Cheltenham Festival

Cheltenham Festival 2026 – Day 4 Results (Friday 13th March)

Time	Race	1st Place (Winner)	2nd Place	3rd Place
13:20	Triumph Hurdle (G1)	Apolon De Charnie (50/1)	Maestro Conti (5/1)	Minella Study (7/1)
14:00	County Handicap Hurdle (G3)	Wilful (14/1)	Sticktotheplan (25/1)	Joyeuse (12/1)
14:40	Mares Chase (G1)	Dinoblue (11/8F)	Only by Night (11/1)	Panic Attack (11/4)
15:20	Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)	Johnnys Fury (20/1)	Fruit de Mer (28/1)	The Passing Wife (11/1)
16:00	Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (Grade 1)	Gaelic Warrior (11/4JF)	Jango Baie (11/4JF)	Inothewayurthinkin (11/1)
16:40	Princess Royal Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase	Barton Snow (9/2)	It’s On The Line (7/2F)	Music Drive (33/1)
17:20	Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle	Air of Entitlement (10/1)	Hot Fuss (25/1)	Jump Allen (8/1)

 

Cheltenham Festival 2026 – Day 3 Results (Thursday 12th March)

Time	Race	1st Place (Winner)	2nd Place	3rd Place
13:20	Ryanair Mares Novices Hurdle (G2)	White Noise (40/1)	Oldschool Outlaw (15/2)	Place De La Nation (28/1)
14:00	Jack Richards Novices’ Handicap Chase (G2)	Meetmebythesea (9/1)	Gold Dancer (25/1)	Regent’s Stroll (5/1F)
14:40	Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle (G1)	Wodhooh (5/6F)	Jade De Grugy (2/1)	Feet Of A Dancer (8/1)
15:20	Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle (G1)	Home By The Lee (33/1)	Ballyburn (11/2)	Bob Olinger (13/2)
16:00	Ryanair Chase (G1)	Heart Wood (9/2)	Jonbon (2/1F)	Banbridge (3/1)
16:40	Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle	Supremely West (10/3F)	Lavida Adiva (22/1)	Ikarak (40/1)
17:20	Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase	Ask Brewster (22/1)	Road to Home (9/1)	Monbeg Genius (18/1)

Cheltenham Festival 2026 – Day 2 Results (Wednesday 11th March)

Time	Race	1st Place (Winner)	2nd Place	3rd Place
13:20	Turners Novices’ Hurdle (G1)	King Rasko Grey (11/1)	Act Of Innocence (10/1)	Zeus Power (50/1)
14:00	Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (G1)	Kitzbuhel (11/1)	Final Demand (7/2)	Salver (25/1)
14:40	Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle	Jingko Blue (9/2F)	Franciscan Rock (50/1)	Storm Heart (5/1)
15:20	Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase	Final Orders (7/1)	Favori De Champdou (2/1F)	Vanillier (13/2)
16:00	BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (G1)	Il Etait Temps (5/2)	Libberty Hunter (50/1)	L’eau Du Sud (13/2)
16:40	Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase	Martator (66/1)	Jazzy Matty (12/1)	Break My Soul (10/1)
17:20	Weatherbys Champion Bumper (G1)	The Mourne Rambler (15/2)	Mets Ta Ceinture (14/1)	Bass Hunter (8/1)

Cheltenham Festival 2026 – Day 1 Results (Tuesday 10th March)

Time	Race	1st Place (Winner)	2nd Place	3rd Place
13:20	Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (G1)	Old Park Star (15/8F)	Sober Glory (9/2)	Mydaddypaddy (6/1)
14:00	Singer Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase (G1)	Kargese (7/1)	Kopek Des Bordes (11/8)	Lulamba (11/10F)
14:40	Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle	Saratoga (10/1)	Winston Junior (5/1)	Klycot (40/1)
15:20	Ultima Handicap Chase	Johnnywho (18/1)	Jagwar (3/1F)	Quebecois (10/1)
16:00	Unibet Champion Hurdle (G1)	Lossiemouth (7/5F)	Brighterdaysahead (7/2)	The New Lion (3/1)
16:40	Festival Plate Handicap Chase	Madara (3/1F)	Will The Wise (10/1)	Moon D’Orange (25/1)
17:20	National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup	Holloway Queen (12/1)	King Of Answers (22/1)	One Big Bang (11/1)

Highlights:

Old Park Star (15/8F) winning the opening Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, after being heavily backed by punters.

