You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.
The Irish Are Coming
With the Festival just around the corner, many thousands of Irishmen and women will be making their annual pilgrimage to the home of National Hunt racing.
Along with the thousands of pints of Guinness that will be drunk and the thousands of euros that will be wagered, the formidable Irish trainers and owners will be bringing over their very best horses and will be looking to take home plenty of prize money and the prestigious honours from the best National Hunt race meeting in the world.
In this blog, we are going to look at the numbers and see just how dominant they have been and in which areas that dominance has come. Remember to head over to our essential Cheltenham Free Bets page to see the latest bookmaker offers at the Cheltenham Festival.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2026
Ten Year Statistics
As you can see from the table below, the Irish entries have won 50% or more of the races at each of the last ten festivals, and at eight of those festivals they won 60% or more of the races.
The 2021 festival was a bumper year with them winning an incredible 23 of the 28 races, which was 82% of the races that year.
| Year | Bets | Wins | Win% | Races | Race% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 245 | 15 | 6.12% | 28 | 53.57% |
| 2025 | 249 | 20 | 8.03% | 28 | 71.43% |
| 2024 | 204 | 18 | 8.82% | 27 | 66.67% |
| 2023 | 236 | 18 | 7.63% | 28 | 64.29% |
| 2022 | 223 | 18 | 8.07% | 28 | 64.29% |
| 2021 | 162 | 23 | 14.20% | 28 | 82.14% |
| 2020 | 181 | 17 | 9.39% | 27 | 62.96% |
| 2019 | 189 | 14 | 7.41% | 28 | 50.00% |
| 2018 | 150 | 17 | 11.33% | 27 | 62.96% |
| 2017 | 159 | 19 | 11.95% | 28 | 67.86% |
A Handicap or Not?
This probably is not news to many, but the majority of the winners do come in non-handicap races; however, do not be put off by a handicap by all means!
The Irish have won 71% of the non-handicap races at the last ten festivals; that is, an impressive 127 races from a possible 178.
They have won just over half of the handicaps, but only just. Of the 99 handicaps, they have won 52 (52.53%).
- 127-178 (71%) in Non-Handicap
- 52-99 (53%) in Handicaps
The Class
When it comes to classes, there is one which stands out, and that is the Irish entries into a Grade 2 race, which include the Novices Limited Handicap Chase, Mares Novices Hurdle, Mares Novices Chase and previously the Challenge Cup.
Over the last ten festivals, there have been 26 renewals of those races, and the Irish have won 73% of them, that is, 19 of the 26 races!
Their Grade 1 record is good too, they have won 72% of those, which is 99 of the 137 races, and the last six festivals have seen win rates of 86%, 71%, 71%, 86%, 77% & 85%!
- Grade 1: 99-137 (72%)
- Grade 2: 19-26 (73%)
- Grade 3: 22-40 (55%)
- Listed: 3-5 (60%)
- Class 2: 36-69 (52%)
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 Lookout Cheltenham, the Irish are Coming 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
Expert Guide
Andy Powell
Expert Guide
