The countdown to the 2026 renewal of the Cheltenham Festival is ramping up. There are now fewer than three weeks to go until the tapes are raised for the opening race, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, on March 10.
Going by the ante-post markets, it’s one of the widest open Cheltenham Festivals we’ve had in years. That’s particularly true for the Championship races. Aside from perhaps the Stayers’ Hurdle, the other three contests, the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, are proving tricky to dissect.
While not always won by the favourite, these races usually have at least a standout star going into them. Strength in depth isn’t entirely the issue here, but on form over the course of the season, there isn’t really one horse in each that will take all the beating.
With that said, we’ve taken an in-depth look at the four Championship races, analysing the form and hopes of the top horses in each market. Will they go to the respective favourites, or is there a challenger with bigger odds waiting to pounce? Let’s find out.
Champion Hurdle
Starting in order of proceedings, the Champion Hurdle is the feature race on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival. Last year’s Champion Hurdle was billed to be a blockbuster renewal, as Constitution Hill, State Man and Brighterdaysahead topped the card.
However, the race fell apart entirely, and Golden Ace picked up the pieces. It was the perfect example of if you don’t buy a ticket, you won’t win the raffle for the 25/1 outsider. Several things needed to go wrong for her to win, and they did.
This year, the Champion Hurdle doesn’t really have that same buzz around it. The New Lion is the 11/4 favourite, but the Dan Skelton-trained seven-year-old hasn’t exactly set the division alight since stepping into the open company this season.
The New Lion was one of the most exciting novices last year. However, he fell when under pressure from Golden Ace in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on reappearance and capitalised on an injury sustained mid-race by Sir Gino in the International Hurdle on Trials Day.
Now’s probably a good time to mention Sir Gino. The devastating injury to the Nicky Henderson-trained six-year-old is the reason why the Champion Hurdle is so wide open in the first place. Had he made it around and won the International Hurdle, he would have been the big odds-on favourite for this contest.
Back to the remaining contenders. Brighterdayahead is in the mix again. The Gordon Elliott-trained mare laid down a marker when convincingly beating Lossiemouth in the Irish Champion Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival earlier this month.
You can take nothing away from her on that performance, but her previous outings at Cheltenham are a concern. She failed to run up to expectations in this very contest last year, when a distant fourth and was beaten by Golden Ace in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle when odds-on in 2024.
There’s no doubt that Brighterdaysahead is a classy mare, but she still has something to prove at Prestbury Park. Constitution Hill comes in as the third favourite, but he’s fallen on three of his last four starts over hurdles and is trying to use an unprecedented flat outing at Southwell as his prep run on Friday. It seems more like a fairytale than reality for him winning the Champion Hurdle.
Lossiemouth now looks more likely to run in the Mares’ Hurdle than this race after losing to Brighterdaysahead last time out, so that leaves Golden Ace as the next contender. Luck was on her side in both this race last year and the Fighting Fifth, but she genuinely might not need a miracle this time. Looking at the potential field, Scott’s mare might win this on talent and is perhaps overlooked.
Queen Mother Champion Chase
Unlike the Champion Hurdle, the Champion Chase has a short-price favourite in 13/8 shot Majborough. Although those odds perhaps say more about the quality, or lack thereof, in the two-mile chasing division than the brilliance of Majborough.
That sounds a tad harsh on the Willie Mullins star. He’s a good horse in his own right, and he proved that with a 19-length demolition over current Champion Chase holder Marine Nationale in the Dublin Chase at Leopardstown. But he has his flaws. Those are particularly in his jumping, as he proved in last year’s Arkle, so he’s not indestructible by any means.
There’s also the argument that we didn’t see the best of Marine Nationale on that day at the Dublin Racing Festival. While the official description was soft, the ground appeared almost bottomless, which doesn’t suit him at all.
With better conditions likely by the second day of the Festival, the Barry Connell-owned and trained horse should fare much better than what the bare form suggests from Leopardstown.
L’Eau Du Sud is the best of the British runners. The Dan Skelton-trained eight-year-old won the Shloer Chase here at the November Meeting, but was well beaten in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown in December, coming home behind Jonbon and Il Etait Temps.
The latter of those is another Champion Chase option for Mullins. Il Etait Temps was impressive in the Tingle Creek, scoring by nine lengths, but never really got going and suffered a nasty fall in the Clarence House at Ascot last time out.
With Majborough beating Marine Nationale so easily in the Dublin Chase, and L’Eau Du Sud and Il Etait Temps with questions to answer after their most recent runs, it’s easy to see what the JP McManus-owned horse is short in the betting, but it doesn’t make him unbeatable.
Stayers’ Hurdle
With odds of 7/4, Teahupoo isn’t as short as Majborough, but we’d argue that he’s probably the stronger favourite with all things considered.
The Gordon Elliott-trained horse has, of course, gone off as the market leader in this race for the last three years in a row, winning just once.
That’s a disappointing record, but his form is as strong as ever going into this year’s renewal, winning a third Hatton’s Grace Hurdle before a commanding seven-length victory over last year’s Stayers’ Hurdle winner Bob Olinger in the Christmas Hurdle.
Teahupoo’s biggest danger in the market is his own stablemate: Honesty Policy. The six-year-old is yet to win after being stepped up to the longer trips this season, but has made very good accounts of himself on both occasions in Grade 1 company at Punchestown and Ascot.
The third-place finish in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot was particularly eye-catching. He was in touch with Strong Leader and Impose Toi at the last, but it turned into a sprint between that pair, and that didn’t suit Honesty Policy at all. A more honest pace would bring him more into the mix.
Bob Olinger is likely to attempt to defend his title. At 11, he’s no spring chicken, but Henry de Bromhead is bullish about his chance. Ma Shantou won the Cleeve Hurdle in nice fashion on Trials Day and is a big hope for Emma Lavelle and the Brits, but it’s hard to oppose the favourite.
Gold Cup
The Gold Cup rarely disappoints, but this is genuinely one of the deepest fields we’ve seen in the race for a while. And it’s made even stronger by the potential addition of Fact To File.
The McManus-owned nine-year-old has been tipped as a Gold Cup horse in his younger days, but seemed more regressive than progressive in recent runs.
That all changed with a stark return to form in the Irish Gold Cup at the Dublin Racing Festival, as Fact To File won by five lengths from Gaelic Warrior. He needs to be supplemented for the Gold Cup, but McManus coughed up the £25,000 for Inothewayurthinkin last year, and it paid off.
There hasn’t been a British winner of the Gold Cup since Native River in 2018. However, the host nation has its strongest hand in years.
Last year’s Arkle winner Jango Baie won the Grade 2 1965 Chase at Ascot on reappearance and stayed on for a close fourth in the King George VI Chase, with the way he finished suggesting the Gold Cup’s longer trip will suit.
The Jukebox Man is unbeaten in four starts over fences and landed that thrilling renewal of the King George by a nose from defending champion Banbridge on Boxing Day. He has a good chance and will be well-backed, given that the popular Harry Redknapp owns him.
Galopin Des Champs comes back seeking his hat-trick, but his recent efforts in Ireland would suggest that age and mileage are catching up with the 10-year-old. Welsh Grand National winner Haiti Couleurs is another big chance for the Brits, and could deliver champion jockey Sean Bowen his first Cheltenham Festival victory.
