Cheltenham
Racecourse guide: course statistics, top jockeys and trainers, and recent winners.
Cheltenham Course Guide and Statistics
The course at Cheltenham
Cheltenham is a left-handed, undulating jumps course with two main tracks, the Old Course and the New Course, plus a cross-country course used a few times a season. Both main courses finish with the steep climb up the hill after the last obstacle, one of the toughest finishes in the sport. The Old Course is used at the start of the Festival and has a sharper turn into the straight; the New Course has a longer run from the home turn.
Betting at Cheltenham
Course form matters more here than almost anywhere: horses that have handled the undulations and the hill before tend to do so again. Strongly run races on soft ground turn into stamina tests, and horses that travel well but find little at the end of their races are worth opposing up the hill. At the big meetings, compare form from the same course closely, as Old and New Course runs are not always interchangeable.
Key races and meetings
- The Festival (March): Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, Stayers' Hurdle, Gold Cup
- The November Meeting, with its big handicap chase over two and a half miles
- The December Meeting: the December Gold Cup and International Hurdle
- Trials Day (January)
Cheltenham by the numbers
Equine Tips Intel has recorded 43 races across 6 meetings at Cheltenham since 10 March 2026, 14 of them with full official results.
Hurdle racing makes up 49% of the races we hold, run on a turf surface.
The most common going is Good To Soft (64% of races) and the most frequently run distance is 2m½f.
Fields average 9.2 runners. Favourites have won 7 of 14 races (50%), and the median winning starting price is 9/2.
Race types
- Hurdle21 races · 49%
- Chase20 races · 47%
- NH Flat2 races · 5%
Going
- Good To Soft27 races · 64%
- Good11 races · 26%
- Soft4 races · 10%
Common distances
- 2m½f8 races · 19%
- 3m6 races · 14%
- 2m4½f5 races · 12%
- 3m1f5 races · 12%
- 2m5 races · 12%
- 2m4f4 races · 9%
Top jockeys at Cheltenham
| Jockey | Wins | Runs | Strike |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Kennedy | 2 | 3 | 66.7% |
| Harry Skelton | 2 | 6 | 33.3% |
| Conor O'Farrell | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Harry Atkins | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Jonjo O'Neill Jr. | 1 | 1 | 100% |
Top trainers at Cheltenham
| Trainer | Wins | Runs | Strike |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon Elliott | 2 | 3 | 66.7% |
| Martin Keighley | 2 | 7 | 28.6% |
| Dan Skelton | 2 | 9 | 22.2% |
| John Dawson | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Jamie Snowden | 1 | 1 | 100% |
Our model at Cheltenham
Every settled primary selection our machine learning model has made at Cheltenham, to a 1 unit level stake (Betfair SP less 5% commission where available, otherwise SP). Past results do not guarantee future returns.
Feature races at Cheltenham
- Oddschecker Novices' Hurdle Race(grade 2) (registered As The Sharp Novices' Hurdle Race) (gbb Race)Grade 2 · 23 Oct
- JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) (GBB Race)Grade 1 · 13 Mar
- Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase (Registered As The Liberthine Mares' Chase) (Grade 2) (GBB Race)Grade 2 · 13 Mar
- Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1) (Registered As The Spa Novices' Hurdle) (GBB Race)Grade 1 · 13 Mar
- Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (Grade 1) (GBB Race)Grade 1 · 13 Mar
- Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle (Grade 2) (Registered As The Dawn Run mares' Novices' Hurdle) (GBB)Grade 2 · 12 Mar
- Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle (Registered As The David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle) (Grade 1) (GBB Race)Grade 1 · 12 Mar
- Jack Richards Novices' Limited Handicap Chase (Grade 2) (Registered As The Golden Miller) (GBB Race)Grade 2 · 12 Mar
- Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle (Grade 1) (GBB Race)Grade 1 · 12 Mar
- Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (POSSIBLE ENTRIES)Grade 1 · 12 Mar
Recent winners at Cheltenham
| Date | Winner | SP | Jockey / Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Oct | Ballycrystal Boy (IRE)Lucy's 40th Birthday Celebration Open National Hunt Flat Race (Category 1 Elimination) (GBB Race) | 6/5F | Gavin Sheehan / Jamie Snowden |
| 24 Oct | Woodstock Octo (IRE)William Hill Extra Places Every Day Novices' Hurdle Race (gbb Race) | 9/2 | Ben Jones / Kayley Woollacott |
| 24 Oct | Seaniecon (IRE)Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle Race (Pertemps Hurdle Series Qualifier) (GBB Race) | 11/4F | Jonjo O'Neill Jr. / Jonjo & A.J. O'Neill |
| 24 Oct | Here Comes Georgie (GB)William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Handicap Steeple Chase (gbb Race) | 3/1F | Harry Skelton / Dan Skelton |
| 24 Oct | North Shore (FR)Masterson Holdings Hurdle Race (gbb Race) | 11/4F | Harry Skelton / Dan Skelton |
| 24 Oct | Butch Cassidy (IRE)William Hill Price Boosts 'chasing Excellence' Novices' Steeple Chase (gbb Race) | 2/1F | Darragh O'Keeffe / Henry de Bromhead |
| 24 Oct | O'Moore Park (IRE)William Hill Epic Boosts Novices' Limited Handicap Steeple Chase (gbb Race) | 25/1 | Sean Bowen / Martin Keighley |
| 23 Oct | Frontier Prince (GB)William Hill Epic Boosts Handicap Hurdle Race | 10/1 | Jack Hogan / Fergal O'Brien |
| 23 Oct | Bowensonfire (FR)Catesby Estates 'chasing Excellence' Novices' Steeple Chase (gbb Race) | 1/1F | Jack Kennedy / Gordon Elliott |
| 23 Oct | Kingofthefrontier (GB)Oddschecker Novices' Hurdle Race(grade 2) (registered As The Sharp Novices' Hurdle Race) (gbb Race) | 20/1 | Conor O'Farrell / John Dawson |
No racing at Cheltenham today. See today's meetings