Cheltenham Festival 2026: That’s A Wrap - Who's Our Winner!

With the curtain closed on Cheltenham for another year, we take a look at some of the best selections from our team and who took home those all-important bragging rights.

And our WINNER is our Racing Manager, Juan! With 6 winners, and 7 placed it was just 3 points that took him in front of the team. His analysis approach certainly worked out for him but the whole team had some exciting results throughout the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.

Best Results

The first standout result came in the final race of Day 1. Mike and Abby selected the Nicky Henderson-trained Holloway Queen at 12/1. It was a first Festival winner for jockey James Bowen, and she never looked in danger, pulling clear in the final stages. Both Mike and Abby were convinced by her younger age, and she will certainly be a horse to stay on the right side of next season as she progresses.

Day 2 saw Juan’s pick, Jingko Blue, in the BetMGM Cup Handicap Hurdle take home first prize. Backed strongly throughout the day into 9/2 favouritism from an initial pre-Festival price of 16/1, James Bowen and Nicky Henderson picked up where they left off, winning going away from their rivals as they hit the line. Juan’s analysis hit the nail on the head: “Stay within striking distance turning for home — the demanding finish at Cheltenham could allow him to keep finding when others begin to tire.”

Day 3 was quite the day for Claire, with both Meetmebythesea (also selected by Mike) and Home By The Lee taking home the spoils. The Ben Pauling-trained Meetmebythesea was another comfortable winner, with Claire’s father — ex-Chelsea and England footballer Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris — confident of a big run when tipping the horse to Claire.

“Lee” is a family name, and sometimes the simplest logic is the most appealing when picking a horse. Claire and her father demonstrated that perfectly with their selection in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle, Home By The Lee. The most consistent horse in a race can be hard to beat, and with Ballyburn finding trouble in running and Kabrul Du Mathan weakening after hitting the front (later found to have lost his right-fore shoe), Joseph O’Brien tasted Grade 1 success.

Gold Cup Day saw Claire show her knack for finding big-priced winners once more with Johnny’s Jury. Jamie Snowden and Gavin Sheehan teamed up with the 20/1 shot, who produced a never-say-die performance. As they approached the second-last, he took it up and ran on strongly to the line. Claire took full credit here, going against her father’s initial selection while also producing her own analysis: “I believe this horse will stay the trip well and could grind his way into contention late in the race.”

We fittingly end with the 28th and final race of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, the Martin Pipe and Abby’s vibes-based approach. Her selection, Air Of Entitlement (10/1), picked purely because she loved the silk colours, managed to get back on track when it mattered most. Despite hanging left at what looked a crucial stage, the horse stayed on well in the final stages — continuing the theme of many winners this year.

Juan walks away the outright winner, but with Mike’s competitiveness, Claire’s big-priced successes breeding confidence, and Abby’s carefree vibes-based approach, the talk has already turned to a rematch sooner rather than later!