Sporting Life
David Ord talks to Henry de Bromhead

Henry De Bromhead on his Cheltenham Festival team

By David Ord
Horse Racing
Sun February 15, 2026 · 7h ago

Our columnist chats to Henry De Bromhead ahead of his bid for more Cheltenham Festival glory next month.

Question: When was the last time Henry de Bromhead came home empty-handed from the Cheltenham Festival?

Answer: 2016

It’s a fact that took the trainer himself by surprise when he was informed of it on the Jockey Club media visit to Ireland this week.

He took a sip from his coffee.

“Really,” he smiled. “A blank is going to happen some year sadly but we feel we’ve a nice team going there this time around. We try and give them every chance to be the best version of themselves on the day, giving them the little break after Christmas crowns a lot of them and they really thrive. Here's hoping."

Bob Olinger and Rachael Blackmore return victorious again at Cheltenham

And that team includes Bob Olinger, the remarkable 11-year-old who is four from four at Cheltenham and three-from-three at the Festival itself.

He provided Rachael Blackmore with what turned out to be a farewell winner in last season’s Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle and is being readied to defend the title.

As the 2025 defeat of Teahupoo showed, underestimate him at your peril.

“Last year he was like the forgotten horse. I was at a preview night a couple of weeks before and I was looking at the betting. I got to 20/1 and I got a fright and started wondering if I’d actually entered him or not!” the trainer recalls.

“Then I got to 66/1 and I said ‘oh my God, that’s the each-way bet of the week!’ I wasn’t saying he would win or anything but I couldn’t believe the price he was. He’s class and he always has been. Obviously, we lost him for about a year, a year and a half, which was probably our fault, but it’s great to have him back."

And de Bromhead was understandably delighted with Bob Olinger’s only outing since, when chasing home his Cheltenham victim in the Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown.

“It was a lovely run. Those older lads, you don’t want to be too hard on them for their first run, so he ran lovely. He took a little blow there just before the last and ran on again nicely," he said.

“Teahupoo is a very good horse but I think ground could be a big thing. The better the ground the more it suits us rather than him. That could sway it a little bit either way.”

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There are plenty of other familiar names on the team-sheet too.

Envoi Allen hasn’t raced since winning at Down Royal in November but is firmly on course for a belated tilt at the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.

“I think he has a chance, I really do. It’s sort of like Bob Olinger last year – you look at all the horses he has beaten, and they are single figures and then you look at him and he’s some crazy price!” the trained beamed.

“I thought he was better than ever when he won on his comeback. People said it wasn’t a good race but you only have to look at the form since – if he stays that extra bit and don’t see why he won’t. I am kind of wondering why I haven’t run him in the Gold Cup for the past couple of years.

“The enthusiasm of him and Bob Olinger is amazing. I think it’s seven years ago that Envoi Allen won the bumper which is mad and I think he’s been there every year since."

He could be joined in chasing’s blue riband by Monty’s Star who ran a mighty race to finish sixth in the Irish equivalent at the DRF.

“He is in the Grand National and the Gold Cup and we’ll see. We are in discussion about it at the moment. The Maloneys love having their runners at Cheltenham and they think the Gold Cup looks an open race while another view would be he’s an out-and-out Grand National horse,” the trainer pondered.

“He actually got kicked in the face by another horse last year unfortunately and I’m just not sure he ever really developed into what we thought he was going to be. When you look at his Brown Advisory run, he looked all over a Gold Cup horse. In fairness, the vets have worked really hard on him and we are definitely getting there but whether he will be as good as we thought he could be – I am not sure."

There’s Heart Wood - an 8/1 chance to win the Ryanair having finished second behind Fact To File last season.

“We have two entries so I hate committing fully but I’d say we’re like 85% for the Ryanair. I think we’ll go there and ride him a fraction more positive by the sounds of what Darragh (O’Keefe, jockey) was saying,” de Bromhead confirms.

“He’s hitting that age now so I’d say he’s definitely improved a little bit. I would hope he should run well.”

There are two for the BetMGM Champion Chase in the shape of previous winner Captain Guinness and Quilixios, who along with Marine Nationale was miles clear of the rest when falling at the final fence last season. He hasn’t been seen on the racecourse since.

“He’s had a couple of setbacks through the year but he’s really good now. He actually worked on Tuesday on the grass at a place we go to, and he worked really well. So the next few days will tell a bit but if he comes out of that okay he’ll do one more strong piece of work and if that goes well, we’re there," de Bromhead said.

“He’s in great form, he runs well fresh and he could be exciting. It’s a tough thing to do but it’s been done before. The next couple of weeks will tell us where we are.

