Luke Littler celebrates a win at Cheltenham with girlfriend Faith Millar as they back right horse after UK Open victory

Luke Littler celebrates Cheltenham with girlfriend Faith Millar just hours after UK Open glory

Luke Littler barely had time to put his UK Open trophy down before heading straight to the races. Less than 24 hours after pocketing £120,000 with an 11-7 final victory over James Wade in Minehead, the 19-year-old world number one swapped the oche for Prestbury Park as Cheltenham Festival got underway on Tuesday.

And he did it in style. Littler arrived on Day One looking every bit the part in a beige blazer, crisp white shirt and a baby pink tie — and it turned out he and girlfriend Faith Millar had coordinated their outfits, with the 19-year-old beautician from Wigan matching her boyfriend in a pink blazer of her own, her blonde hair styled into elegant curls. The couple, who have been together since last summer, were pictured throwing their arms in the air with beaming smiles as the racing got underway shortly after 1pm.

The pair were not the only darts stars in the stands. Luke Humphries and Nathan Aspinall were also spotted enjoying the Festival on Day One, with the three players forming something of a darts contingent among the packed Cheltenham crowd.

On the track, the opening day delivered one of the great Champion Hurdle displays in recent memory as Lossiemouth, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend, crushed her rivals by six and a half lengths to win her fourth consecutive Festival race and cement her status as the Queen of Cheltenham. The 7-5 favourite kept her unbeaten Festival record intact, powering up the famous hill with Brighterdaysahead and The New Lion left trailing in her wake.

For Littler, it was a fitting way to decompress after an extraordinary weekend. His UK Open triumph made him only the fourth player in history to successfully defend the title — joining Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and Michael van Gerwen — and came on the back of his Premier League night win in Cardiff the Thursday before. The victory extended his remarkable run of not losing a televised ranking match since last October’s European Championship defeat to James Wade in Dortmund.

The couple’s Cheltenham appearance continues what has been a busy social calendar alongside Littler’s relentless darts schedule. The pair attended the Brits together last month and celebrated Valentine’s Day at upmarket Manchester steakhouse Noir, two days after Littler had struggled through Premier League Night Two with illness. Faith has become a familiar face at his biggest tournaments, having been courtside at Alexandra Palace for both his World Championship title defences.