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Best Trainers at the Cheltenham Festival
Straight off the bat, here are the top five performing trainers at the Cheltenham Festival over the past ten years:
- Willie Mullins has 73 winners
- Gordon Elliott has 34 winners
- Henry De Bromhead has 24 winners
- Nicky Henderson has 23 winners
- Dan Skelton has 12 winners
Carry on reading as we are going to have a look at the trainer records at the Cheltenham Festival over the past ten years.
Who has performed well? Which ones are best avoided? Are there certain angles to approach each trainer?
We will look at both trainer records in the Win market and also the Place markets, which sometimes offer great value.
Head over to our essential Cheltenham Free Bets page to see the latest bookmaker offers at the Cheltenham Festival.
Remember to check out our Cheltenham Festival tips from our racing tipsters to see if they are backing the highlighted trainers.
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Top Ten Cheltenham Festival Trainers by Wins
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| W P Mullins | 641-73-180 | -7.06 | -92.28 |
| Gordon Elliott | 418-34-119 | -37.77 | -27.67 |
| Henry De Bromhead | 218-24-63 | +11.53 | -8.62 |
| Nicky Henderson | 253-23-76 | -65.79 | -35.72 |
| Dan Skelton | 145-12-36 | +2.83 | -14.24 |
| Paul Nicholls | 174-10-30 | -43.50 | -62.48 |
| Gavin Cromwell | 80-9-29 | -3.37 | +8.27 |
| Joseph Patrick O'Brien | 104-6-23 | -27.00 | -19.61 |
| Ben Pauling | 75-5-13 | +3.00 | -8.29 |
| Venetia Williams | 87-3-16 | +24.25 | +35.01 |
Willie Mullins (Top Trainer)
Willie Mullins has notched up an incredible seventy-three winners over the past ten years, with over an additional one hundred placed runners.
Between 2009 and 2014, the most he recorded was five wins, but he had 8 in 2015, followed by 7, 6 & 7 and then, despite only 4 winners in 2019, he was back to his best in 2020 with 7 winners, then 6 winners in both 2021 & 2023, 9 winners in 2024 and 8 winners in 2026.
However, it was in 2022 when Willie Mullins wrote his name in festival history when he notched up a total of ten winners, which was over 23 races, which means his runners won 43% of the races they were entered in!
In 2025, he went one better too; he again picked up 10 winners but across just 22 races, winning 45% of the races that he had runners entered in, and he returned an LSP of +87.34!
One race type that has not been successful is Handicap Chases, in which he is 0-60 since 2004, although he had Road To Home (2nd), Gold Dancer (2nd) & King Alexander (4th) all place in 2026.
Gordon Elliott (Second Best)
Gordon Elliott has now notched up thirty-four winners over the past ten years, with an additional eighty-five placings and is second on the ten-year trainer list behind Mullins.
He had six winners in 2017 and an incredible year in 2018 when notching up eight winners, but he only managed three winners in 2019. He was back in business in 2020 when he banged in 7 winners, meaning he had 24 winners between 2017 and 2020.
After being suspended in 2021 and not being able to enter any runners, his return has been rather quiet, with just two winners in 2022, three winners in both 2023 and 2024.
He has really struggled over the last two festivals; he had just 1 winner from 52 runners in 2025 and then similar in 2026 with just 1 winner from 51 runners.
For his four hundred and thirty-seven runners at the Cheltenham Festival over the past ten years, he shows an LSP of -35.02; however, had you backed them at Betfair SP (considering a 5% comm), his LSP is +64.24!
Nicky Henderson (Best of the Brits)
Nicky Henderson is now fourth on the list, having been overtaken by Henry De Bromhead and the best of the Brits; he is some fifty winners behind Mullins and eleven behind Elliot.
Henderson had his best festival since 2013 in 2019 when he hit four winners and showed a healthy LSP (+27.36). He hit four again in 2020 but has since only managed two in both 2021 & 2022.
In 2023, Henderson recorded his worst festival since 2014 with just one winner, which was the mighty impressive Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle, but the other twenty runners were all losers.
