2026 Cheltenham Festival Preview - Day 4

13.20 - JCB Triumph Hurdle

The 4th and final day of the Cheltenham Festival kicks off with the Triumph Hurdle which see's the Willie Mullins pair Proactif & Selma De Vary at the top of the market. Whilst both of them seem to have a big chance I'm just about going to side with the Mare Selma De Vary here. She's only had 1 start for Willie Mullins since arriving at Closutton in November but she ran incredibly well to finish 2nd to Narciso Has that day at the DRF and will most likely improve massively for that run & could be a huge player here.

Willie holds all the aces in this race once again with 9 runners in the field so it's obviously a huge positive that stable jockey Paul Townend has chosen to pick her over others such as Macho Man who was 2nd the Proactif on his only start. There are a couple of UK challengers in here with the likes of Minella Study & Maestro Conti but I just think the Irish will be way too strong for them here.

Selection: Selma De Vary

Danger: Proactif

14.00 - County Hurdle

Up until the Jockey bookings I was getting quite sweet on Murcia here from the same connections as last years winner but when I saw that Paul Townend had elected to ride Karbou instead I must admit it made me to go a little bit cold on her. This is Paul's only ride in a handicap this week with speaks volumes but he does also have the form to back it up. 

He's been placed in 2 grade 1's behind the likes of Salvator Mundi & Irancy before finishing 2nd to Glen Kiln in the Limestone lad at Naas so this could be the classic case of a graded horse in a handicap and looks to be a solid favourite.

These handicaps are never easy and won't be the only one with a decent chance with the likes of Murcia & Joyeuse also brining graded form to the table so I couldn't say this is my strongest fancy of the day but he has to have a massive chance.

Selection: Karbou

EW Selection: Murcia

14.40 - Mares Chase

Leading up to this race I was getting more and more confident about Dinoblue's chances however after seeing how most races have worked out this week I've decided to go with Panic Attack here for the Skelton's. I know we're due some rain on the last day but the ground conditions have been suiting front runners that are up with the pace which this mare will certainly be. 

She's been a massive improver this season first taking the Paddy Power gold cup here in October before landing another big pot at Newbury for the Coral gold cup and has been kept fresh for this race since that run. She's an incredible jumper of a fence and if she can get into a rhythm she'll be hard to peg back.

Selection: Panic Attack

Danger: Dinoblue

15.20 - Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle

All of the Novice Hurdles at this years festival have been a tricky puzzle to solve but this one is notoriously the hardest to find the winner. A few weeks ago I put up Jalon D'Oudairies for Gordon Elliot at 33/1 so I'm happy to just keep him as my selection. He was 3rd in a Champion Bumper 2 years ago behind Romeo Coolio as well as last years winner of this race Jasmin De Vaux which is solid enough form.

He then missed his novice hurdle campaign and wasn't seen for a year until he returned to the track last November where he was beaten in a maiden hurdle by Willie Mullins trained Sortudo over 2 miles before stepping up in trip at Christmas going down half a length to Frankie John. Although he was beaten in his first 2 starts this campaign you could make the case that he's just bumped into some decent opposition on both occasions over trips that might not be best suited. 

He did break his duck at the 3rd time of asking but I think this lad is just crying out for a step up in trip & comes in here with a solid EW chance.

Selection: Jalon D'Oudairies

Danger: Doctor Steinburg

16.00 - The Gold Cup

It's the big one! The feature race of the day if not the week is the Gold Cup and its a cracking renewal this year with a wide open field. It looks like a bit of a King George reunion with 3 of the top 4 that day all apposing each other at the head of the market which is no surprise given how close they were to each other at the line that day. The one I keep coming back to is Gaelic Warrior who was 3rd at Kempton before running on gamely behind Fact to File in the Irish Gold Cup at the DRF despite doing a lot wrong.

I must admit he does come with a warning label given the fact that he his an absolute headcase & you just don't know which Gaelic warrior is going to get out of bed that day which is always a concern. When he puts it all together he's a monster and he showed this at Aintree last spring to win the Grade 1 Bowl before reappearing the the John Durkin this season where again he faced Fact to File and stayed on strongly to get the better of his stablemate over 2m4f. - If he runs to that level, he wins. 

Selection: Gaelic Warrior

Danger: Jukebox Man , Jango Bai

16.40 - Hunters Chase

This is a race I actually don't mind most years but I have to be honest I don't have a strong opinion on it this year. Wonderwall is the favourite and the winner of the race 12 months ago so you'd have to respect him especially if he gets his favourite good/soft ground but with this rainfall over night I'm not quite sure he will. I'd give him a small chance but this isn't a race I'm too keen on getting involved in. 

17.20 - Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle

Again this is a hard race and not one I'll be looking to get too stuck into as the week draws to a close but I will give a small go to Jump Allen who impressed me the last day winning a handicap hurdle at Sandown off a mark of 128. He gets in here only 5lbs higher so I still think there's plenty of room for improvement and has a small chance of hitting the frame at least. 

As I said this is another tough handicap so I won't be getting too involved just for the sake of it. My advice - Save your money for Aintree!!

Selection: Jump Allen

Danger: Kel Historie 

NAP: SELMA DE VARY

NEXT BEST: GAELIC WARRIOR

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