Lossiemouth (7/5F) dominating the feature Champion Hurdle, winning by over six lengths

With the four-day racing spectacular now underway at the iconic Cheltenham Racecourse, thousands of fans will be keeping an eye out not only for the runners and riders but also for the famous faces in the stands.

It could be football legends or pop stars, through to royalty and Hollywood actors, the list of Cheltenham Festival celebrities continues to grow every year.

 

Many famous faces come for the atmosphere; however, some have a lot more riding on the results, owning or part-owning horses competing during the week.

 

The team at Racing TV has collated some of the biggest celebrity owners and regular VIP attendees expected to draw attention during this year’s Festival.

Football legends with horses in the running

Former England striker Michael Owen is one of the best-known sporting figures involved in racing. After retiring from football, Owen founded the Michael Owen Racing Club in 2007, running a training establishment from converted stables at his home in Cheshire.

 

Another familiar football figure hoping for success at Prestbury Park is former manager Harry Redknapp.

 

Redknapp owns eight-year-old bay gelding The Jukebox Man, which he believes has a “serious chance” in the Festival’s most prestigious race, the Gold Cup, which takes place on Friday.

 

The horse heads to Cheltenham in strong form after storming to victory in the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park Racecourse on Boxing Day 2025.

 

Speaking ahead of the Festival, Redknapp said: “It’s a dream to have a horse to run in the Gold Cup and go there with a chance. I’m not saying we’re going to win it, but we’ve got a serious horse. It’s an open race, and I think we’ve got as good a chance as anything.”

Sir Alex Ferguson’s Festival contenders

Another football heavyweight with runners at Cheltenham is Alex Ferguson, the legendary former Manchester United boss.

 

Ferguson is a passionate racehorse owner with more than 30 horses in training.

 

One of his leading hopes for 2026, Live Conti, was ruled out after suffering a tendon injury last month. However, he still has strong chances elsewhere during the Festival, with Caldwell Potter entered in the Novices’ Handicap Chase and Protektorat among the contenders for the Ryanair Chase.

Spice Girl hoping for better luck

Pop royalty will also be represented at Cheltenham this year.

 

Former Geri Halliwell, also known as Ginger Spice, and her husband Christian Horner are the owners of Lift Me Up, a 10-year-old bay gelding.

 

For the second year running, the horse is set to run in the St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase on the Friday of race week.

 

Last year, the horse finished 13th out of 24 runners when ridden by jockey Jack Andrews, and connections will be hoping for a stronger showing this time around.

Celebrity racing syndicates and famous faces at Cheltenham

For those who don’t want the full cost of owning a racehorse outright, syndicates offer a popular alternative.

 

One of the best-known is Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, which has attracted famous members, including Elizabeth Hurley, who once sold her horse, Memory, to Queen Elizabeth II for breeding. Other celebrity members have included Hugh Bonneville and chef Heston Blumenthal.

 

But not every star at Cheltenham owns a runner. The Festival regularly attracts A-list spectators, including Zara Tindall and Mike Tindall, while Anne, Princess Royal and Camilla, Queen Consort have also attended in previous years.

 

Celebrities from fashion, film, and TV are often spotted around the racecourse too, including designer Jade Holland Cooper and Julian Dunkerton, as well as actors Idris Elba, Jamie Dornan, and Emilia Fox. Singers such as Lily Allen and stars including Luke Evans have also been seen enjoying the action.

