Cheltenham Favourites Guide – Most Fancied Festival Runners

Jamie Clark

Senior sports editor

Updated: 31 December 2025

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One of two things will happen to Cheltenham favourites – either they win during the Festival or they lose. With the weight of public opinion behind them, some rise to the occasion while others don’t deliver.

In this guide to the current market leaders at the Cheltenham Festival, we assess the most popular horses with punters taking part in championship races. There are bumps in the road, so the current favourite may end up replaced by another horse come the off.

The Significance of Cheltenham Favourites Today

Market leaders for feature races at any horse racing event shouldn’t be lost on punters. The ante-post betting on major galas like the Cheltenham Festival can end up with a very different picture on the day.

Just because a horse is among the favourites for Cheltenham today doesn’t mean they will be tomorrow. Markets are nothing if not fluid, reacting to events on and off the track. All Cheltenham odds reflect implied probability at the end of the day suggesting some horses have better chances than others.

The shortest price runners are Cheltenham race favourites, but they come with no guarantees. It is far from certain that short-priced favourites will produce on the track. Let the market be your guide.

There is always a chance that a dark horse or longshot outsider will upset Cheltenham favourites at Prestbury Park. Punters have to decide whether the subjective concept of value lies.

Either side with the below market leaders come the Festival, or take them on with opposition. Looking over past editions and Cheltenham results might help with that decision.

One thing you can be sure relating to favourites for the Cheltenham Festival is they face competition. The strength in depth of individual races differ, but victories are earned on the Old and New Courses.

Cheltenham Festival Favourites Race by Race

Depending on what stage of the season you look at Cheltenham betting sites, it’s not always clear who the favourite is for every single one of the 28 races during the Festival. Entries for the handicap chase and handicap hurdle races don’t come out until late February, for example.

The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle on Gold Cup day always has a particularly murky look to it ante-post too. Where there are clear favourites at Cheltenham today, it’s worth assessing those particular horses in more detail. That’s what this page is all about.

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – Old Park Star

The master of Seven Barrows in Lambourn has a hot hurdling prospect on his hands with Old Park Star. He shot to the head of the Supreme betting thanks to a combination of a 12-length course win and Mydaddypaddy flopping on Boxing Day. Henderson has won this five times before including with the likes of Altior, Shishkin and Constitution Hill during the last decade.

Old Park Star blew a field of smart novices apart during the December / Christmas Meeting, so all roads lead back to Cheltenham for the Festival in March. There are others in Supreme contention, of course, including Champion Bumper fifth El Cairos who has moved to Ireland after being sold for big money. Nonetheless, Old Park Star is one of the obvious Cheltenham tips for the Festival’s opening day.

Arkle Chase – Lulamba

Ahead of Kopek Des Bordes as Arkle Chase favourite following an impressive Henry VIII success at Sandown. Henderson has a record eight successes in this Cheltenham Festival race and was unlucky not to land the Triumph Hurdle with this talent in 2025, Blindsided by the unraced Poniros, Lulamba showed superiority over that one at Punchestown.

Unbeaten in two starts over fences, few Cheltenham favourites will be stronger than this one if the slight setback suffered by Supreme scorer Kopek Des Bordes keeps him off the track longer than anticipated. Lulamba has unfinished business around Prestbury Park after that Triumph reversal. Romeo Coolio is also a potential player in this division.

Champion Hurdle – Sir Gino

Missed the last two Cheltenham Festivals due to stable form and illness. Looked as good ever when returning from 12 months off the track with Christmas Hurdle success around Kempton on Boxing Day. Sir Gino took the scalp of fortunate Champion Hurdle and Fighting Fifth heroine Golden Ace here and looks set to stay down this route.

Connections do have the option of returning to fences with him as well. Henderson holds the record for Champion Hurdle wins with nine and could well extend that to 10 with the unbeaten Sir Gino. In a fluid two-mile hurdling division, though, there may be other Cheltenham favourites here before long.

Mares like Lossiemouth, Golden Ace and Brighterdasyahead all have this as a potential option. They receive 7lb sex allowances from the geldings, which potentially swings the weights in their favour. There is also The New Lion, who cruised up in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle (Baring Bingham) bidding to bounce back from his Newcastle fall.

Turners Novices’ Hurdle – No Drama This End

Ninth in the Champion Bumper last season, No Drama This End already looks better than that form over hurdles. Ditcheat trainer Paul Nicholls sent him straight into Grade 2 company in this sphere and he recorded two breathless wins. No Drama This End landed an official Albert Bartlett Trial (Hyde Novices’ Hurdle) at Cheltenham in November on his bow over timber.

He then defied a penalty when following-up in the Winter Novices’ Hurdle around Sandown on the bridle. Sent off long odds-on for the Challow at Newbury, No Drama This End had to work harder on quicker ground than ideal, but still got the job done. That only hardened his status as a real contender for Festival honours.

