There are so many exciting subplots and storylines ahead of the 2027 Cheltenham Festival. Will Galopin Des Champs make it three successive Gold Cup wins? Will Constitution Hill return in the Champion Hurdle?
Join us as we preview the championship races at the 2027 Cheltenham Festival and discover some insights ahead of the first major racing festival on the calendar:
The Champion Hurdle 2027
Run over two miles and a half a furlong, the Champion Hurdle is the feature race on Champion Day of the Cheltenham Festival. State Man won the 2024 Champion Hurdle for Willie Mullins, while 25/1 shot Golden Ace romped home in 2025.
The New Lion, Lossiemouth, State Man, and Constitution Hill are among the favourites to go well in the 2026 Champion Hurdle.
The Queen Mother Champion Steeple Chase 2027
Captain Guinness for Henry de Bromhead was hugely impressive in his 2024 Champion Chase win, with ante-post odds of 17/2. He halted successive Champion Chase wins for Willie Mullins’ Energumene.
Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon was the 4/5 favourite for the 2025 Champion Chase, but he lost out to the impressive Marine Nationale, who ran home with ante-post odds of 5/1. Marine Nationale will again be among the favourites in 2026, alongside Sir Gino, Il Etait Temps, and Majborough.
The (Ryanair) Steeple Chase 2027
Protektorat at 17/2 won the Ryanair Chase in 2024 for the Dan Skelton stable. It was Skelton’s first win in the Chase, a race dominated by the Willie Mullins stable, with the legendary Irish trainer winning five of the nine races between 2016 and 2024. The 2023 winner and 2024 ante-post favourite Envoi Allen finished in second place.
Fact to File went off as the 6/4 favourite in 2025 and ran to victory, finishing ahead of Heart Wood and Envoi Allen. The same horse will be among the favourites in 2026, while Gaelic Warrior and Caldwell Potter are also fancied to go well.
The Stayers’ Hurdle 2027
Run on the New Course at Cheltenham, the Stayers’ Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt race and the leading hurdle event on the calendar with a £325,000 purse. 5/4 favourite Teahupoo under Jack Kennedy won in 2024, the second successive win for Gordon Elliott’s stable after Mark Walsh rode the 33/1 shot Sire Du Berlais to victory in 2023.
Bob Olinger surprised Teahupoo in 2025, finishing impressively to push the 2024 winner into second place. Teahupoo, Jasmin De Vaux, and Ballyburn are among the 2026 Stayers’ Hurdle favourites.
The Gold Cup Steeple Chase 2027
Many expect the 2026 Cheltenham Gold Cup to be a shoot-out between two-time winner Galopin Des Champs and 2025 winner Inothewayurthinkin.
Galopin Des Champs narrowly missed out on a famous three-in-a-row in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2025, but his strong second-placed finish showed his credentials.
Elsewhere in the ante-post market, Fact to File, Gaelic Warrior, and Fastorslow may impress in the festival’s biggest race.