 

TV favourites like Nick Knowles and Kirsty Gallacher are regulars too, while sporting stars including Amy Williams, Sam Quek and Victoria Pendleton have all joined the crowd in recent years.

 

With tennis legend Andy Murray and England cricketer Jonny Bairstow also among previous attendees, racegoers will be keeping an eye on the VIP boxes as well as the finishing line during one of Britain’s biggest sporting events.

The 2026 Cheltenham Festival is undoubtedly one the highlights of the annual sporting calendar in the United Kingdom.

Reputable horse racing betting sites in the UK will be inundated with wagers throughout the prestigious four-day National Hunt meeting.

The wagering experts on the BettingTop10 sportsbook comparison platform will offer punters in-depth analysis of all the big races.

They include the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday, March 13, which is widely recognised as the headline race by horse racing fans.

With that in mind, read on as we look at the latest betting before assessing some of the main contenders for the big event.

Cheltenham Festival 2026 – Gold Cup Betting

• Fact To File – 4/1
• Jango Baie – 11/2
• Gaelic Warrior – 11/2
• The Jukebox Man – 11/2
• Inothewayurthinkin – 7/1
• Haiti Couleurs – 8/1
• Grey Dawning – 14/1
• Spillane’s Tower – 14/1
• Impaire Et Passe – 25/1
• I Am Maximus – 25/1
• Banbridge – 25/1
• Grangeclare West – 33/1
• Envoi Allen – 33/1
• Nick Rockett – 33/1
• Affordale Fury – 33/1
• Spindleberry – 33/1
• L’Homme Presse – 40/1
• Fastorslow – 40/1
• Monty’s Star – 50/1
• Firefox – 50/1
• Lecky Watson – 66/1
• Stellar Story – 66/1
• Heart Wood – 66/1
• Handstands – 66/1
• Resplendent Grey – 66/1
• Gold Tweet – 100/1
• Three Card Brag – 100/1
• Myretown – 100/1

Cheltenham Festival 2026 – Gold Cup Preview

This year’s Gold Cup is wide open, with numerous horses holding a genuine chance of adding their name to the roll of honour.

Online bookmakers rate Fact To File as the favourite to win the race following his eye-catching victory in the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown last month.

He has won at the past two festivals, but many respected pundits believe he will struggle to stay the extra two furlongs at Cheltenham.

Trainer Willie Mullins has several other fancied runners in the race including Gaelic Warrior, who was second Fact To File on his last outing. However, his stamina has also been questioned.

The UK challenge is headed by Jango Baie, who was unlucky to finish fourth in the King Geroge VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.

Nicky Henderson’s talented seven-year-old will be better suited by the stiff track at Cheltenham and he could be the value bet in a tricky race.

The Jukebox Man and Haiti Couleurs are amongst the other horses which have been well supported by sports bettors in the ante-post market.

While The Jukebox Man has yet to prove he will stay 3m 2f, Denman Chase winner Haiti Couleurs is a relentless galloper who possesses a ton of stamina.

Punters looking for each-way value in the race would be well advised to consider Grey Dawning, who was an easy winner of the Betfair Chase earlier in the season.

The nine-year-old finished third in the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham in January, but trainer Dan Skelton believes he will improve for that run in the Gold Cup.

“He is in the form of his life – he has never ever been better and probably never will be better,” Skelton said. “Next year he’ll be a year older and this is this horse the best you will ever see him.

“We want a nice, clear round and a bit of luck. Where he finishes, he finishes. We can presume with the quality field that this is there’s going to be half a dozen or more in contention turning in – and if you’re behind that half a dozen, it’s going to be harder than if you’re in among them.

“It’s going to be a very tight Gold Cup. Everyone is going to ride tight and it’s going to be as competitive a Gold Cup as you’ve ever seen, I think.

“You can’t let the front-runners off because they’re too good – you have to go with them. It’s going to be a real hard race – there will be no quarter asked and certainly none given.

“Grey Dawning has to display a different skillset – he has to display everything he’s got and probably more – but he’s in the best shape of his life to do that.”