He topped that in 2024 when he had his first blank at the festival since he went 0-20 in 2008. He ended 2024 with 0-16, although it was well documented that he had issues within his yard with plenty of unwell horses.
He has had a better time of things in the last two festivals; he notched up two winners in 2025, and then in 2026, he had three winners, his best return since 2020.
Henderson's winners tend to come in the higher class races, with seventeen of those winners (74%) coming in Grade 1 races. He does have a poor record in Grade 2 races, though, with no wins from nineteen and only three of those placing.
Top Cheltenham Festival Trainers
Here are the best Cheltenham Festival trainers since 2007 and a graph to show how they have progressed with each year:
Trainers with Poor Cheltenham Festival Records
We will start with Nigel Twiston-Davies! In the last ten festivals, Nigel has sent out a total of 108 runners, which have returned 0 wins and just 9 placings.
Since 2026, he now holds a dual-license with his son Willy; however, in 2026, that didn't change his luck, with him going 0-6 at that festival.
Fergal O'Brien is another who has not had much success. Fergal has sent out a total of 52 runners, which have returned 0 wins and just 6 placings.
Another trainer who you would expect better from is Gary Moore, who is 0-40 with only four of his runners hitting the frame.
Nine trainers have sent twenty or more runners to the festival over the past ten years without success: the three already mentioned, and then the following.
- Neil Mulholland (0-37)
- Olly Murphy (0-35)
- Charlie Longsdon (0-29)
- Enda Bolger (0-22)
- Joe Tizzard (0-22)
- Mouse Morris (0-20)
Alan King does not have a great record; 81 runners have resulted in just 1 winner, whilst David Pipe has sent out 53 for just 1 winner too.
Two others you would expect better from are Jonjo O'Neill (1-46) and Tom George (1-44), who both have a strike rate of about 2%!
Top Ten Cheltenham Festival Trainers in Handicaps
Gordon Elliott leads the way in handicaps with fourteen winners with an additional thirty-five placings; however, backing all of those blind would have returned a loss of -44.50.
Mullins has notched up eight, along with Skelton, whilst Henderson has had six handicap winners over the past ten years, but all from a large number of runners.
Dan Skelton, who is becoming a bit of a Handicap Master, is now joint-second on the list and shows an LSP of +27.63, the only trainer in the top nine to show a positive LSP.
Keep an eye on the main horse racing tips page to see if the OLBG racing tipsters are backing any of these trainers in the build-up to the festival, and are any of them hitting form at the right time?
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon Elliott | 237-14-49 | -44.50 | -18.82 |
| W P Mullins | 163-8-36 | -67.75 | -34.86 |
| Dan Skelton | 92-8-20 | +27.83 | +5.99 |
| Nicky Henderson | 123-6-31 | -32.50 | -0.91 |
| Joseph Patrick O'Brien | 60-5-14 | -17.00 | -10.16 |
| Paul Nicholls | 94-3-15 | -51.50 | -42.15 |
| Henry De Bromhead | 78-3-16 | -38.00 | -22.69 |
| Gavin Cromwell | 49-3-14 | -34.87 | -12.91 |
| Ben Pauling | 43-3-8 | +5.00 | +3.01 |
| Nick Williams | 17-3-4 | +28.50 | +13.88 |
Schedule for Tuesday at the Cheltenham Festival
Prepare for the ROAR of the Cheltenham Festival on the opening day, when the tape goes up for the Supreme Novices Hurdle. The feature on Tuesday is the Champion Hurdle.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Cheltenham Supreme Novices Hurdle | Old Park Star (IRE) 6yo - 15/8 | Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville |
| 14:00 Cheltenham Arkle Challenge Trophy | Kargese (FR) 6yo - 7/1 | W P Mullins Danny Mullins |
| 14:40 Cheltenham Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle | Saratoga (IRE) 4yo - 10/1 | Padraig Roche Mark Walsh |
| 15:20 Cheltenham Ultima Handicap Chase | Johnnywho (IRE) 9yo - 18/1 | Jonjo & A J O'Neill Richie McLernon |
| 16:00 Cheltenham Champion Hurdle | Lossiemouth (FR) 7yo - 7/5 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 16:40 Cheltenham Festival Plate | Madara (FR) 7yo - 3/1 | Dan Skelton Harry Skelton |
| 17:20 Cheltenham National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup | Holloway Queen (IRE) 6yo - 12/1 | Nicky Henderson James Bowen |
Schedule for Wednesday at the Cheltenham Festival
The dust has settled on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival, and now on to day two. The feature on the second day is the Queen Mother Champion Chase. We also have the cross country scheduled on Wednesday, a race like Marmite, some love it, and some don't!