Nicholls has already hinted No Drama This End has the potential to be as a good as the great Denman. That glowing endorsement suggests big things lie on the horizon. Ditcheat hasn’t ever had the winner of the Baring Bingham, currently run as the Turners Novices’ Hurdle, but No Drama This End is another of the Cheltenham favourites for the home team.

Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase – Final Demand

Despite defeat in the Turners on last season’s Style Wednesday Cheltenham Festival race card, Final Demand remains a hot prospect. Switching to steeplechases could bring out even more in him and, since finishing third to The New Lion and The Yellow Clay, he has notched two more Grade 1 events.

Final Demand bounced back at Punchestown in the spring, then went over fences. A foot perfect display around Navan gave Willie Mullins every reason to step him back up into elite races. Already well-fancied for the race registered as the Broadway come Cheltenham going into Christmas, we perhaps didn’t learn too much more about Final Demand.

Bar one rank outsider, the small field in the Faugheen Novice Chase around Limerick over Christmas were all from the same stable. Jimmy Du Seuil didn’t fire in the mud, but Final Demand did enough to repel Gold Dancer. Patrick Mullins described him as like riding an armchair, so it’s no wonder this horse is among the Cheltenham favourites again.

Queen Mother Champion Chase – Marine Nationale

As the defending champion and one of the multiple past Cheltenham winners we should see at the Festival, Marine Nationale will be primed for another Champion Chase tilt by his owner-trainer Barry Connell. Much like the Champion Hurdle picture, this division has somewhat shifting sands in terms of the market.

Marine Nationale went on to Punchestown Festival glory, but seems happiest around Prestbury. Given a big mistake at the fence turning into the back straight on reappearance over Christmas, he did remarkably well to finish a close second to Leopardstown specialist Solness in the Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase.

While he might be one of the Cheltenham favourites today, Marine Nationale does face serious opposition from Il Etait Temps. Majborough is another from the Mullins camp to fear, if he can get his jumping together. All of the leading two-mile chasers on both sides of the Irish Sea have errors in them, so it might come down to who jumps best on the day.

Dawn Run / Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle – Bambino Fever

After Champion Bumper wins in both the UK and Ireland last season, Bambino Fever is one of the big hopes at Cheltenham races today for the Closutton stables of Mullins. She has lost her unbeaten record on hurdles debut when turned over at odds of 1/4, however, but saw herself narrowly bested by a race-fit rival.

Come the Festival in March, Bambino Fever should be at, well, fever pitch. She lost little in defeat at Naas where the going was heavy. Just like any horse, Bambino Fever should strip fitter for that outing and big targets like the Dawn Run lie ahead for her. From a betting perspective, this is one of the more opaque events at the Festival.

Bambino Fever has to be one of the Cheltenham favourites because of how she performed in bumpers last season. Mullins will have other mounts in this, however, and has often been mob-handed in the race since its introduction a decade ago.

Mares’ Hurdle – Wodhooh

Last year’s Martin Pipe heroine Wodhooh wasn’t disgraced when chasing home Lossiemouth in the Aintree Hurdle later in the spring. She looked a graded calibre mare running in a handicap when successful in the final race at the Festival and confirmed that impression on Merseyside.

Only time will tell whether Lossiemouth bids for a Mares’ Hurdle hat-trick or has a tilt at the Champion Hurdle this year. While that uncertainty remains, Wodhooh became one of the Cheltenham Festival favourites outright for the former race following an impressive reappearance in the Ascot Hurdle.

An ex-Flat horse, she showed superb speed and slick accuracy when jumping the final flight there. Although race terms in Berkshire heavily favoured Wodhooh, she shot clear in taking fashion. She followed-up under a penalty in a Leopardstown Grade 3 over Christmas. This mare isn’t done improving yet, that’s for sure, and her hat is in the ring for more Cheltenham honours.

Ryanair Chase – Fact To File

After cruising to victory in this race in 2025, connections have been experimenting with Fact To File. He tried an extended two miles in the Punchestown Champion Chase and didn’t have the speed to land any sort of blow on Marine Nationale. Returning there for his reappearance and defence of the John Durkan, he lost to Gaelic Warrior.

The winner confirmed the form when running third in a bunched finish to the King George at Kempton. Fact To File also ran in that race, but made mistakes and could only manage sixth spot. An intermediate trip like the Ryanair Chase seems to suit him best, then.

Owner JP McManus had Cheltenham Gold Cup favourites among his plethora of horses. Fact To File has won at the Festival over further when landing the 2024 Brown Advisory, but he will surely go back to the extended two-and-a-half miles now. Old rival Gaelic Warrior and Jango Baie, home ahead of him in the King George, could challenge his crown.

Stayers’ Hurdle – Teahupoo

Previous winners of the Stayers’ Hurdle have a good record coming back for more. Just look at Paul Nicholls legend Big Buck’s. Teahupoo probably won’t match that one’s four consecutive wins in the contest, but looks the most consistent long-distance hurdler around today.

