Cheltenham Festival Best Bets: Each Way Options for 2026
The wait is almost over. The 2026 Cheltenham Festival is now only days away. This year’s build-up has featured its fair share of drama, with the Champion Hurdle, in particular, rarely out of the headlines. However, the absence of a star name or two won’t prevent the Cheltenham Festival from filling its annual position as the biggest and best punting party of the year.
As ever, four days of the finest jumps action lie in wait, with this year’s edition going under starters orders on Tuesday, 10 March, and concluding on the – unlucky for some – Friday, 13 March. With the final fields now beginning to take shape, we kick off our series of Cheltenham Festival previews by picking out a selection of solid value each-way options outside of the four championship-level events.
BetMGM Cup Handicap Hurdle – Wednesday, 2:40pm
BetMGM take over from Coral to sponsor the big handicap on Day 2. It may be worth betting that the new sponsor sees a new name added to the list of winning trainers. Olly Murphy has shot through the training ranks in recent years, but a winner at the Cheltenham Festival has so far proved elusive. The lightly raced eight-year-old, Indeevar Bleu, could be the horse to put that right.
On the back of a solid novice campaign, this son of Blue Bresil has emerged as an improved performer following a summer wind operation. Successful in two of three outings this season, his only defeat came when second to the Champion Hurdle-bound Tutti Quanti in the Gerry Feilden at Newbury. His best effort to date - by some margin - came when stepped up to 2m4f for the first time at Aintree on Boxing Day. He is up 9lb for that 5½l win, but powered right through the line and remains unexposed over this sort of trip.
- Recommended Bet - Indeevar Bleu each way @ 10/1 with BetVictor
Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Trophy – Wednesday, 4:40pm
Dan Skelton has saddled Unexpected Party to finish first and second in the past two editions of this. The Champion Trainer elect looks to have another likely sort on his hands in the shape of Be Aware.
This grey gelding started as the 3/1 favourite for the Coral Cup in 2025 but found the combination of the step up to 2m5f and a wide trip a bridge too far. However, he is hard to fault over this sort of distance. Taking both hurdle and chase outings into account, his career form figures over 1m7½f to 2m½f read 1-2-2-2-3-2-2-2. Those three most recent runner-up finishes came in Graded class chase contests, when finishing behind horses of the calibre of July Flower and Arkle favourite, Lulamba. It looks interesting that Skelton chooses this moment to plunge him into a handicap chase for the first time, and he is fancied to at least keep his sequence of placed efforts going.
- Recommended Bet - Be Aware each way @ 8/1 with BetVictor
Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle – Thursday, 1:20pm
The Willie Mullins-trained Bambino Fever and Gordon Elliott's Oldschool Outlaw dominate the market for the Day 3 opener and are hard to fault on form. Bambino Fever landed the Champion Bumper at the 2025 festival and won by 12 lengths last time out at Fairyhouse, while Oldschool Outlaw arrives seeking a four-timer and mastered Bambino Fever in December.
Likeable as the top two in the betting are, the one to carry our cash at a bigger price is the Henry de Bromhead-trained Echoing Silence. Sporting the Kenny Alexander silks made so famous by Honeysuckle, this daughter of Doyen kicked off her hurdling career with a six-length stroll at Cork in November. Stepping up on that to claim a Listed event at Punchestown in December, she has been kept off the track since – presumably to tackle this race as a fresh horse. That approach closely resembles the route taken by Air Of Entitlement, who caused a 16/1 shock when claiming the 2025 edition of this race for the de Bromhead operation. Twelve months on, it is worth betting that a similar result may be on the cards.
- Recommended Bet - Echoing Silence each way @ 12/1 with BetVictor
William Hill County Handicap Hurdle – Friday, 2:00pm
Continuing the theme of overpriced mares, our final selection comes in this fast and furious handicap on the closing day. Boasting a win over Tutti Quanti and a close second to the winning machine Wodhooh on her CV, Nicky Henderson’s Joyeuse is a seriously smart operator on her day. She is also proven in this sort of event, having flown home to claim the 2025 edition of the William Hill Hurdle at Newbury.
Joyeuse is without a win in six outings since - hence her attractive odds here - but has had her excuses. She simply failed to stay the 2m4f trip in the Grade 1 Mares Hurdle at this meeting and looked over the top for the season in her final outing at Leopardstown. Switched to fences for her first two starts of the 2025/26 season, she struggled with the larger obstacles. Her subsequent outing in a Premier Handicap Hurdle at Ascot was disappointing, but she bounced right back at the same track in January. Looking the most likely winner approaching the last in that Grade 2 contest, she lost all chance with a juddering error. However, that outing suggested she could be running into form at the most important time of the year. With headgear enlisted to improve her concentration, she looks an excellent each way option.
- Recommended Bet - Joyeuse each way @ 25/1 with BetVictor
A 50p each-way Lucky 15 on the above four selections at the recommended prices returns £23,005.70 if all four horses win and £326.20 if all four finish in the placed positions.
