Cheltenham Festival 2026: Willie Mullins Dominates as Ireland Edges Britain 15 - 13 in Prestbury Cup

The 2026 Cheltenham Festival, run from 10 – 13 March at Prestbury Park in Gloucestershire, drew connections from across Ireland, Britain, France and Wales and produced some of the most competitive racing in recent years, with Ireland ultimately edging the Anglo-Irish Prestbury Cup tally 15 winners to 13, the closest margin in several seasons.

A Festival for the Record Books

The four-day meeting’s outstanding story was the dominance of Irish trainer Willie Mullins, who completed a Champion Hurdle Gold Cup double through the same owners (Rich and Susannah Ricci) and the same jockey (Paul Townend). It is the first time since Dorothy Paget’s Solford and Roman Hackle in 1940 that a single owner has won both prizes at the same Festival.

Townend made history of his own, becoming the only jockey to have won the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup in the same week, though his Champion Chase success came aboard Il Etait Temps on Wednesday, not a single-day treble. His fifth Gold Cup victory also makes him the most successful jockey in the history of the race.

Champion Day (Tuesday, 10 March)

The Festival opened on Good to Soft ground. Nicky Henderson’s Old Park Star (15/8 favourite, Nico de Boinville) won the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in a British 1-2-3, beating Sober Glory and Mydaddypaddy. Willie Mullins then struck in the Singer Arkle Challenge Trophy with Kargese (7/1, Danny Mullins), who made all under a front-running ride to account for the more fancied Lulamba and Kopek Des Bordes.

Owner JP McManus celebrated his 75th birthday with a double: Saratoga (10/1, Mark Walsh) in the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle and Johnnywho (18/1, Richie McLernon) in the Ultima Handicap Chase. McLernon, returning from seven weeks on the sidelines following injury, gave a significant moment to the day.

The headline act was Lossiemouth (7/5 favourite), trained by Mullins and ridden by Townend, who claimed the Unibet Champion Hurdle by six and a half lengths from Brighterdaysahead, with The New Lion third. The win extended Lossiemouth’s unbeaten Cheltenham record to five from five, having previously won the Triumph Hurdle (2023) and the Mares’ Hurdle twice. The grey mare had been fitted with cheekpieces for the first time just ten days before the race on Mullins’ suggestion.

Henderson closed Champion Day with a second winner as Holloway Queen (12/1, James Bowen) won the National Hunt Steeplechase Challenge Cup, giving Bowen his first ever Cheltenham Festival winner.

Ladies’ Day (Wednesday, 11 March)

Wednesday saw Ladies’ Day reinstated after a seven-year hiatus. Willie Mullins took the first two Grade 1 contests: King Rasko Grey (Paul Townend) landed the Turners Novices’ Hurdle and Kitzbuhel (11/1, Harry Cobden) won the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase from the front under a masterful ride.

In the feature BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase, odds-on favourite Majborough, trained by Mullins and ridden by Mark Walsh, made a series of jumping errors after a slow start and was beaten. It was stablemate Il Etait Temps (7/1, Paul Townend) who proved the better on the day, winning by ten lengths from 50/1 shot Libberty Hunter. The race result was significant for demonstrating the vulnerability of a short-priced Mullins favourite and the depth of his team.

Naunton-based trainer Venetia Williams produced a 66/1 shock when Martator(Charlie Deutsch) won the Grand Annual Handicap Chase by a nose from last year’s winner Jazzy Matty, Williams’ first Festival winner since Master Oats won the Gold Cup in 1995.

Nineteen-year-old conditional Conor Stone-Walsh rode his first Cheltenham Festival winner on Final Orders (Gavin Cromwell) in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase, while James Bowen made it two Cheltenham winners in two days, steering Jingko Blue to a six-length success in the BetMGM Handicap Hurdle for Henderson.

St Patrick’s Thursday (Thursday, 12 March)

The third day was dominated by outsiders. White Noise (40/1, Tom Bellamy) opened the card for British trainers Kim Bailey and Mat Nicholls, winning the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, a first Festival winner for owner John Perriss, who has had horses with the yard for nearly 40 years, and a first Festival winner for Bellamy himself.

Home By The Lee (33/1, JJ Slevin), an 11-year-old trained by Joseph O’Brien, finally broke his Cheltenham duck at the fifth attempt in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle. Having finished sixth, fifth, third and unseated in previous Festival visits, the gelding rallied bravely on the run-in to beat Ballyburn by a length and a quarter, with last year’s winner Bob Olinger third. Heavily fancied Kabral Du Mathan (Dan Skelton) led over the last but weakened on the hill.

The Ryanair Chase saw the late withdrawal of odds-on favourite Fact To File (Mullins) open up the market. Heart Wood (9/2, Darragh O’Keeffe), trained by Henry de Bromhead, stepped up to the plate to win by ten lengths from Jonbon (Nicky Henderson/JP McManus), a result that extended Jonbon’s unfortunate record of Festival near-misses.

British trainer Ben Pauling saddled Meetmebythesea to win the Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase, and teenage amateur Shane Cotter, riding his first race in England, won the Kim Muir on Ask Brewster for trainer Cath Williams, producing one of the Festival’s most affecting moments.

Gold Cup Day (Friday, 13 March)

Day four opened with a 50/1 shock when Mullins’ Apolon De Charnie won the JCB Triumph Hurdle, continuing an unpredictable week for punters. Wilful (14/1) won the County Handicap Hurdle, Dinoblue (11/8 favourite, Gordon Elliott) was the one jolted favourite who obliged on the day, winning the Mares’ Chase.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup itself was won emphatically by Gaelic Warrior (11/4 joint-favourite, Paul Townend, Willie Mullins), who beat Jango Baie by eight lengths, with defending champion Inothewayurthinkin third. Haiti Couleurs (Rebecca Curtis, Wales) led for much of the race before fading from the fourth-last. The Jukebox Man, owned by former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, was prominent before eventually finishing eighth.

Winning time was 6m 39.02s, recorded as 10.98 seconds faster than expected on going described as Good to Soft. Gaelic Warrior, an eight-year-old, became only the second Arkle winner to go on to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the first being Alverton in 1979.

There was a tragic postscript. Former Festival superstar Envoi Allen, a 12-year-old by Denman and a three-time Festival winner, collapsed and died after completing the Gold Cup. He had been confirmed for retirement after the race. Saint Le Fort suffered a fatal fall in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, the fourth equine fatality across the four days. The British Horseracing Authority confirmed all incidents would be reviewed under standard fatality protocol.

Ireland won the final Prestbury Cup tally 15 – 13, decided by the very last race of the meeting, in which Henry de Bromhead’s Air Of Entitlement, the previous year’s Martin Pipe winner, took the conditional jockeys’ handicap hurdle.

Festival at a Glance

Cheltenham Festival 2026: Willie Mullins Dominates as Ireland Edges Britain 15 – 13 in Prestbury Cup

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