Below are the races scheduled for the festival over four days at Cheltenham Racecourse:
Tuesday: Cheltenham Champion Day
- Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 87y
- Arkle Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) 1m 7f 199y
- Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) 2m 87y
- Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) 3m 1f
- Champion Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 87y
- Plate Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) 2m 4f 44y
- Princess Royal National Hunt Novices’ Handicap Chase 3m 5f 201y
Wednesday: Ladies Day
- Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 5f
- Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) 3m 80y
- Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) 2m 5f
- Cross Country Handicap Chase 3m 6f 37y
- Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1) 1m 7f 199y
- Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) 1m 7f 199y
- Champion Bumper (Grade 1) 2m 87y
Thursday: St Patrick’s Thursday
- Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2) 2m 179y
- Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (Grade 2) 2m 4f 127y
- Mares’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 4f 213y
- Stayers’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 7f 213y
- Ryanair Chase (Grade 1) 2m 4f 127y
- Network Final Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) 2m 7f 113y
- Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase 3m 2f
Friday: Gold Cup Day
- Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 179y
- County Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) 2m 179y
- Mrs Mares’ Chase (Grade 2) 2m 4f 127y
- Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 7f 213y
- Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1) 3m 2f 70y
- Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase 3m 2f 70y
- Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle 2m 4f 56y
Major Race Previews: What Can We Expect in 2027?
Looking for an angle ahead of this year’s Cheltenham Festival? Here’s how the biggest races on the card might go:
2027 Champion Hurdle Preview
Lossiemouth heads into the 2027 Champion Hurdle as the one they all have to beat, following her brilliant six-and-a-half-length victory in the 2026 renewal. The Willie Mullins-trained mare swept aside Brighterdaysahead and The New Lion last March and remains the early ante-post favourite to defend her crown.
Gordon Elliott's Brighterdaysahead is expected to mount another challenge after finishing runner-up, while Dan Skelton's The New Lion will be aiming to bridge the gap after coming home third. With former champion Constitution Hill now retired to a Flat career, the division has a settled look at the top of the market heading into the new season.
2027 Queen Mother Champion Chase Preview
Il Etait Temps will bid to defend his crown in the 2027 Queen Mother Champion Chase after a dazzling display in the 2026 renewal, giving trainer Willie Mullins yet another day-two highlight. The win came as a surprise to some, with odds-on favourite Majborough undone by a poor round of jumping.
Majborough is expected to bounce back and will likely feature prominently in the ante-post market once again, while the two-mile chasing division promises plenty of fresh contenders as the season develops.
Elsewhere, 2025 winner Marine Nationale is heavily fancied again this year, and he will arrive at Cheltenham off consecutive second-placed finishes.
2027 Stayers’ Hurdle Preview
Home By The Lee provided trainer Joseph O'Brien and jockey JJ Slevin with a surprise victory in the 2026 Stayers' Hurdle, holding off Ballyburn by a length and a quarter. The veteran will look to defend his title in the 2027 renewal, though he is likely to face a stiff challenge from a deep staying division.
Ballyburn, beaten into second last time, heads the list of likely challengers, while the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle traditionally throws up plenty of fresh contenders from both sides of the Irish Sea as the festival approaches.
2027 Cheltenham Gold Cup Preview
Gaelic Warrior stormed to an eight-length victory in the 2026 Cheltenham Gold Cup, handing trainer Willie Mullins and jockey Paul Townend a historic blue riband triumph. The win gave Townend his record-breaking fifth Gold Cup as a jockey, eclipsing Pat Taaffe's long-standing record of four. For Mullins, it was a record-equalling fifth Gold Cup as a trainer, drawing him level with the great Tom Dreaper at the top of the all-time list.
The Closutton stable also pulled off a remarkable Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup double in the same week thanks to owners Rich and Susannah Ricci, whose Lossiemouth landed the Tuesday opener before Gaelic Warrior delivered on Friday. Gaelic Warrior heads the early ante-post market to defend his crown in 2027, with Mullins now chasing an outright record sixth Gold Cup and Townend chasing his sixth in succession.
Nicky Henderson's Jango Baie ran a huge race in second and is expected to return as a leading contender, while 2025 winner Inothewayurthinkin, third last time, remains a major player for trainer Gavin Cromwell. Ben Pauling's 2025 King George VI Chase winner The Jukebox Man also looks set to feature prominently in the betting after running below his best in 2026. With dual winner Galopin Des Champs sidelined for the rest of the 2025-26 season after a training setback, the staying chase division has a fresh look at the top heading into the new campaign.
2026 Cheltenham Festival Recap
The 2026 Cheltenham Festival ran from Tuesday 10 to Friday 13 March 2026, with the Willie Mullins stable producing eight winners across the four days to cap one of the most dominant Festival hauls in modern history. The Closutton operation now has 121 career Cheltenham Festival winners, the most of any National Hunt trainer in the sport's history.
The four Championship races produced some of the most memorable storylines of the modern era. Lossiemouth opened the Festival with a six-and-a-half-length romp in the Tuesday Champion Hurdle for Mullins and Townend, before Il Etait Temps stole the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday after odds-on favourite Majborough unravelled with poor jumping. Home By The Lee gave Joseph O'Brien and JJ Slevin a surprise win in the Thursday Stayers' Hurdle, holding off Ballyburn by a length and a quarter.
Friday's Gold Cup belonged to Gaelic Warrior, whose eight-length victory under Paul Townend gave the jockey a record-breaking fifth Gold Cup and joined Willie Mullins to Tom Dreaper at the top of the all-time trainer list with five Gold Cups apiece. The day was tinged with sadness after 2-time Festival winner Envoi Allen collapsed and died after finishing his eighth and final Festival run.
