Cheltenham Festival Day 4 Tips 2026

Cheltenham Day 4 Race Schedule & What to Expect

1.20 The JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 179y

2.00 The William Hill County Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) 2m 179y

2.40 The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Grade 2) 2m4f 127y

3.20 The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m7f 213y

4.00 The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1) 3m2f 70y

4.40 The Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase 3m 2f 70y

5.20 The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle 2m4f 56y

The final day of the Cheltenham Festival has the same structure as last year with the fourth day having three Grade 1 races.

The day opens with the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle for juveniles before the competitive County Handicap Hurdle. Both races have been won the past two years by horses trained by Willie Mullins.

This year will be the sixth running of the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase and last year’s winner Dinoblue could provide Willie Mullins with a fourth victory in that time.

The Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle precedes the Grade 1 Cheltenham Gold Cup which remains the blue-riband of the entire national hunt season.

Run over the same course and distance as the Gold Cup, the Hunters’ Chase is restricted to amateur jockeys and it precedes the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle which is confined to conditional riders and has a rating ceiling of 145.

Cheltenham Day 4 Best Bets

Nap of the Day

Mares’ Chase- PANIC ATTACK 9/1 (1pt)

The previous two renewals of this race have looked weak contests and I am keen to take on Dinoblue at the top of the market. Panic Attack has won all four of her starts for Dan Skelton over fences including all three of her starts this season. She beat Vincenzo by four lengths in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at the track before following up in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury by 6 ½ lengths. Although she was expected to win at odds of 1/4 last time at Newbury in a listed Mares’ Chase, she impressed with her jumping once again and is worthy of her rating of 147. She has no question marks about the track, ground or trip and looks the bet of the day at current prices.

Best Each-Way Bet

Hunters Chase- ITS ON THE LINE 5/1 (0.5pt ew)

Its On The Line has finished 2nd in this race for the previous three season but unlike many of his rivals, he is still only nine-years-old. He was an impressive winner of the Champion Hunters Chase at Punchestown in May and he regained his crown when beating Willitgoahead by a length at Down Royal last time. He is expected to run once again at Naas at the start of February and will be much shorter if winning that race.

Banker

Triumph Hurdle- NARCISO HAS 7/2 (1pt)

Narciso Has joined Willie Mullins from France with a lofty reputation which was somewhat dented when only 2nd behind Mange Tout on his stable debut in the Grade 3 Juvenile Hurdle at Fairyhouse in November. The son of Doctor Dino was conceding race fitness to his rival that day before going one better at Leopardstown on Boxing Day when victorious by 11 lengths despite being the only horse up with the pace to finish strongly at the end of the race. He is a short priced favourite for the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival and he is expected to win that before giving Willie Mulins a fifth win in a row in the Triumph Hurdle.

Best Multiples (Double, Treble, Acca)

DOUBLE- Narciso Has (Triumph Hurdle) & Doctor Steinberg (Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle)

TREBLE- Narciso Has (Triumph Hurdle), Doctor Steinberg (Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle) & Galopin Des Champs (Gold Cup)

All three horses suggested for the multiples are all favourites for races at the Dublin Racing Festival. Now looks a good time to put these into a multiple as their odds will shorten drastically for their Cheltenham targets if successful.

Day 4 Offer Friendly Picks

Bookmakers offer a range of promotions during the Cheltenham Festival including free bets, money back specials and extra place races. They may also alter the timings for BOG (best odds guaranteed) and boost the odds of a specific horse which is often the favourite in the feature race of the day.

Cheltenham Day 4 Race by Race Tips

Triumph Hurdle- NARCISO HAS

Willie Mullins has won this race for the past four seasons and he currently dominates the market with the JP McManus owned pair Narciso Has and Proactif. Narciso Has won in France prior to finishing 2nd behind Mange Tout on his stable debut in a Grade 3 at Fairyhouse when conceding race fitness. He overcame a pace bias when winning by 11 lengths in the Grade 2 Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown at Christmas and looks a leading contender for the race.

Proactif won on his debut at Auteuil prior to beating his stablemate Macho Man at Fairyhouse on his stable debut in impressive style. Unbeaten trio Mange Tout, Maestro Conti and Minella Study are all worthy of respect with the two UK contenders both having the benefit of winning over this course and distance already.

