CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL DAY 4 TIPS 2026

If the home team have struggled to make a telling impact on the first three days, the juvenile hurdling championship contest promises a strong start to the final card. Britain has the top two in the ante-post betting, and they present quite a contrast. Lulamba is favourite for Nicky Henderson (who has won the Triumph a record seven times) and has come from traditional jumping roots in France with a big reputation. The hype was justified to some extent by his hurdles debut win at Ascot but arguably he has still to prove he has as much substance as style. That is not the case for Flat recruit East India Dock, who has a much superior Racing Post Rating from his course-and-distance victory on Trials day. His trainer James Owen is at the opposite end of the experience scale to Henderson, having yet to taste festival success. Ireland’s best chance appears to be the Gavin Cromwelltrained Hello Neighbour, winner of the often significant Grade 1 juvenile hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival.

The 2026 County Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham (Day 4, 2:00 PM) is an ultra-competitive 2m 1f contest in which the top trainers, Dan Skelton and Willie Mullins, have dominated the winnings in the past years. This year they will face a close challenge again. Mucia, trained by the Irish legend Mullins, is the shortest in the market, while Sinnatra, trained by the British Dan Skelton, has key trends as a favourite. Other strong runners include Khrisma, from Nicky Henderson, and Roc Dino, also trained by Mullins.

Dinoblue and Spindleberry, both horses trained by Willie Mullins, are top contenders for the Mares Chase, the third meeting of the last day of Cheltenham Festival 2026. Dinoblue won last year and is listed to repeat his winning. But he will have to face the challenge of Diva Luna, Panic Attack, and, in particular, Only By Night, which caught the eye of the racing tipsters.

First run in 2005, the inaugural year of the four-day festival, the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle is run over 3m and is a championship event for staying novice hurdlers. Open to horses aged five and up, it's the second of three Grade 1 races contested on the New course on Friday. A test of stamina and toughness, it has a rich roll of honour, including Bobs Worth and Minella Indo, both of whom went on to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Galopin Des Champs has lost his air of invincibility, and this is the most open Gold Cup since Willie Mullins' superstar burst on the scene. You almost raised three hands to count the viable winner among the entries, and there's a wonderful split of the top talent between Britain and Ireland. Could we be the first British-trained winner since Native River in 2018? The teams associated with Grey Drawing, Haiti Couleurs, Jango Baie and The Jukebox Man would love to think so. Yet the cream of the Irish staying chasers, potentially headed by Fact To File and Gaelic Warrior, have plenty to recommend them as well.

There are regular long-priced winners and Wonderwall was unheralded last year in his ding-dong with Its On The Line, who ended up in the runner-up spot in this race for the third year in a row. Willitgoahead and the rarely seen Con’s Roc gave Its On The Line a good scrap at Down Royal at Christmas. Panda Boy, Golden Son and Wrappedupinmay have flourished in new disciplines, while Stattler was the 2022 National Hunt Chase winner. Barton Snow is unbeaten in British hunter chases.

Trainers love to end the festival with a flourish by pulling rabbits from a hat in the Martin Pipe. The authorities are trying their best to make it more difficult for them with these handicaps by increasing the number of qualifying runs, but a quick look at the heads of a market populated by Kel Histoire and Roc Dino suggests they may still be up against it. Mullins has fared less well in recent years than Elliott (who has myriad options), but he trains those two, and watch out also for his Jump Allen. From other yards, Air Of Entitlement delivered a finely timed run in the 2m1f Mares’ Novices' Hurdle last year, while A Pai De Nom grabs the eye for Skelton.