Road To Cheltenham's Three Best Bets & Bankers Of Cheltenham Festival

It’s four weeks out from Gold Cup day as I’m writing this and the nerves are beginning to mount as we enter a pivotal stage on the road to Cheltenham.

Scrolling through the Festival markets, you notice immediately that there are currently no odds-on chances and we could be in for a cracker of a week.

With the Cheltenham Preview Night circuit about to get underway, I’ve decided to look through the current prices in an attempt to rank the best bets for March.

So let’s get down to business, here are – as of 2.15pm on Friday 13th February 2026 – my best bets for the upcoming Cheltenham Festival.

HEART WOOD – Ryanair Chase (8/1, E/W)

Second in last year’s race, I’d have HEART WOOD as one of the main players in the 2026 Ryanair Chase. It doesn’t look the strongest race on paper and Henry de Bromhead is a genius at getting his horses primed to peak in March so I give him a cracking chance of running a massive race.

The obvious argument against my selection is that Willie Mullins is likely to run Fact To File or Gaelic Warrior here. And while that is bang on the money, you should never be afraid of one horse. If the Mullins runner misfires on the day, Heart Wood could be the main beneficiary to pick up the pieces.

With connections considering supplementing Fact To File for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, it sounds like Gaelic Warrior is the more likely opponent in the Ryanair. He has had three tough races this season and you’d have to wonder if there is a chance that those exertions take their toll.

Still available at a solid enough each way price, I’m expecting Darragh O'Keeffe to adopt a more aggressive approach in the saddle. He’ll likely be in touch with the leaders and it will surely pay dividends with a finish in the places at the very least if everything goes to plan throughout the race.

FAVORI DE CHAMPDOU – Cross Country Chase (9/2)

The vibes were strong around FAVORI DE CHAMPDOU ahead of his run in the Cross Country Chase on Trials Day in January and he bolted up, pulling clear of his rivals to win by over eight lengths. Trainer Gordon Elliott has an excellent record in the race but it has obviously changed since it became a handicap

Having said that, Stumptown’s victory off top weight last year proved that the cream can still rise to the top – particularly in this discipline. Favori De Champdou is in the form of

his life and he has clearly taken to the banks and he is arguably the class angle in the race, even when you factor the likes of Stumptown and Vanillier in.

It is yet to be seen what the BHA handicapper will do with Favori De Champdou after his Trials Day demolition job but it wouldn’t worry me too much. Jack Kennedy looked to have plenty in hand that day and I’d still be confident that he can get the job done even if he was running off top weight – which seems unlikely at this stage.

I’m sure if you asked Elliott for his top three chances of the week, then this lad would be amongst them. He has form behind the likes of Gaelic Warrior, Affordale Fury and Nick Rockett throughout his career and he could just be too good for his rivals. He’s still very much a fair price for me and I can see him going off a lot shorter come the day.

OLD PARK STAR – Supreme Novices Hurdle (15/8)

It may seem a tad foolish to put a novice hurdler up as the NAP of the meeting but I’m really struggling to pick holes in OLD PARK STAR for the Nicky Henderson team. The market often gets the Supreme right, with five of the last 12 winners going off favourite in the betting and I’d say he is a justified market leader on all known form.

Visually, he was hugely impressive at Cheltenham but you could question whether a few in-behind had run to form. However, he followed up with an equally impressive effort in the Grade 2 Rossington Main Novices Hurdle at Haydock Park and he is now clear at the top of the market with just over three weeks to go.

There are question marks over the Irish contenders, though I suppose Talk The Talk may well be a dual Grade 1 winner had he not fallen at Christmas. Meanwhile, El Cairos arrives off the back of a maiden hurdle success where he had another heart-in-mouth moment and Willie Mullins has little to offer in terms of Graded form.

Old Park Star has the best form in the field and his trainer knows how to prepare one for the Supreme, having won the race on five previous occasions. For me, he is very difficult to crab and I’m firmly expecting him to get the Seven Barrows handler off to a flyer in the opener.