He goes well fresh, but is the obvious starting point for one of the weaker divisions of the National Hunt code. Teahupoo has seven Grade 1s under his belt now, gaining revenge on owner-companion Bob Olinger for a Stayers’ Hurdle defeat last season when landing the Leopardstown Christmas Hurdle.

A three-time Hatton’s Grace winner from Fairyhouse, he confirmed that form with Ballyburn over the festive period. He is thus one of the more solid Cheltenham favourites in his bid to regain the Stayers’ Hurdle crown he last won in 2024.

Opposition to Teahupoo here may include McManus pair Honesty Policy and Impose Toi, with the latter demonstrating marked improvement since stepping up in trip. So-called failed chasers who are Cheltenham non runners elsewhere may come back over hurdles and take him on, but he’s definitely the one to beat.

Triumph Hurdle – Narciso Has

A French purchase by McManus and sent to Ireland by Willie Mullins. It’s the typical profile of many Cheltenham Festival favourites of recent years. The Triumph Hurdle picture is one that usually takes time to develop as the season wears on, but Narciso Has already made great strides.

He shaped as if needing the run on his Irish debut in a Grade 3 around Fairyhouse. Narciso Has came on plenty for that return to action, however, when landing the Leopardstown Grade 2 on St Stephen’s / Boxing Day. An 11-length victory saw him installed as the market leader for this elite juvenile hurdle.

Cheltenham races favourites in both the Triumph and Fred Winter shift a lot from ante post to on the day. While Narciso Has confirmed superiority over the Fairyhouse third at Leopardstown, Robcour filly Mange Tout didn’t run over Christmas. As in other divisions, females receive a 7lb sex allowance from the boys.

Juvenile fillies have a decent recent record in the Triumph Hurdle, so Narciso Has will need to prove he can turn the tables on Mange Tout. The pair will likely meet again in the Dublin Racing Festival Grade 1 registered as the Spring Juvenile Hurdle some six weeks out from Cheltenham.

Mares’ Chase – Dinoblue

The last of the Cheltenham favourites before the Gold Cup is 2025 Mares’ Chase winner Dinoblue. She’s finished second and then first in the last couple of editions of this event, going on to defy a penalty at the Punchestown Festival. Earlier in her career, Dinoblue beat the boys in a Grade 1, so she’s a classy individual.

Another year older, there are some dangers including fellow Mullins mount Spindleberry. That one landed the Fairyhouse Gold Cup taking on geldings, so she too looks very useful. Only By Night perhaps needs this trip now for Gavin Cromwell. Previous connections chose to run her in the Arkle, but new owners Robcour may prefer this test.

Dinoblue remains the measuring stick for two-and-a-half mile female steeplechasers, though. Some talented novices could end up against her, though, so watch out for Diva Luna, Kala Conti and The Big Westerner. The Mares’ Chase could end up as an awesome race on the Gold Cup undercard.

Cheltenham Gold Cup Favourites

Going into the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, the Gold Cup picture has been clearer in previous years. Two noses separated first from third in the King George VI Chase at Kempton, while the Savills Chase went to a well-punted fully race-fit horse when the market principals were on their way back to fitness.

It’s not ideal for punters looking at the big meeting’s blue riband steeplechase. The horses at the head of the Cheltenham Gold Cup betting could well improve for returning to Prestbury Park, rather than runs around flatter tracks Kempton and Leopardstown. What’s clear from this is the biggest race of all is just like any other horse race. Let’s take a look at the favourites this time around:

Galopin Des Champs

Dual Gold Cup hero Galopin Des Champs missed out on the hat-tricks achieved by Arkle, Best Mate and Cottage Rake when downed by Inothewayurthinkin in 2025. Regular rider Paul Townend is already one of the most successful jockeys in the race’s history with four victories since 2019.

Galopin Des Champs is another year older, but showed all his ability remained when romping to victory in the Punchestown Gold Cup. A slight setback in training in the autumn meant his reappearance was delayed. Although losing his unbeaten Leopardstown chasing record when third in the Savills Chase on that belated return, he should come on for it.

All roads lead to the Dublin Racing Festival for a bid at a fourth consecutive Irish Gold Cup. If Galopin Des Champs can win there, then one more crack at the Cheltenham crown surely beckons. Inothewayurthinkin is a big obstacle in his path, however, and the King George principals may all end up here as well.

Stats on How Recent Cheltenham Favourites Performed

The table below contains data from the last six editions of the Cheltenham Festival and which races that favourites (including joint and co-favourites) won each year. It reveals that market leaders do better in some races than others.

No favourite has won either the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle or Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, all run on Gold Cup day in the timeframe, for example. There are common races on the Cheltenham schedule which market leaders do deliver, though:

FAQs

Jamie Clark

Senior sports editor

Jamie Clark has been covering the Cheltenham Festival for over a decade, firstly during his time as the Sports Editor of Coral bookmakers. His father and godfather ran a trackside bookie's pitch at Market Rasen for many years, so horse racing is in his blood. Very much a specialist in the sport, Jamie is our go-to expert on all things Cheltenham.

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