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Cheltenham Turners Novices Hurdle | King Rasko Grey (FR) 6yo - 11/1 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 14:00 Cheltenham Brown Advisory Novices Chase | Kitzbuhel (FR) 6yo - 11/1 | W P Mullins Harry Cobden |
| 14:40 Cheltenham BetMGM Cup | Jingko Blue (FR) 7yo - 9/2 | Nicky Henderson James Bowen |
| 15:20 Cheltenham Cross Country Chase | Final Orders (GB) 10yo - 7/1 | Gavin Cromwell Conor Stone-Walsh |
| 16:00 Cheltenham Queen Mother Champion Chase | Il Etait Temps (FR) 8yo - 5/2 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 16:40 Cheltenham Johnny Henderson Grand Annual | Martator (FR) 9yo - 66/1 | Venetia Williams Charlie Deutsch |
| 17:20 Cheltenham Champion Bumper | The Mourne Rambler (IRE) 5yo - 15/2 | Noel Meade Colin Keane |
Schedule for Thursday at the Cheltenham Festival
Halfway through the festival and onto day three, where the Stayers Hurdle is the feature race. A hurdle race to test the stamina and see how can last up the Cheltenham hill.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Cheltenham Mares Novices Hurdle | White Noise (IRE) 6yo - 40/1 | Kim Bailey & Mat Nicholls Tom Bellamy |
| 14:00 Cheltenham Novices Limited Handicap Chase | Meetmebythesea (IRE) 6yo - 9/1 | Ben Pauling Ben Jones |
| 14:40 Cheltenham Close Brothers Mares Hurdle | Wodhooh (FR) 6yo - 5/6 | Gordon Elliott Jack Kennedy |
| 15:20 Cheltenham Stayers Hurdle | Home By The Lee (IRE) 11yo - 33/1 | Joseph Patrick O'Brien J J Slevin |
| 16:00 Cheltenham Ryanair Chase | Heart Wood (FR) 8yo - 9/2 | Henry De Bromhead Darragh O'Keeffe |
| 16:40 Cheltenham Pertemps Network Final | Supremely West (IRE) 8yo - 100/30 | Dan Skelton Harry Skelton |
| 17:20 Cheltenham Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup | Ask Brewster (IRE) 7yo - 22/1 | Mrs C Williams Mr S Cotter |
Schedule for Friday at the Cheltenham Festival
The final day of the festival and the feature race that we have all been waiting for, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, in which the Irish have been fairly dominant in recent years.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Cheltenham Triumph Hurdle | Apolon De Charnie (FR) 4yo - 50/1 | W P Mullins Mr P W Mullins |
| 14:00 Cheltenham County Handicap Hurdle | Wilful (IRE) 7yo - 14/1 | Jonjo & A J O'Neill Jonjo O'Neill Jr |
| 14:40 Cheltenham Mrs Paddy Power Mares Chase | Dinoblue (FR) 9yo - 11/8 | W P Mullins Mark Walsh |
| 15:20 Cheltenham Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle | Johnnys Jury (IRE) 6yo - 20/1 | Jamie Snowden Gavin Sheehan |
| 16:00 Cheltenham Cheltenham Gold Cup | Gaelic Warrior (GER) 8yo - 11/4 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 16:40 Cheltenham Festival Hunters Chase | Barton Snow (IRE) 9yo - 9/2 | J J O'Shea Mr Henry Crow |
| 17:20 Cheltenham Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle | Air Of Entitlement (IRE) 7yo - 10/1 | Henry De Bromhead Patrick M O'Brien |
Article Contributor Information
We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Best Trainers at the Cheltenham Festival are Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.
Darren Brett
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