Cheltenham Festival 2026: Champion Day

Coverage of day one of the Cheltenham Festival, including the Champion Hurdle.

The Prestbury Cup (the term given to the British versus Irish-trained winners tally) has been one-way traffic for Ireland pretty much since it was inaugurated, but the British arrive at Cheltenham this time with, on paper at least, one of their strongest squads in recent memory.

Champion Day could be the platform for a proper statement.

Whether the home side can truly push Ireland all the way to Friday afternoon remains open to discussion, but there’s genuine strength and depth this year, and the opening Supreme Novices’ Hurdle could set the tone.

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

Britain’s hopes rest largely on Old Park Star from Nicky Henderson’s powerful Seven Barrows yard.

The six-year-old is near the top of the market after an impressive win at Haydock, which saw him make it 3/3 over hurdles, and he arrives with the profile of a typical top-class Seven Barrows Festival novice.

However, the Irish challenge is formidable.

Mighty Park, Talk The Talk and El Cairos are all novices with huge potential and plenty of upside, while Mydaddypaddy adds further British representation but needs to bounce back after a surprise defeat at Aintree on Boxing Day.

Arkle Challenge Trophy

The Arkle presents another intriguing British-Irish clash.

Henderson’s Lulamba had been towards the fore of the market for much of the buildup and brings very solid credentials after making it 3/3 over fences in open company through success in the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury.

His biggest rival looks like Kopek Des Bordes, though the slight concern surrounding Kopek Des Bordes (the 2025 Supreme winner) is experience over the larger obstacles.

He had just one start in this sphere back in November and history suggests that doesn’t bode well, with only two horses managing to win the Arkle after just a single chase start.

Champion Hurdle

The New Lion is flying the flag for Britain in the Champion Hurdle against two of the best mares in Ireland.

He lost favouritism when Willie Mullins confirmed that Lossiemouth would run here instead of the Mares’ Hurdle, but remains unexposed and he can’t easily be written off as he perhaps hasn’t reached his ceiling.

While beaten in the Irish Champion Hurdle last time out, Lossiemouth is the one they all have to beat.

Brighterdaysahead is the other Irish danger, but has never won at Cheltenham in two previous starts.

Defending champion Golden Ace needs chaos to repeat last year’s heroics, while Paul Nicholls and Joe Tizzard have longshots in Tutti Quanti and Alexei.

Elswhere on the card

In the handicaps, Britain arguably hold the upper hand.

The Ultima Handicap Chase is dominated by home-trained runners, with the top seven in the betting all stemming from British yards, including stablemates Jagwar and Iroko (from the Oliver Greenall and and Josh Guerriero yard).

The Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle looks slightly more mixed.

The highly-regarded Saratoga is near the top of the market but several British-trained runners sit just behind, including the intriguing Winston Junior. He represents Faye Bramley and has the services of top Irish rider Jack Kennedy jocked up, a booking that catches the eye.

The concluding National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap rounds off the opening day, with Emmet Mullins’s Backmeorsackme currently leading the betting.

Britain, however, again has credible challengers, including Newton Tornado for Rebecca Curtis and Wade Out for the formidable trainer Olly Murphy and jockey Sean Bowen.

If Britain are going to make this year’s Prestbury Cup remotely interesting, Champion Day is where it needs to start.

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

The age trend is largely irrelevant this year, with only Eachtotheirown falling outside the dominant five to six bracket that has produced 11 of the last 12 winners.

More telling is the last-run record: ten of the last 12 winners won before coming here, which is notably bad news for Mydaddypaddy following his Aintree defeat.

Mighty Park raises concerns despite being fancied.

Nine of the last 12 winners had at least three hurdle wins, and 11 of 12 had at least two wins in the season, yet he has only one to his name on both counts.

Verdict: Talk The Talk. Irish-trained, won the Tattersalls Novice Hurdle last time out, rated 150 and three wins from four hurdle starts. He fits the mould comfortably.

Arkle Challenge Trophy

The Arkle’s trends paint a demanding picture.

The dominant age bracket of six to seven has produced 11 of the last 12 winners, which raises questions over Lulamba (five), Mambonumberfive (five) and Steel Ally (eight).

Steel Ally also stands out for never having run at Cheltenham, a concern given that ten of the last 12 winners had previous course experience.

Kopek Des Bordes has questions to answer too.

Just one chase run, against the 11 of 12 winners who had at least two.

Mambonumberfive, Kargese and Hansard all failed to win last time out, a record only two of the last 12 winners share.

Verdict: Lulamba. Age is the one blot, but he overcomes it comfortably elsewhere. Won last time, has a Cheltenham run under his belt, three wins from three chase starts, and Grade 1 and Grade 2 chase wins to his name.

Champion Hurdle

The Champion Hurdle trends are notable for what they reveal about the field's collective limitations.

No runner is rated 161 or higher, with Brighterdaysahead topping the field on 160, a rating below what nine of the last 12 winners carried, hinting at a weaker renewal.

Brighterdaysahead’s winless record at Cheltenham is a persistent flag, with eight of the last 12 winners having won at the track previously.

Lossiemouth’s defeat in the Irish Champion Hurdle dents her claims despite being well fancied, with 11 of the last 12 winners having won on their final prep run.

Poniros falls short on multiple counts.

He’s below the six to eight age bracket that accounts for 11 of 12 winners, has had only three hurdle runs against the 12-of-12 minimum of five and has had just one seasonal start against the 11-of-12 who had at least two runs in the season.

Verdict: The New Lion. Narrow call over Lossiemouth, but he won the Unibet Hurdle on Trials Day at Cheltenham, fits the age profile and benefits from the fact that nine of the last 12 have come from the top three in the betting.

With Lossiemouth having been beaten by Brighterdaysahead in the Irish Champion Hurdle, The New Lion holds a marginal edge on trends.