Nicky Henderson Cheltenham winner predictions for 2026

Mar 1, 2026 - 09:00

Four decades after training his first Cheltenham Festival winner, Nicky Henderson returns to Prestbury Park to lead the English charge.

Henderson, 75, is the second most successful trainer in Cheltenham Festival history having saddled 75 winners – second only to Willie Mullins (113) in total victories.

The Seven Barrows handler is synonymous with Cheltenham, first entering the winner’s enclosure in 1985 when See You Then landed the Champion Hurdle.

Since then, he has trained more than his fair share of icons, including the mighty Sprinter Sacre – a two-time Queen Mother Champion Chase hero – as well as Buveur d’Air, Altior and Constitution Hill.

Henderson has been crowned Cheltenham Festival Leading Trainer on three occasions, the most recent coming in 2012 when he sent out seven winners – a tally surpassed only by Gordon Elliott and Mullins.

He hasn’t hit those heights in recent years and returned from the 2024 Festival empty-handed, albeit with stars such as Constitution Hill, Jonbon and Sir Gino ruled out.

But he bounced back in style last year, thanks to Arkle Chase winner Jango Baie and Pertemps champion Doddiethegreat. And though priced at a sizeable 16/1 to claim the Leading Trainer title, he has more than a few live chances next month.

Spearheading his challenge is Lulamba, who heads the market at 13/8 for the Arkle Novices’ Chase. Tuesday could prove particularly fruitful if Old Park Star justifies 2/1 favouritism in the Festival opener, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

Henderson himself believes Jango Baie represents his best Gold Cup prospect for several years, while Khrisma is another to note in Friday’s County Hurdle.

“I think he’s my best chance in the Gold Cup for a while, I think you can give him a realistic chance,” Henderson said of Jango Baie.

“Everything has gone well. We were going to run in the Denman but on that ground, having watched the Irish horses have hard races in very bad ground the week before slightly put me off and I thought we’d be better coming in fresh.”

However, the name on everybody’s lips is Constitution Hill – the brilliant 2023 Champion Hurdle winner – will sadly not feature after Henderson ruled his stable star out of a jumps return.

Nicky Henderson predicted Cheltenham winners for 2026

Champion Day (Tuesday, March 10)

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (13:20) – OLD PARK STAR at 27/10 with SBK

Gold Cup Day (Friday, March 13)

County Hurdle (14:00) – KHRISMA at 7/1 with BoyleSports
Gold Cup (16:00) – JANGO BAIE at 9/2 with 247Bet

As outlined above, I’m tipping Nicky Henderson to enjoy his strongest Cheltenham Festival since 2020, with three winners from the 28 races on offer.

It’s a significant blow that Constitution Hill – one of the most popular horses of the modern era – won’t line up, but the most successful British trainer in Festival history still looks in a good position to bolster his record. He could make a flying start on Tuesday, with ante-post favourite Old Park Star fancied to take the opener before Lulamba locks horns with Kopek Des Bordes in the Arkle.

Could this be a first Gold Cup triumph since Bobs Worth in 2013? As Henderson himself has suggested, last year’s Arkle hero Jango Baie – a close fourth in the King George – represents his best opportunity for several years. I won’t argue with that.

Previous Nicky Henderson Cheltenham Festival winners

Year	Race	Horse
1985	Champion Hurdle	See You Then
1985	Triumph Hurdle	First Bout
1985	Plate Handicap Chase	The Tsarevich
1986	Champion Hurdle	See You Then
1986	Supreme Novices’ Hurdle	River Ceiriog
1986	Plate Handicap Chase	The Tsarevich
1987	Champion Hurdle	See You Then
1987	Triumph Hurdle	Alone Success
1989	Stayers’ Hurdle	Rustle
1990	Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup	Master Bob
1990	Cathcart Challenge Cup	Brown Windsor
1991	Arkle Chase	Remittance Man
1992	Queen Mother Champion Chase	Remittance Man
1992	Supreme Novices’ Hurdle	Flown
1993	Arkle Chase	Travado
1993	County Handicap Hurdle	Thumbs Up
1994	Cathcart Challenge Cup	Raymylette
1997	County Handicap Hurdle	Barna Boy
1999	Triumph Hurdle	Katarino
1999	Cathcart Challenge Cup	Stormyfairweather
2000	Stayers’ Hurdle	Bacchanal
2000	Arkle Chase	Tiutchev
2000	Festival Trophy Handicap Chase	Marlborough
2000	Cathcart Challenge Cup	Stormyfairweather
2002	Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup	The Bushkeeper
2005	RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase	Trabolgan
2005	Plate Handicap Chase	Liberthine
2005	Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup	Juveigneur
2006	Ryanair Chase	Fondmort
2006	Plate Handicap Chase	Non So
2006	Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase	Greenhope
2009	Champion Hurdle	Punjabi
2009	Triumph Hurdle	Zaynar
2009	Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle	Andytown
2010	Champion Hurdle	Binocular
2010	Triumph Hurdle	Soldatino
2010	Coral Cup	Spirit River
2011	Cheltenham Gold Cup	Long Run
2011	Spa Novices’ Hurdle	Bobs Worth
2012	Queen Mother Champion Chase	Finian’s Rainbow
2012	Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle	Simonsig
2012	Arkle Chase	Sprinter Sacre
2012	RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase	Bobs Worth
2012	Ryanair Chase	Riverside Theatre
2012	Fred Winter Juvenile Novices’ Handicap Hurdle	Une Artiste
2012	Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase	Bellvano
2013	Cheltenham Gold Cup	Bobs Worth
2013	Queen Mother Champion Chase	Sprinter Sacre
2013	Arkle Chase	Simonsig
2013	Centenary Novices’ Handicap Chase	Rajdhani Express
2014	Coral Cup	Whisper
2015	Triumph Hurdle	Peace And Co
2015	Pertemps Final	Call The Cops
2016	Queen Mother Champion Chase	Sprinter Sacre
2016	Supreme Novices’ Hurdle	Altior
2017	Champion Hurdle	Buveur d’Air
2017	Arkle Chase	Altior
2017	RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase	Might Bite
2018	Champion Hurdle	Buveur d’Air
2018	Queen Mother Champion Chase	Altior
2019	Queen Mother Champion Chase	Altior
2019	Triumph Hurdle	Pentland Hills
2019	Festival Trophy Handicap Chase	Beware The Bear
2019	Coral Cup	William Henry
2020	Champion Hurdle	Epatante
2020	Supreme Novices’ Hurdle	Altior
2020	RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase	Champ
2020	Coral Cup	Dame De Compagnie
2021	Arkle Chase	Shishkin
2021	Golden Miller Novices’ Chase	Chantry House
2022	Supreme Novices’ Hurdle	Constitution Hill
2022	David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle	Marie’s Rock
2023	Champion Hurdle	Constitution Hill
2025	Arkle Chase	Jango Baie
2025	Pertemps Final	Doddiethegreat

Our Cheltenham 2026 tips and guides

About the author

Nick Seddon

A sports journalist with more than a decade of experience, Nick has covered some of the biggest events in sport, from the Grand National and the Epsom Derby in horse racing to Walsall against Wigan Athletic in League One.

Follow Nick on X: @nickseddon_

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