Cheltenham Festival Favourites: Rating some of the big fancies

• Thumbs-up or thumbs-down ratings for four Graded favourites

• Old Park Star and Dinoblue fancied but it's a thumbs-down for Lulamba

• Wodhooh a confident choice should Lossiemouth go elsewhere

• Read Mike's verdict on the five 'big race' Cheltenham favourites

• Bet £10 get £10 every weekend up to Cheltenham

• Check out our 2026 Cheltenham Festival Mega Guide

• For the latest Betfair Racing odds click here

Old Park Star - Supreme Novices' Hurdle

Tuesday 10 March, 13:20
Live on ITV1 & ITVX

• Price at time of publication: 9/43.25
• NRNB Price: 2/13.00
• Trainer: Nicky Henderson
• Age: 6yo
• Form: 323-111

Verdict: 👍👍👍

Perhaps more by defaut than anything else, Old Park Star gets a decent thumbs-up rating to win the Supreme Novices' Hurdle as he's got a great chance of getting favourite backers off to the perfect start at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.

I haven't been blown away by him so far. The form of his Kempton win in November is nothing to shout about, beating his three market rivals - receiving weight from them all - by between three and six lengths, while the two novices he beat at Cheltenham in December - albeit winning easily - are still only rated no higher than 130.

But it's impossible to knock his Grade 2 success at Haydock in January where he thrashed the 136-rated Hurricane Pat by a wide margin, and it's likely that only a bit of improvement from that run - or even a reproduction - will see him being hard to beat at Cheltenham.

Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh by saying Old Park Star is the selection almost by default but I find it really hard to fancy any of the other British runners - Idaho Sun and Mydaddypaddy are rated upwards of 10lbs inferior for example - while two of his main market rivals have a recent fall to their name. True, both Talk The Talk and El Cairos have won since, but that latter was by just three lengths in a maiden hurdle, so he's easy to rule out.

Talk The Talk's victory was only by a short head, but it came in the Grade 1 novice hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival, and any winner of that race has to be respected for the Supreme, but the issue I have with him is that he's only 9/25.50, whereas the horse he beat by a tiny margin that day, Ballyfad, is 20/121.00. Ballyfad might have had a more advantageous trip around that day, but surely if you fancy Talk The Talk then the bet is Ballyfad each-way?

So that just leaves Mighty Park from the all-conquering Willie Mullins yard, and anything he sends to run in this race deserves huge respect. But although he has the potential to be a world beater judging by his 38L win in a maiden hurdle, he's had just one run over hurdles. Experience could count against him.

Lulamba - Arkle Chase

Tuesday 10 March, 14:00
Live on ITV1 & ITVX

• Price at time of publication: 7/42.75
• NRNB Price: 13/82.63
• Trainer: Nicky Henderson
• Age: 5yo
• Form: 1121-111

Verdict: 👎👎

It's only the fact that this year's Arkle Chase doesn't look to be a deep race that Lulamba gets a two thumbs-down rating. If it was shaping up to be a race with more runners and a few more strong rivals then I'd be dead against him.

Saying that, his main market rivals Kopek De Bordes and Kargese are no mugs and could easily beat him, and if Romeo Coolio makes the line-up then we'll have a cracking renewal on our hands.

On hurdles form, Kopek De Bordes was rated 5lbs higher than Lulamba and he was the antepost favourite for this race right up until suffering a minor injury setback that has resulted in him not seeing a racecourse since the middle of November. He put a disappointing chase debut behind him that day by winning a Beginners Chase in impressive fashion, despite pulling way too hard in the early stages.

You sense that a fast run Arkle will be right up Kopek De Bordes' street, and if it wasn't for his injury lay-off then I'd fancy him strongly to get the better of the favourite.

My concern with Lulamba is that I just can't get his latest victory out of my mind. True, he eventually won the Grade 2 Game Spirit going away, but he made a few jumping errors that day and was niggled along to keep in touch on more than one occassion. I don't see him getting away with a similar performance in a fast run Arkle and I'm happy to oppose him.

Wodhooh - Mares' Hurdle

Thursday 12 March, 15:20
Live on ITV1 & ITVX

• Price at time of publication: 11/102.11
• NRNB Price: 1/12.00
• Trainer: Gordon Elliott
• Age: 6yo
• Form: 11111-112-11

Verdict: 👍👍👍 (without Lossiemouth) 👎👎👎👎 (with Lossiemouth)

This is a relatively easy verdict for me because, although Wodhooh is the current favourite in the traditional antepost market, should Lossiemouth run in this race instead of the Champion Hurdle, then Wodhooh won't be favourite and I'd fancy her to get beat by Willie Mullins' star.

But without Lossiemouth, it's incredibly hard to see Wodhooh getting beat.

So yes, I'm effectively saying it's a two-horse race, as is the antepost market with Wodhooh at 11/102.11 and Lossiemouth at 7/42.75. Flick to the Non-Runner No Bet market, however, and it's 4/51.80 Lossiemouth and 1/12.00 Woodhoh, and I'm of the opinion that the former should be quite a bit shorter.

The two fantastic mares have only ever met once, in last season's Grade 1 Aintree Hurdle, and it was Lossiemouth who came out on top in relatively easy fashion, and being officially rated 5lbs higher than Woodhoh I'd fancy her to win if she went for the Mares' Hurdle, hence why I'd be dead against Gordon Elliott's runner.

But without Lossiemouth in the race, Wodhooh only really has Jade De Grugy (who also has an entry in the Mares' Chase) to beat. On a form line through Lossiemouth, Jade De Grugy would have a bit to find to get the better of the favourite, and the fact that she has been beaten at odds of 2/71.29 and 1/12.00 in two of her last three starts is off-putting.

Dinoblue - Mares' Chase

Friday 13 March, 15:20
Live on ITV1 & ITVX

• Price at time of publication: 7/42.75
• NRNB Price: 13/82.63
• Trainer: Willie Mullins
• Age: 9yo
• Form: 1944-122211-11223-24111-211

Verdict: 👍

Dinoblue gets a narrow verdict because of her consistency and the yard she represents, but this will likely be her toughest challenge of her career in what is shaping up to be an excellent renewal of the Mares' Chase.

The Willie Mullins-trained 9yo won this race comfortably 12 months ago but she has only been seen three times since, finishing second to Found A Fifty in a Grade 2 chase at Navan before winning a Grade 3 and a Listed contest at odds of 1/41.25 and 1/81.12 respectively. She won both races comfortably, but given she was long odds-on to do so we didn't really learn anything that we don't already know.

And what we know is that she's a top class mare officially rated 6lbs higher than her main market rival, Spindleberry, and upwards of 9lbs higher than the rest.

Spindleberry is also trained by Mullins, but it won't be the first time that he has more than one fancied runner in a race, so we should expect her to run, though she has to put behind her a recent pulled-up effort in the Irish Gold Cup.

Perhaps the biggest danger to Dinoblue will be Panic Attack, who has improved bundles this season. The Dan Skelton-trained 10yo was rated just 125 this time 12 months ago, but she is now up to 147 after winning the Paddy Power Gold Cup and the Coral Gold Cup this term.

But even though should could still improve further and play a big hand in this race, she's still some way off the level of form Dinoblue has produced so I have to stick with the favourite, but only just.

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