Road to Cheltenham is back with a bang! He's given us five ante-post tips for the 2026 Festival ahead of the jumps season opener this weekend.
Cheltenham Festival 2026
I’m delighted to be back writing for Oddschecker in the 2025/26 jumps season and what better way to kick things off than with five antepost selections for next year’s Cheltenham Festival?
With the jumps season kicking off this weekend, I’ve had a look at the current state of the antepost market in a bid to find a winner or two in March. It’s getting harder to find value but there are one or two Festival horses that look far too big in the betting.
The first thing you’ll notice when reading below is that there are three Willie Mullins horses among my early selections. That is because the Closutton master has won 26 of the 56 Grade 1 races held at the Festival over the past four years – a strike rate of 46%.
Mullins is a master of his craft and he has an impeccable record at jumps racing’s premier meeting. He equalled his own record of 10 winners at a single Festival in 2025 and he’ll be hoping for double digits again next March.
Without further ado, it’s time to get stuck into each selection and the reasoning behind my thinking. Here’s to hoping we are sitting on some nice prices for the Festival in five months’ time.
Bet 1: Mydaddypaddy - Supreme Novices' Hurdle (25/1) - 1pt Win
25/1 available with bet365 at the time of writing - 10:30am Thursday 9th October
The first horse on my list is not trained by Willie Mullins and that is the Dan Skelton-trained Mydaddypaddy. He won in the manner of a very good horse at Huntingdon in March and that performance may have gone slightly under the radar given the focus on Cheltenham at that time of the year.
Reportedly a very flashy type at home, he has been a bit of a talking horse over the past few weeks but I’m buying into the hype. He looks the real deal, he’s by Walk In The Park, the dam was an eight-time winner under rules, and he certainly passed the eye test on debut. It was a very taking performance indeed.
The form of that Huntingdon bumper is poor to say the least. The second has been off the track since but the third, fourth and fifth horses now boast a combined record of 0-13 under rules. Having said that, Mydaddypaddy won with any amount in hand so he is well and truly in the ‘could be anything’ bracket.
Dan Skelton has shown that he can win Festival Grade 1s over the past couple of years; with Grey Dawning, Protektorat and The New Lion winning on the big stage. It sounds like connections are very much thinking of the Supreme Novices Hurdle for him and he could be a single figure price if everything goes to plan between now and March.
Bet 2: Anzadam - Champion Hurdle (16/1) - 1pt Win
16/1 Available with bet365, betway, and BetVictor at the time of publishing.
With news filtering through on Wednesday afternoon that Anzadam could travel over for the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle, time is of the essence to back him for the Champion Hurdle. He’s been the subject of market support following a flurry of quotes from trainer Willie Mullins, with the Closutton handler confirming that he will stay over hurdles.
Unbeaten in four starts over hurdles, including two in France, this Authorized gelding has bags of untapped potential and he could be the next big name in the division. While he probably has the scope to go over fences, he is fragile enough and Mullins usually keeps those types over the smaller obstacles.
I was at Fairyhouse when he won the Grade 3 Willow Warm Hurdle last November and he was hugely impressive. Paul Townend was impressed with his mount, making several positive remarks in his post-race interview. Maybe I read a little too much into that but I’m always willing to mark up a performance if the jockey was pleasantly surprised.
The Champion Hurdle division looks wide open and Anzadam could flourish into the top contender housed at Closutton. State Man holds that title right now, but we could be in for a changing of the guard come March. It’ll be interesting to see if the two clash at the Dublin Racing Festival in February as we will (hopefully) learn a lot more.
Majborough - Queen Mother Champion Chase (8/1) - 1pt Win
8/1 Available with bet365 at the time of publishing.
Plenty have crabbed Majborough’s jumping but I must admit – I find that view slightly unfair. Admittedly he could be much slicker but you don’t have to jump like a veteran handicapper to win when you have an engine like this lad. When you’re this talented, you can get away with a mistake… even at Cheltenham.
“He didn’t get away with it in the Arkle”, the critics respond. That’s right, he didn’t but he made a series of jumping errors on the day yet finished less than a length behind dual Grade 1 winner Jango Baie. The most reliable horse on the day won while the most talented prospect had to settle for third.
William Hill
- Solid in-play betting service
- Cash-in option to help increase profitability
- Excellent reputation within the UK betting-industry
He silenced some doubters by getting back to winning ways at Punchestown – and he did so emphatically. Ironically, he jumped out to his left on several occasions but it had no impact on the outcome as Majborough claimed his third Grade 1, bolting up to beat Only By Night by 14 lengths.
I have doubts over whether Sir Gino will be the same horse so I’m looking at the Queen Mother Champion Chase market with him crossed off my list. Marine Nationale sets the standard and he could well secure his third Festival victory next March but Majborough is only a 5-yo and he’ll hopefully have matured into his frame after another summer.
Bet 4: Heart Wood - Ryanair Chase (40/1) - 0.5pts Each-Way
40/1 Available with Unibet, BetMGM, and Virgin Bet at the time of publishing.
How is Heart Wood a 40/1 shot for the Ryanair Chase? Finishing nine lengths behind Fact To File in this year’s renewal, he was clearly the best of the rest – with the Choeur Du Nord gelding finishing over eight lengths ahead of stablemate and nine-time Grade 1 winner Envoi Allen.
Let’s be honest: he won’t be reversing form with Fact To File if JP McManus decides to send his mount in pursuit of back-to-back Ryanair Chase victories. However, it’ll be intriguing to see if they have another go at Galopin Des Champs, a 9-yo turning 10 in January, over three miles at Leopardstown at Christmas or in the Irish Gold Cup.
Yet to finish outside of the first two in three starts with Darragh O’Keeffe in the saddle, I will be keeping a close eye on his progress this season. He’s rated 163 over fences so handicaps are out of the question and I expect Henry de Bromhead to train him with the sole intention of peaking on one day. And he’s bloody brilliant at doing that.
A return to Cheltenham in March seems the logical plan. He doesn’t look like he wants the Gold Cup trip while he’d lack the tactical speed for a Champion Chase so his target looks obvious enough. With that in mind, he’s a must play at his current price in the antepost market.
Bet 5: Gaelic Warrior - Cheltenham Gold Cup (16/1) - 0.5pts Each-Way
16/1 Available with bet365, BetMGM, and Virgin Bet at the time of publishing.
Last but certainly not least, I have a selection in the big one – and I really like Gaelic Warrior’s chances of giving Willie Mullins a fifth Cheltenham Gold Cup triumph in the past eight years. He will be popular in betting markets for the King George VI Chase after stable tour comments this week but it’s the Gold Cup I’m excited for.
Gaelic Warrior is unbeaten in three starts over 2m7f or further and he was only getting going when pulling six lengths clear of Appreciate It over 2m6f at Sandown in April. He was given a fantastic ride by Patrick Mullins at Aintree in April and he’s proven that he goes on any ground – in fact, better ground over a trip seems to suit him best of all.
Paul Townend may find it difficult to get off Galopin Des Champs but the landscape of the division may have changed significantly by March. If Gaelic Warrior heads to the Festival as a King George winner, and then something like a Cotswold Chase winner, he may be tempted to side with the younger, more progressive horse.
He clearly wants a trip these days while most would agree with the view that he doesn’t act around Leopardstown. He is just 1-4 at that track and he certainly doesn’t want to be running over two miles there. For me, he ticks plenty of boxes for a modern-day Gold Cup and I’ve backed him accordingly for jumps racing’s blue riband race.