Captain Guinness comes home in front at Cheltenham

“Captain Guinness was disappointing last year, to be honest. He just didn't seem himself. He seems better there now – certainly this time last year he started coming to himself but he’ll go to Naas on February 22 and if he ran well in that then he could go to Cheltenham, but we’ll see.

“We’ve tweaked a few things with him and he definitely seems in better form now. We’ll just see how he goes at Naas."

There are more obvious chances in the novice chases courtesy of The Big Westerner, Koktail Divin and July Flower.

“We’re probably leaning towards the novice rather than the mares’ chase with The Big Westerner I’d say, but it’s nice to have options. We’ll see what way the ground is and what the opposition is like but I suppose ultimately you have to think for your horse," her trainer said.

“She was good at Fairyhouse. She ran well, just Jimmy Du Seuil looked really good that day. Obviously, he’s disappointed a bit since then but he jumped and did everything right that day and she ran really well and they were miles clear of the third.

“Then I thought she looked really good at Limerick and came right out of Mikey’s (O’Connor, jockey) hands a few times. She’s been really good.

“Hopefully she can go right to the top. She probably has a preference for softer ground, that would be the only thing, but we could still get that in plenty of places, and she ran really well at Cheltenham last year on better ground. Whether it just cost her jumping the last I’m not sure. She seems to have the class to go any trip.”

Koktail Divin ridden by Darragh O'Keeffe

“Koktail Divin was brilliant at Leopardstown over Christmas. We’ve sort of built him through the season. He improved plenty from his first to his second and then improved again second to third run.

“I thought he ran a lovely race behind Oscars Brother where he looked like he didn’t quite see it out on that heavy ground, but he looked electric on the nicer ground again at Leopardstown. Darragh was really pleased with him. He’ll probably have an entry in the novice handicap in case the ground came up soft, but I’d say we’re leaning towards the Brown Advisory.

"You’d have to have a little question mark over the trip with him – he definitely got outstayed at Punchestown but I was putting that down to the heavier ground. We’ve always felt that he’s a horse that would prefer nicer ground.

“July Flower ran fine at Leopardstown, probably a little bit disappointing. It might have just been that the ground and that trip might have just put her out a little bit. She was winging fences, I thought she was going to win turning in but she seemed to tire before the last.

“Looking at the Arkle now you’d be leaning towards the Mares’ Chase but we’ll keep an eye on the Arkle and just see.

“She’s obviously pretty adaptable and her form’s pretty good over any trip, it seems. I wouldn’t discount three miles in time but at Cheltenham it’s obviously two or two and a half miles.”

July Flower lands the Arkle Trial

And then there are the novice hurdlers and it’s always telling when a trainer mentions two horses who weren’t put to him during the interview.

“We’ve a couple of nice horses in the Albert Bartlett. One of them is a maiden who has a similar profile to Minella Indo who won the race for us. He’s King’s Bucks who was third to Paul Nicholls’ horse No Drama This End at Cheltenham in November when he was still very green on only his second run over hurdles. He is a really nice horse."

“Fruit De Mer was third in the two-and-a half mile Grade One at Naas behind I’ll Sort That. He looked like he was going to run badly but stayed on nicely at the end."

And there’s Full Of Life and Echoing Silence for the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle too.

“They’re two right mares. Echoing Silence has done little wrong. And won what I’d say looks to have been a good maiden hurdle really easily, then she won nicely at Punchestown on heavy ground which wouldn’t be ideal for her. She’s a Doyen mare and probably prefers nicer ground than that. Then we put her away for this and she’ll be bang there.

“Full Of Life won over two five in Tramore over the summer, I got her trip completely wrong. She got beaten then in a 120 or less beginners’ chase in Kilbeggan but showed so much pace, which she had never done at home, so we dropped her back to two and she ran really well.

“Then by chance we said we’d go back over hurdles and stick her in the mares’ novice hurdle up north. Her owner Roger Kissane suggested it and she won, beating Declan Queally's good mare Carrigmoornaspruce who has run really well since.

“So I’m basically saying we got it completely wrong. We were just keeping her as a novice chaser for next spring or summer then she won that so we said we’d definitely go to for the mares’ novice at Cheltenham.

“She’s a good, tough, hardy mare who worked really well in the week. The drop back in trip and riding her forward, she loves it. They’re both very good mares in what looks a strong race."

There are other novices, over both hurdles and fences, bumper horses, the handicap team too.

As de Bromhead walks away from the table to face his next inquisitors you’re struck by the thought - the wait for the next blank Festival might go on a little while yet.

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