Rating the 2026 Cheltenham Festival ‘bankers’ in a year lacking odds-on favourites

By Ben Linfoot

Horse Racing

Wed February 11, 2026 · 13h ago

Ben Linfoot takes a look at the shortest-priced runners heading into the 2026 Cheltenham Festival with odds-on favourites thin on the ground.

Odds-on this, odds-on that

From the start of the 21st century it took 11 years for the Cheltenham Festival to produce 14 odds-on favourites. How times have changed. We’ve had 14 odds-on favourites at the last two Festivals combined.

We know the factors behind this. More races, less competition and the domination of Willie Mullins, to name but three. Indeed, looking at those 14 odds-on favourites the last two years, Mullins trained 11 of them and seven of them won.

Expanding the search back to 2020, there have been 35 odds-on favourites at the Festival, an average of just under six a year.

But this year things might be different.

With a month to go and all the major trials just about done and dusted, there are pretty much no odds-on favourites at all among the antepost markets for the Festival.

Three bookmakers of the Non Runner No Bet parish have Lossiemouth at odds-on for the Mares’ Hurdle and several of the NRNB crew make Fact To File odds-on for the Ryanair Chase, with those without the concession going 9/4. But that’s your lot.

Either could go for alternative targets, which is part of the reason why we are lacking in odds-on favourites at this stage, while there’s plenty of time for a few defections to have a dramatic effect on the odds.

But, nevertheless, with just one and a half horses odds-on for the Festival a month out, it seems unlikely there will be a slew of odds-on pokes, the likes of which we have seen at the Festival over the last few years.

Or not? Could it be business as usual in that regard?

Let’s have a look at the ones that could, in theory, go off at odds-on and rate them on a scale of one to five (one money bag = bad banker, five money bags = good banker).

Old Park Star – Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle

Old Park Star

Could Nicky Henderson’s Old Park Star go off odds-on for the Festival opener? It seems unlikely. Currently 15/8, the opposition including Talk The Talk, El Cairos and Mydaddypaddy looks strong enough to prevent such an event in the market and we haven’t even discussed a Willie Mullins-trained horse yet. The lack of a credible contender from Closutton has been a big part of the story in this market this season, but the likes of Mighty Park and King Rasko Grey could enter the conversation yet even if Old Park Star is a highly-respected market leader following his Rossington Main demolition job. Brilliant at Haydock, where he displayed accurate jumping and bags of pace, he’s clearly the clubhouse leader in this division, although any soft ground on day one would ask a different question of him. Three horses this century have gone off odds-on for the Supreme; Dunguib, Appreciate It and Kopek Des Bordes, with the latter two winning.

Bankerbility: 💰💰💰💰 Could well give favourite backers a flying start to the Festival, but softer ground would ask a new question of him and looks unlikely to go off odds-on.

Lulamba – Singer Arkle Challenge Trophy

Lulamba

Henderson hotpot number two - Lulamba. Now, he could easily go off odds-on for the Singer Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase given he is currently a best of 6/4. But much will depend on the market confidence behind Kopek Des Bordes from the Mullins camp. A mistake at the last couldn’t prevent Kopek from running out an impressive odds-on winner of last year’s Supreme Novices’, but just one run over fences this campaign sets him a tough task against a horse in Lulamba who has three chase runs under his belt. Comments from the owner like the ones given to the trade paper earlier in the week ('squealing' is a good thing) will help keep Kopek’s odds down, but it’s not hard to envisage a drift on one so inexperienced, while he has to get there yet. I wrote on Saturday about how there was perhaps a glimmer of hope for Lulamba’s Arkle rivals, but it is only a glimmer, as he looks to have a right engine.

Bankerbility: 💰💰💰💰 Only Majborough has let down odds-on backers in the Arkle this century after Sprinter Sacre, Simonsig, Un de Sceaux, Douvan, Altior, Footpad and Shishkin all obliged.