Cheltenham has never represented an arena for comfortable victories. One may arrive in impeccable condition, with a reputation honed to perfection by months of winter racing, and still find that Prestbury Park poses questions which no other racecourse quite manages to match. Trainers are aware of this. Jockeys are aware of this. Anyone who has stood by the rail and watched the runners turn for home understands this instinctively.

The Festival is where confidence begins to wobble.

In Britain and Ireland, the jump season moves gradually through cold afternoons and muddy tracks. Horses win races, reputations are forged, and by late February, certain names are beginning to appear in the preview pieces.

Then the horses arrive at Cheltenham.

A Course That Refuses to Cooperate

The track itself is deceiving. On television, it looks simple enough – a wide expanse of grass, with the Cotswold hills rising away behind. In reality, the hills are more apparent. Horses run down a steep hill to meet a fence, and then pull themselves up again for the long climb to the winning post.

The final hill has a special reputation. The climb is not arduous, yet it happens at an inconvenient time. Horses that have run the course and the first two miles with no trouble at all appear to struggle halfway up this climb. The jockeys look about to see if anything untoward is amiss. If the race is to deteriorate, it will be at this time.

The Noise Before the Race

The mornings at Cheltenham are characterized by a particular tension. By the time the first race starts, the stands are packed, and the air is electric with anticipation. There are whispers among the spectators: speculations about the track, speculations about the claims made by the jockeys, speculations about the Irish. Then the tape is raised, and the noise begins.

It is not the kind of applause that is polite. It is the kind of noise that builds up and surrounds the track, seeming to go along with the horses as they go down the hill to the first fence. Even the most seasoned trainers admit that the din has the effect of raising the heart rate. It can be a bit overwhelming for the uninitiated. For racing people it signals that the real test has begun.

Favourites Under Pressure

Being favourite at Cheltenham is not a comfortable position.

The Festival gathers the strongest horses from across the jumping world. A runner who looked dominant in January may suddenly find three rivals travelling just as well turning for home. Small errors become costly. A slightly slow jump can surrender two lengths instantly.

The crowd senses it when a favourite is vulnerable. There is a shift in mood, a collective awareness that something unexpected might be about to unfold.

That uncertainty is part of the attraction.

Outsiders Waiting Their Turn

Every Festival produces at least one result that disrupts the script. A lightly raced novice improves dramatically. A horse that had shown only glimpses of promise suddenly finds rhythm over the Cheltenham fences.

The explanations arrive afterwards. Perhaps the ground suited better than expected. Perhaps the pace of the race collapsed at the right moment.

Sometimes the truth is simpler. Cheltenham rewards bravery.

Watching the Market

In the days before the meeting begins, analysts examine every scrap of information. Gallop reports circulate quietly between stables. Weather forecasts are checked obsessively. A shift in the wind across the Cotswolds can change the going within hours.

Punters follow these signals carefully and movements in the cheltenham odds often mirror that nervous search for certainty as opinions harden or soften in response to new whispers from the gallops.

But the Festival has a habit of ignoring predictions.

The Turn for Home

Stand beside the final fence late in the afternoon and you begin to understand why Cheltenham produces such vivid racing. Horses arrive there tired but still competitive. Jockeys ride with urgency now, hands pushing low on the neck.

Some horses respond instantly. Others falter.

When the leaders begin the climb to the finish the crowd leans forward almost as one. There is something elemental about the moment. Hooves striking turf. A rider driving for one last effort. A rival appeared suddenly on the outside.

Statistics fade into the background.

Why the Festival Endures

The appeal of Cheltenham is not simply the quality of racing. It is the sense that reputations are genuinely at risk.

A champion can confirm greatness in front of the loudest crowd jump racing ever gathers. A heavily backed favourite can be exposed by the hill and the relentless pace of Festival competition.

Regardless of the order of events, the outcome becomes part of the collective memory of the race. Long after the stands are cleared and the horses are walked back to their stalls, fans will continue to discuss what took place on the final climb. This is the power of Cheltenham.

