  the mother of one is a regular sight at cheltenham and attended the races on all four days of the festival last year this year has an added incentive for zara, whose grand national horse monbeg dude is due to run later this week purchased by husband mike tindall for £12,000, the horse finished in a respectable seventh place at aintree last year   all the better given that zara initially thought the animal was a dud speaking ahead of last year's grand national, she revealed that her initial response to mr tindall's purchase was to call him an 'idiot' but was later won over can't watch: zara grimaced as she watched one of the afternoon's races  phew! the 33 year old beams as ruby walsh gallops home in the first race of the day  hurrah! zara cheers on one of the runners in the first race while husband mike tindall (right) smiles  warm welcome: the queen's granddaughter got a rapturous reception from fellow racegoers  she has also helped to train the horse and has been building a career as a racehorse trainer, with several of her animals entered in national hunt races this season today, though, it was all about enjoying the races with the mother of one spotted laughing and joking from her perch in the box first to run were the competitors entered for the sky bet supreme novices hurdle, which saw jockey ruby walsh triumph aboard duveen other highlights on day one included the racing post arkle challenge trophy chase and the big race of the day, the stan james champion hurdle challenge trophy which was won by hot favourite faugheen enjoying the day: zara looked animated as she watched the first race, a glass of red wine at her side  friendly exchange: zara traded kisses with a friend as she made her way into the box  any tips? the pair chatted as they waited for the first race, the supreme novices hurdle, to begin  enjoying the sunshine: zara shows off her print dress while watching the first race in the sun  familiar sight: zara is a regular visitor to cheltenham and has a horse running later this week  chic: zara was resplendent in an all navy ensemble topped with a cloche hat by rosie olivia  where's mia? baby daughter mia grace had been left at home with her father, rugby star mike tindall  crowd control: mike tindall looks cheerful as he mingles with the crowds at cheltenham  wondering who to have a flutter on? ladbrokes' jessica bridge reveals which horses are set to be first past the post at this week's cheltenham festival today   champion hurdle  horse: faugheen  odds: 11/10  he's called faugheen the machine for a reason and it's hard to see his unbeaten record coming undone on tuesday, despite the impressive field usual jockey, ruby walsh, is yet to decide his mount for the race, with stablemate and dual champion hurdle winner hurricane fly also lining up, but with fingers pointing towards faugheen it's just another reason to back him wednesday   queen mother champion chase  horse: dodging bullets  odds: 4/1  all eyes might be on sprinter sacre and sire de grugy, but dodging bullets has easily had the most impressive route to this year's festival, and although a short price the clarence house chase winner could and should serve up an upset to the front two in the betting thursday: ladbrokes world hurdle  horse: saphir du rheu  odds: 9/2  paul nicholls' stranglehold at the top of the world hurdle betting has tightened again following rock on ruby's withdrawal it's going to be very hard to pick which of the stablemates will be sent off as favourite, but with saphir du rheu back over hurdles it can only be a good thing he gallops and jumps well, and his cleeve hurdle win shows he can do it at cheltenham  friday   gold cup  horse: carlingford lough  odds: 10/1  it's impossible to not back ap mccoy's last ever ride in the gold cup   it would be a fairytale end to a glittering career for the 20 time champion jockey there's still doubts whether favourite silviniaco conti can finally make it third time lucky at cheltenham, but for the old romantics there's only one man that can win this year's gold cup, and it's ap mccoy winning ways: former barclays boss rich richie (second right) celebrates with his horse faugheen  good work! ruby walsh and un de sceaux celebrate after winning the arkle challenge trophy  last ride: veteran jockey ap mccoy arrives at cheltenham festival for the last time as a rider  jam packed: the sunny weather brought thousands of racing fans flocking to cheltenham 
33 year old cheltenham zara irish paul costelloe england mike tindall 36
the 33 year old was glamorous in navy as she arrived at cheltenham . zara has long had a penchant for racing and is a regular racegoer . she was all smiles as she joined friends in a box overlooking the course . wore a stunning custom made coat by irish designer paul costelloe . was later joined by england rugby star husband mike tindall, 36 