With last week's action fresh in the mind, our team put forward their best ante-post bets for the 2027 Cheltenham Festival.
MYDADDYPADDY – Arkle Novices’ Chase (10/1)
I’ve been a big fan of Mydaddypaddy all season and I’m of the opinion he would have gone very close to beating Old Park Star in the Supreme but for meeting with some significant interference on the run-in (replay below). He was being produced to make his challenge in between horses when that gap soon closed, receiving a hefty bump and losing a lot of momentum as a result. One of his main attributes over hurdles is his slick and fast jumping, and if he can translate that to larger obstacles, he’s sure to take high rank in the novice chase division next season. A tall, useful-looking sort, he’s very much in the mould of a chaser, and looks a most exciting prospect to me. Andrew Asquith
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KOKTAIL DIVIN – Ryanair Chase (25/1)
This year’s Ryanair Chase went to Heart Wood after the late withdrawal of Fact To File but I’d expect some fresh blood in the race next year and this year’s winning trainer Henry de Bromhead could have a new kid on the block for the contest in Koktail Divin. Only sixth in the Brown Advisory, he’ll have to improve, but it was a very deep renewal of the 3m novice chase and he looked all set to play a leading role when creeping up onto the shoulder of Kitzbuhel on the turn for home. He weakened after the second last, but it was a highly promising effort, 2m5f could be his trip and we know the owners are only interested in having Grade 1 runners. At 25/1, he looks a fun long-term investment. Ben Linfoot
LULAMBA – Ryanair Chase (8/1)
Even a fortnight before the Ryanair takes place it’s a guessing game as to who’s actually going to turn up and, so far as this long-in-the-tooth analyst is concerned, the Cathcart was a better mid-range option at the Festival. That said, even a year in advance it seems likely that it’ll be Lulamba’s target at the 2027 Festival. It’s true that he’d probably continue to kick aside the best British-trained 2-milers if kept to that trip next season, but he’s plainly going to need longer distances to show what he’s really about judged on his Arkle performance and, given his trainer’s propensity for softly-softly campaigns ahead of the big day in March, it’s a little surprising that he’s as big as 8/1 for a race that really should be right up his street. Simon Walker
AIR OF ENTITLEMENT - Mares' Hurdle (12/1)
Air of Entitlement won the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival and showed even better form by Timeform's reckoning when landing the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle last week. Air of Entitlement has already achieved plenty, but it's worth remembering she's had only six starts over hurdles so remains with the potential to raise her game further. She wouldn't need to find loads of improvement to make an impact in a Mares' Hurdle, however, as she's rated only 5 lb lower than the latest winner of that race, Wodhooh. Wodhooh, incidentally, won the Martin Pipe at the 2025 Festival. Tony McFadden
ESPRESSO MILAN - Brown Advisory (50/1)
Espresso Milan didn't exactly enhance his credentials at Cheltenham last week but loads of quality future chasers have looked a bit lost in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle over the years, and Willie Mullins' horse is definitely one for the larger obstacles on looks. He'd won his first two hurdle starts quite cosily and no doubt the whole Festival experience will have put a few hairs on the six-year-old's chest. He's open to stacks of improvement after just three outings for Mullins (ran in bumpers for Fergal O'Brien) and his new yard has developed a bit of a habit of winning the Brown Advisory with a horse largely overlooked at the beginning of the season. The 50/1 available is my sort of price if looking to have a small interest this far in advance. Matt Brocklebank
NO DRAMA THIS END Brown Advisory (14/1)
No Drama This End, sent off favourite for the Turners Novices’ Hurdle, was inconvenienced as much as any horse at the Festival by one of the many unsatisfactory starts. Finding himself some way back early on, things only went from bad to worse from then on as he was shuffled further down the field, but Harry Cobden looked after him in the end, pulling him up once he was clearly beaten. Frustrating for sure, but in the longer term, there’s no harm done to No Drama This End’s potential. There’s nothing wrong, either, with his earlier form, and he remains an exciting prospect for fences next season when three miles will suit. With better luck if going to Aintree in a few weeks’ time, his odds for the Brown Advisory seem sure to contract. John Ingles
- Preview posted at 1020 GMT on 18/03/2026
- Prices are best available generally on Oddschecker
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