The New Lion – Unibet Champion Hurdle

The New Lion

What to make of the Unibet Champion Hurdle? Second favourite is a mare in Brighterdaysahead who is 0/2 at the Cheltenham Festival, third favourite is Constitution Hill who has gone FF5F over jumps and is having a confidence-boosting spin on the Flat at Southwell, and fourth favourite Lossiemouth is the market leader for the Mares’ Hurdle, where she would be going for a third successive win. All the while The New Lion sits atop the betting at a general 5/2 after getting back on track, of sorts, on Trials Day, where he took an important step in his hurdling education for all that the bare form was way below Champion Hurdle-winning standard. It remains a muddle and much depends on who turns up. If Constitution Hill isn’t risked and Lossiemouth goes for the Mares’ again, perhaps The New Lion will be approaching odds-on territory which would probably have the layers rubbing their hands together, for all that he’s a Festival winner still full of potential in the division. Odds-on favourites in the Champion Hurdle this century are Istabraq, Faugheen, Buveur d’Air, Honeysuckle, Constitution Hill and State Man (who all won) while Hurricane Fly and Constitution Hill (second time around) both lost.

Bankerbility: 💰💰💰 The New Lion’s form from this season in isolation wouldn’t warrant such short-priced favouritism, but here we are. Or are we? Let’s see who turns up!

Final Demand – Brown Advisory Novices' Chase

Final Demand

If you’d asked me in November to nominate a horse who could go off odds-on favourite at the Cheltenham Festival it’s odds-on I would’ve said Final Demand. Indeed, after his chasing debut on November 16 he was a top price 7/4 for the Brown Advisory after looking such a natural on chasing debut at Navan, while he was Evens for the Festival race after jumping well again to land the Grade 1 Faugheen Novice Chase at Limerick over Christmas. The wheels came off at the DRF – or, as Paul Townend put it, ‘the bubble burst’. Somehow he’s still favourite for the Brown Advisory, but he has something to prove now as his previous form suggested he should’ve handled the heavy ground at Leopardstown as well as anyone.

Bankerbility: 💰💰 He looked a likely odds-on Festival favourite for the Brown Advisory at the start of the season, but arguably shouldn’t even be market leader now. He could bounce back and win, of course, but he’s hardly banker material.

Bambino Fever – Ryanair Mares’ Novices' Hurdle

Bambino Fever

It seems amazing that Willie Mullins hasn’t won the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle for six years, since Concertista bolted up under Daryl Jacob in 2020. At that point he’d won the first five renewals. Champion Bumper winner Bambino Fever will be aiming to get him back on track but she was beaten at odds of 1/4 on hurdling debut, albeit by subsequent Solerina winner Oldschool Outlaw, but she did look in the groove by the time she won by 12 lengths at Fairyhouse in mid-January. A general 7/4 for the Dawn Run currently, with the potential to go odds-on, she might well be short enough on her hurdling form but package it together with her bumper wins and the odds look perfectly understandable.

Bankerbility: 💰💰💰💰 Mullins hasn’t really had a sniff in this race since winning it five years on the spin but the Champion Bumper has worked out well and this could be Bambino Fever’s for the taking.

Lossiemouth – Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle

Lossiemouth

Here we are again, will she or won’t she? It seems obvious that Lossiemouth will go to the Mares’ for the third year running, what with losing out in the Irish Champion Hurdle to Brighterdaysahead, but I don’t think it’s quite as cut and dried as that this time. Mullins has no strong male contender in the Champion Hurdle for a start and then you consider the open nature of that race. This still looks the season for her to have a crack. It certainly looked like the beginning of a Champion Hurdle campaign for Lossiemouth when she started out in the Morgiana rather than the Hatton’s Grace and one very heavy ground defeat at the hands of old rival Brighterdayshead might not derail her bid for top honours over two miles… or will it? History tells us Mullins likes to go for the most winnable option, so perhaps she will rock up in the Mares’ again and land the hat-trick.

