Cheltenham 2026 Mares Hurdle tips

Mar 6, 2026 - 19:30

The Mares’ Hurdle has been one of the most predictable races at the Cheltenham Festival in recent years, often dominated by a top-class mare from the Willie Mullins yard.

When a standout candidate turns up, the market tends to revolve around her and the result is usually fairly straightforward.

This year though the race has a slightly different feel to it because the participation of Lossiemouth is far from certain.

She sits prominently in the betting but still has the option of heading for the Champion Hurdle instead, which leaves punters in an awkward position when trying to assess the ante-post market.

If she does take her chance here she could prove hard to beat but connections are flirting with the idea of going for the Champion Hurdle and if that happens the Mares’ Hurdle suddenly opens up and several others could find themselves with a major opportunity.

Quick picks for the Mares’ Hurdle

WODHOOH – 10/11 with BoyleSports
FEET OF A DANCER – 10/1 with talkSPORT BET

Cheltenham 2.40 Mares’ Hurdle – Key stats and trends

Age

10 of the last 12 winners were aged between 5 and 7
2 of the last 12 winners were aged 9 or over
2 of the last 12 winners were aged 5

Price

5 of the last 12 winners were favourites or joint favourites
10 of the last 12 winners were in the top 3 in the betting
5 of the last 6 winners were favourites or joint favourites

Form

8 of the last 12 winners won on their last run before the Mares Hurdle
11 of the last 12 winners ran within the last 52 days
8 of the last 12 winners had at least 1 previous run at Cheltenham

Rating

9 of the last 12 winners had a rating of 148 or higher
3 of the last 3 winners were rated 155 or higher
2 of the last 6 winners were rated in the 140s

Other pointers

Willie Mullins has trained 10 of the last 16 winners
12 of the last 15 winners had won a Grade 1 or Grade 2 earlier in the season
9 of the last 11 winners had already won at Cheltenham

Mares’ Hurdle preview & tips

I have a feeling Lossiemouth could go down the Champion Hurdle route now and if she does that makes WODHOOH a confident selection. Gordon Elliott has been shouting from the rooftops about this mare claiming she is his ‘best chance’ of the Festival.

Obviously if Lossiemouth came here it would be race on but I still think I might side with Elliott’s mare as Lossiemouth had a hard race at the Dublin Racing Festival and that is far from ideal heading into this.

Wodhooh has won 9 from 10 now with her only defeat coming at the hands of Lossiemouth at Aintree last season.

She is 2-2 at this track and ran out a convincing winner on both starts this season so is difficult to pick holes in and the stable vibes are notably strong. She is a shade of odds-on now but could be a very short price on the day.

Each way angle?

I can see FEET OF A DANCER running a big race for Paul Nolan. This mare is really likeable and she bolted up on reappearance at Punchestown and then bumped into Wodhooh at Leopardstown. She has won since at Doncaster and seems better than ever.

She is versatile regarding the ground so won’t mind if it dries out and has Festival form having finished an excellent fourth to Doddiethegreat in the Pertemps last year. She’ll be ridden patiently and if they go too hard she should pick up the pieces and hit the frame.

My picks:

WODHOOH

Trainer: Gordon Elliott
Form: 7524-11111-112-11
Age: 6
Weight: 11-5

Bet on WODHOOH to win the Mares’ Hurdle at 10/11 with BoyleSports

FEET OF A DANCER

Trainer: Paul Nolan
Form: 1441110-131-33343-121
Age: 7
Weight: 11-5

Bet on FEET OF A DANCER to win the Mares’ Hurdle at 10/1 with talkSPORT BET

Last 12 winners of the Mares’ Hurdle

Year	Horse	Trainer	Jockey
2014	Quevega	Willie Mullins	Ruby Walsh
2015	Glens Melody	Willie Mullins	Ruby Walsh
2016	Vroum Vroum Mag	Willie Mullins	Ruby Walsh
2017	Apple’s Jade	Gordon Elliott	Bryan Cooper
2018	Benie Des Dieux	Willie Mullins	Ruby Walsh
2019	Roksana	Dan Skelton	Harry Skelton
2020	Honeysuckle	Henry De Bromhead	Rachael Blackmore
2021	Black Tears	Denise Foster	Jack Kennedy
2022	Marie’s Rock	Nicky Henderson	Nico De Boinville
2023	Honeysuckle	Henry De Bromhead	Rachael Blackmore
2024	Lossiemouth	Willie Mullins	Paul Townend
2025	Lossiemouth	Willie Mullins	Paul Townend

Cheltenham Festival 2026 news, tips and free bets:

About the author

Joe Norris

I’m Joe Norris, co-founder and Director of GetYourTipsOut (GYTO), which I launched in 2009 to provide daily sports betting tips, with the main focus on horse racing. Over the years, I’ve earned a reputation for offering reliable and profitable tips, which led to being named “Best Sports Betting Tipster” in 2023. Alongside my work at GYTO, I also contribute predictions to platforms like Oddschecker, allowing me to share my insights with a wide community of sports enthusiasts and bettors.

Find Joe on X: @JoeNorrisGYTO

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