County Handicap Hurdle- MURCIA

Entries for the handicaps at the Cheltenham Festival are on Tuesday 17th February but bookmakers are already offering betting on the races.

Live Conti caught the eye of many when he finished 3rd in a valuable handicap hurdle at Windsor at the Winter Million meeting and he remains off the same mark of 142. Based on that though then Murcia should still prove well handicapped off her current rating. She beat Live Conti in the Grade 1 Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree last season by six lengths and she currently has a rating of 142 in Ireland. The weights for the handicaps are announced on Tuesday 24th February and she will be of interest if she is off a similar rating for the festival. She has a similar profile to last year’s winner Kargese who won the race off a mark of 141 having finished 2nd in Grade 1s at both Cheltenham and Aintree the previous season.

Mares’ Chase- PANIC ATTACK

Dinoblue finished a close 2nd in this race in 2024 before winning by 8 ½ lengths last season. She was beaten by Found A Fifty on her reappearance but won back against her own sex last time at Fairyhouse. Willie Mullins also has another contender with Spindleberry who is unbeaten in her five starts fences including when beating the geldings in the Grade 1 WillowWarm Gold Cup last season.

Owners Robcour have both Only By Night and Kala Conti as potential runners in the race but the bigger danger is likely to come from Panic Attack who has won all three of her starts this season. The Dan Skelton trained ten-year-old won the Paddy Power Gold Cup by four lengths before following up in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury by 6 ½ lengths. She jumped impeccably winning a listed Mares’ Chase at Newbury last time and she has very little question marks heading into the contest.

Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle- DOCTOR STEINBERG

Willie Mullins has won this race a record four times including last season with Jasmin De Vaux. He has the likes of Doctor Steinberg, Espresso Milan, Doctor Du Mesnil, Sortudo and You Proof entered for this race and his leading contender is likely to be the winner of the Grade 1 Nathaniel Lacy & Partner Solicitors Novice Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival.

The form of Doctor Steinberg was boosted by Thedeviluno winning the Grade 2 River Don Novices’ Hurdle at Doncaster by five lengths and he beat the Paul Nolan trained seven-year-old by 4 ¾ lengths in the Grade 2 Navan Novice Hurdle in December.

Cheltenham Gold Cup- GALOPIN DES CHAMPS

Both 2023 and 2024 winner Galopin Des Champs and 2025 winner Inothewayurthinkin look set to run in the Irish Gold Cup at the Dublin Racing Festival where they are likely to face Welsh Grand National winner Haiti Couleurs and Savills Chase winner Affordale Fury.

It will be interesting to see how that form line compares to the King George VI Chase where The Jukebox Man beat Banbridge, Gaelic Warrior and Jango Baie. All four of those runners have previous festival form with the concluding three all winning various races and The Jukebox Man finishing 2nd in the 2024 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.

Galopin Des Champs looks likely to win the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown and should hold strong claims of emulating Kauto Star in regaining the Gold Cup.

Hunters’ Chase- ITS ON THE LINE

Its On The Line first ran in the Hunters’ Chase at the festival at the age of 6 back in 2023 when 2nd and he has finished runner-up for the next two seasons. He was beaten a neck by Wonderwall in the race last season before winning at the Punchestown Festival for a third season in a row on his next start. The nine-year-old beat Willitgoahead by a length at Down Royal on Boxing Day under regular rider Derek O’Connor and connections will be hoping that he goes one better than the previous three years.

Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle- BOWENSONFIRE

Entries for the handicaps at the Cheltenham Festival are on Tuesday 17th February but bookmakers are already offering betting on the races. Currently this is probably the trickiest race to have an antepost selection in with the majority of horses in the betting also having the option of the Coral Cup earlier in the week.

Gordon Elliott, who previously worked for Martin Pipe, has won the race for the previous two seasons including with Mares’ Hurdle Wodhooh last year. He has Bowensonfire as a potential runner this year who has a rating of 140 in Ireland following a victory at Leopardstown over Christmas. Owners KTDA Racing have never hidden the fact they want Cheltenham Festival winners and he was given a sighter of the course when 3rd in October.

If he gets a rating below 145 on Tuesday 24th February then I am sure he will be at the head of the market for this race in comparison to his current odds of 25/1.