It remains the place where champions rise and favourites sometimes discover that the hill has other ideas.

Willie Mullins, Henry De Bromhead and Barry Connell have shared the spoils across the last three renewals of the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, continuing a recent trend of Irish dominance in the race that opens the Cheltenham Festival.

For those following horse racing today, however, the question on everyone’s lips is whether Britain can break that sequence in 2026. Nicky Henderson’s Old Park Star heads the market and is the one to beat as connections look to wrestle the title back across the Irish Sea.

Here are the last five British-trained horses to win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

Constitution Hill (2022)

If you were to sit down and design the perfect Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner, you might just end up with Constitution Hill. Nicky Henderson’s five-year-old did not merely win the race; he redefined what was possible in it.

Sent off a joint-favourite under Nico de Boinville, Constitution Hill surged clear of the field with a devastating turn of foot up the Cheltenham hill, passing the post 22 lengths ahead of his stablemate Jonbon and smashing the course record in the process.

His official rating of 170 was the highest awarded to a novice hurdler since Anglo-Irish Classifications began. The performance drew comparisons to Golden Cygnet’s legendary 1978 triumph and left Henderson, rarely short of superlatives at the Festival, searching for words.

Constitution Hill went on to win the Champion Hurdle the following year, and a run of 10 straight victories, confirming what the 2022 Supreme had suggested: that something quite extraordinary had been unleashed on the hurdling world.

Shishkin (2020)

The 2020 Supreme took place behind closed doors, but Shishkin’s performance was one that deserved a full house. Also trained by Henderson and ridden by De Boinville, the six-year-old showed a level of class on the day that immediately marked him out as a future star.

He was not always straightforward. But Shishkin possessed an abundance of natural talent that more than made up for the occasional quirk. He went on to become one of the most popular horses in training during his chasing career, his rivalry with Energumene producing some of the great two-mile chasing contests of recent years.

Tragically, Shishkin suffered a fatal accident at Seven Barrows, the Henderson yard where he had thrived, leaving a gaping hole in the sport and in the hearts of racing fans who had followed his every step.

Summerville Boy (2018)

Tom George had waited 16 years between Festival winners when Summerville Boy lined up for the 2018 Supreme. His first had been Galileo, successful in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle back in 2002, and the Gloucestershire trainer was not about to let a second opportunity slip.

Ridden by Noel Fehily at 9/1, Summerville Boy produced one of the gutsiest performances the Supreme has seen, overcoming two serious jumping errors in the closing stages, including a dramatic blunder at the penultimate flight that looked to have ended his chances, to collar Kalashnikov on the run-in and win by a neck.

Fehily later reflected that the horse would have won by considerably further with a clean round. It was a victory that spoke to Summerville Boy’s exceptional engine and relentless galloping style, qualities that had already seen him beat the same rival four lengths in the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown.

Altior (2016)

Few horses in recent jump racing history have carried the aura that Altior did, and it all began in the 2016 Supreme. Another trained by Henderson and ridden by De Boinville, Altior defeated a field that included the subsequent Champion Hurdle winner Min and Buveur D’Air, a renewal of remarkable depth.

He was already the subject of enormous anticipation heading into that Festival, and he justified every syllable of it. What followed his Supreme triumph was one of the most relentless unbeaten runs the sport has ever witnessed, stretching across hurdles and fences alike.

A dual Champion Chase winner, multiple Grade 1 victor, and the horse who arguably did more than any other to set the standard for excellence over two miles in the 2010s, Altior’s story started, appropriately, with the Cheltenham Roar.

Cinders And Ashes (2012)

The fifth and final entry on this list belongs to Cinders And Ashes, who gave trainer Donald McCain and jockey Jason Maguire a memorable Supreme success in 2012. McCain, son of the legendary Ginger McCain, was continuing a proud family tradition of Festival success, and Cinders And Ashes delivered on the day in fine style.