Bankerability. 💰💰💰💰 She’ll be worth another money bag if she is pointed at the Mares’ as even the admirable Wodhooh probably wouldn’t be strong enough to stop the Lossiemouth train.

Fact To File / Gaelic Warrior – Ryanair Chase

Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File

Dead interesting one this. What’s your gut telling you? Ruby Walsh says ‘one of them will run there’ and that looks an absolute given. It’s simply a case of which one. Nothing would surprise you, but with JP McManus’ reigning Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Inothewayurthinkin struggling for form you can see Fact To File being supplemented for the big one after his brilliant Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup romp. And that would pave the way for Gaelic Warrior to drop back in trip for the Ryanair Chase where 2m5f around Cheltenham would be the ideal scenario at this meeting for the former Arkle winner. Vautour and Min have both won this race for Susannah Ricci in the past and the Warrior, so consistent on his last five starts, would have a class edge on his rivals in this.

Bankerbility: 💰💰💰💰💰 Whoever turns up for Mullins out of these two in the Ryanair will likely be backed off the boards into odds-on favouritism. It could be either, but we’ll go with Gaelic Warrior.

Teahupoo – Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle

Teahupoo

Gordon Elliott changed tack with Teahupoo’s pre-Cheltenham regime this season running him twice before the Festival and he was rewarded at Christmas with a division-leading thumping of Bob Olinger and Ballyburn at Leopardstown. He’ll still be coming into Cheltenham fresh after three months off and while he was nabbed by a Rachael Blackmore-inspired ownermate in Bob Olinger in last year’s Stayers’ Hurdle he’ll head to Cheltenham with a favourite’s chance of reclaiming his crown. He’s 7/4 now and looks unlikely to be any shorter come the day, barring any late setbacks for his rivals, as there is fresh blood in this race that could have a big say. We’re talking stablemate Honesty Policy, his ownermate Impose Toi, his Cheltenham conqueror Ma Shantou and maybe even a slightly leftfield Kabral Du Mathan, who was looking likely to skip the race in favour of Aintree - but will he?

Bankerbility: 💰💰💰 Looks as good as ever at the age of nine but some interesting new recruits in the Stayers’ Hurdle league could make life tough for him.

Narciso Has – JCB Triumph Hurdle

Narciso Has

State Man, Sharjah, Dinoblue, Jade De Grugy – Willie Mullins makes the most of his Doctor Dino progeny and Narciso Has looks the next cab off the rank. You can judge his improvement on a line through Mange Tout, who beat him at Fairyhouse in November but was brushed aside in the Grade 1 Juvenile at the DRF where Narciso Has gave the Gordon Elliott-trained filly 7lb and a six-length beating. He’s done it on yielding ground and he’s done it on heavy, looking every inch a dominant force amongst the four-year-olds in Ireland.

Bankerbility: 💰💰💰💰 It’s difficult to be too confident with juvenile hurdlers given the capacity for significant improvement from these young horses, but he looks the real deal.

Dinoblue – Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase

Dinoblue

Seven of the last eight horses in this list are trained by Willie Mullins and while odds-on favourites are in short supply at this stage he could well have three or four come race week, so perhaps this won’t be too different to the last few Festivals after all? Maybe now is the time to strike your Mullins multis, if you're prepared to play a bit of Mullins bingo. One thing is for sure, his Dinoblue looks sure to defend her title in the Grade 2 Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase. Backed into 6/4 favouritism for the race last season, she won like defeat was out of the question before she won in a canter at Punchestown. A rare foray out of mares-only company saw her beaten by Found A Fifty in the Fortria Chase, where her jumping let her down, on her seasonal reappearance, but two much easier assignments against her own sex have followed and she’ll go into the race as a very strong favourite once again.

Bankerbility: 💰💰💰💰 The strongest opposition could come from her own yard although a thriving Panic Attack could pose a threat, too. Still, she’s a very solid standard-setter.

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