Cheltenham Day 4 Market Tips

Here are the most popular bets and % of bets placed through Oddschecker in January 2026 for each race of Day 4 of the Cheltenham Festival

The JCB Triumph Hurdle: Narciso Has – 25%

The William Hill County Handicap Hurdle: Live Conti – 48%

The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase: Dinoblue – 25%

The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle: Doctor Steinburg – 19%

The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup: Galopin Des Champs – 18%

The Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase: Its On The Line – 24%

The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle: Roc Dino – 13%

Cheltenham Day 4 Trends

Triumph Hurdle Trends:

• 10 of the previous 12 winners had never run at Cheltenham previously

• 9 of the previous 12 winners had at least 2 previous runs over hurdles

• 9 of the previous 12 winners were trained in Ireland

• 8 of the previous 12 winners were rated 139 or higher

• 6 of the previous 12 winners won last time out

Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle Trends:

• 10 of the previous 12 winners were aged 6 or 7

• 10 of the previous 12 winners were rated 136 or higher

• 9 of the previous 12 winners had at least 3 runs over hurdles

• 5 of the previous 12 winners had already won a graded race

• 0 of the previous 12 winners were favourite

Gold Cup Trends:

• 12 of the previous 12 winners were aged between 7 and 9

• 12 of the previous 12 winners had already won a Grade 1

• 10 of the previous 12 winners were rated 164 or higher

• 9 of the previous 12 winners had at least 2 runs that season

• 8 of the previous 12 winners won last time out

• 8 of the previous 12 winners had won at Cheltenham

Tips for Betting on Cheltenham Day 4

Bookmakers tend to use a lot of advertising for new accounts on Day 1 of the festival but also use offers to try to lure customers into betting on the remaining three days. As a result they often try to promote specials on horses who hold obvious claims. The morning of the race is often the best time to back favourites with their ‘true price’ becoming apparent nearer the time of the race.

Markets for races later in the day can be affected by the results of the opening few races with liabilities from multiples rolling over onto related horses. Willie Mullins won the first three races last season and bookmakers will be wary of similar liabilities this year.

Best Markets by Race Type

The Mares’ Chase often has a small field with a short priced favourite. Bookmakers offer different markets for certain races such as match bets and betting ‘without the favourite’. Sometimes there is value to be had in these markets nearer the time if you are keen to back a horse but do not think it will likely beat the favourite in the race.

Generally in handicaps at the festival, bookmakers will offer enhanced place terms so they are often good races to back a horse each way in.

Each-Way Terms and Extra Places

It is worth using the oddschecker grids to check the place terms of races during the Cheltenham festival. Generally the typical place terms used by bookmakers are:

• 1-4 Runners: Win only (no places).

• 5-7 Runners: 1/4 odds for 2 places (1st & 2nd).

• 8+ Runners (Non-Handicap): 1/5 odds for 3 places (1st, 2nd, 3rd).

• 16+ Runners (Handicap): Often 1/4 odds for 4 places (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th).

However, during the Cheltenham festival bookmakers are likely to offer enhanced place terms. These could be still offering 3 places in a seven runner race or offering either 5 or 6 places in a competitive handicap. Bookmakers will sometimes not offer the BOG (best odds guaranteed) concession in these races though so it is important to use the oddschecker grid to check the best bookmaker to use.

Cheltenham Day 4 Tips FAQ

What races are on Cheltenham Day 4?

1.20 The JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 179y

2.00 The William Hill County Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) 2m 179y

2.40 The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Grade 2) 2m4f 127y

3.20 The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m7f 213y

4.00 The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1) 3m2f 70y

4.40 The St James's Place Festival Hunters’ Chase 3m2f 70y

5.20 The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle 2m4f 56y

What time is the first race on Friday?

1.20 The JCB Triumph Hurdle

Are there free bets for Cheltenham Day 4?

Bookmakers will be offering a range of welcome offers and existing offers for the Cheltenham festival. Check out this page nearer the time and those will be highlighted.

When should I place my Cheltenham Day 4 bets?

Currently you can bet on every race at the Cheltenham festival with antepost rules. This means that if your selection doesn’t run in the race then you will lose your stake. Bookmakers nearer the time will offer NRNB (no runner no bet) where horses will be at shorter odds but you would get your stake back if the horse doesn’t run in the race.

As fields reduce in numbers nearer the time, many horses will shorten in price as the probability of them winning will increase. However, markets on the day of the race become volatile and often the prices of horses will be bigger than the day before.

For more expert content across the week, visit our Cheltenham Festival tips page.