2027 Cheltenham Festival Preview

The 2027 Cheltenham Festival is scheduled to take place between Tuesday, March 16 and Friday, March 19 and will, as is customary these days, will consist of 28 races, seven on each day. The four ‘feature’ races of the week, the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, Ryanair Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup are scheduled for 16:00 on each day.

At the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, the annual competition between British and Irish trainers, the Prestbury Cup, went down to the very last race, with Ireland eventually winning 15-13. British trainers will, no doubt, be keen to improve on their best performance at the March showpiece since the 14-14 tie in 2019, but will inevitably face a potent challenge from across the Irish Sea, not least from the most successful trainer in the history of the Cheltenham Festival, Willie Mullins.

Leading trainer at the Festival for the last eight years running, with a record 10 winners over the four days in both 2022 and 2025, Mullins won the Champion Hurdle with Lossiemouth, the Queen Mother Champion Chase with Il Etait Temps and the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Gaelic Warrior. It is no surprise to see all three reigning champions at the head of the early ante-post lists for their respective races in 2027, while other early, Mullins-trained favourites include Even Tho in the Turner Novices’ Hurdle, King Rasko Grey in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase and Fact To File in the Ryanair Chase.

For the home team, the twice-raced French import Feel Gut, trained by Nicky Henderson, heads a wide-open ante-post market for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, while stable companion Old Park Star, who won that race in 2025, is currently the only horse available at single-figure odds for the Arkle Challenge Cup. Later in the week, another French import, Mets Ta Ceinture, trained by Dan Skelton, who finished runner-up in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, is already a short-priced favourite for the opening race on St. Patrick’s Thursday, the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. Two-time Festival winner, and defending champion, Wodhooh, trained by Gordon Elliott, likewise heads the market for the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle later same day.