Top 20 Betting Offers
|
18+ | New players only. Opt-in. Min deposit is £20. Offer: Place a £20 sports cash bet at minimum odds of 3/4 (1.75) or higher and receive a £20 Free Bet. Free bet credited upon settlement of all qualifying bets. Free Bet can be redeemed on selected sports & markets and used on single or accumulator bets (min. 3 selections). Free Bet must be used at minimum odds of 4/5 (1.80). Free Bet stake is not returned with winnings. Winnings are credited as withdrawable cash. Maximum odds of 10.00 may apply. Free Bet must be used within 7 days of being credited. Affordability checks may apply. Full terms apply. | BeGambleAware.org. |
|||||
|
18+. New customers only. Place a minimum £40 bet on any selection with minimum odds of Evens (2.00) and receive a 4x£5 Free Bets. Free bets expire after 24 hours. BeGambleAware.org. T&Cs & Maximum Pay-Outs Apply. #ad |
|||||
|
New customers. Bet £40+ at odds 2.0 (evens) or greater, with code BET40GET20, get 2×£10 Free Bets. Free Bets must be placed at min odds 4/1 (5.0) or greater, paid after settlement and 24h later, expire in 24h. Full T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org |
|||||
|
18+ | New UK customers only. Place a £20+ bet with minimum 3 legs, min 2/1 and receive a £10 Free Bet. The Free Bet will be credited once your qualifying bet settles. Free Bet expires 7 days after being awarded. BeGambleAware.org | T&Cs & Maximum Payouts apply. |
|||||
|
New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility exclusions & T&Cs Apply. |
|||||
|
18+ New UK+ROI Customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 6 x £5 free bets (selected sportsbook markets only, valid 7 days, stake not returned). Restrictions + T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
18+ New UK + ROI customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £/€5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 6 x £/€5 free bets (selected sportsbook markets only, valid 7 days, stakes not returned). Restrictions + T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
New customers online only. Register and bet a min £/€5 at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or greater across sports or racing within 7 days of registration to qualify. Receive £/€10 Tote Credit, £/€10 Free Sports Bet within 48 hours of qualifying bet settlement. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool or sports bet added to bet slip. Voided/non-runner bets will not qualify; subsequent bet will be qualifying bet. 7-day expiry. 18+. One per customer. Selected customers only. Full T&Cs apply. Gambleaware.org.Full T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
New customers only. Min £20 bet at odds 2.00+. Max reward: One £10 Free Bet and two £5 Combo Free Bets. £10 Free Bet min odds 1/1 (2.00). £5 Combo Free Bets min odds 2/1 (3.0). Free Bets expire 7 days after credit. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Registration required. |
|||||
|
*New members only. £10+ bet on sports (ex. Virtuals) 1.5 min odds, settled within 14 days. Free Bets: accept in 7 days, valid 7 days; £20 use on sportsbook, £10 on Bet Builder. Stake not returned. T&Cs + deposit exclusions apply. Bet Responsibly. GambleAware.org. 18+ |
|||||
|
18+ New customers only. Opt in deposit and bet min £10 (max £30) on any sports (odds 2.00+) within 7 days. Get your initial stake (up to £30) credited in Free Bets. Free Bets to be used on selected markets and expire in 7 days. Scroll Down for T&Cs. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly |
|||||
|
New members only. £10+ bet on sports (ex. virtuals) at 1.5 min odds, settled within 14 days. Free Bets: accepted in 7 days, valid 7 days; £20 use on sportsbook, £10 on Bet Builder. Stake not returned. T&Cs + deposit exclusions apply. Bet Responsibly. GambleAware.org. 18+ |
|||||
|
Place a £10 fixed odds single or £10 each-way bet at minimum odds of 1/2 and get 3 x £10 free fixed odds bets, 3 x £5 Total Goals football spread bets and 3 x £5 Winning Favourites spread bets and a £1 racing Race Index spread bet. 18+ www.gambleaware.org. |
|||||
|
*New customers only. Place a min £10 pre-event bet at min odds of 2.0. £40 worth of Free Bet Tokens awarded on bet settlement. 4 x £10 each with betting restrictions. 7 day expiry. Debit Card deposits only (exclusions apply). 18+ GambleAware.org. Bet The Responsible Way Full Terms apply |
|||||
|
New sportsbook customers only. Place £10 first bet at min odds 1/2 to get £20 Free Bet. Stake not returned. Free Bet valid 7 days, min odds 1/2. Settled bets only. One welcome offer per customer (not with 50% Net Loss Refund). 18+. Full T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
New cust. Deposit £10+ in 7 days & bet on sports. Min odds apply. Reward = 4 x £10 Free Bets (2 x £10 Bet Builders & 2 x £10 Sports bet). Valid 7 days. Free bets not valid on e-sports & non UK/IE horse racing. 18+. T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org. |
|||||
|
Offer valid for new Betgoodwin customers aged 18 years and over. Min qualifying stake £10 at odds of 6/4+. Excludes horse & greyhound racing. Min 4 legs at odds of 2/5+ for £10 free acca. Full Terms apply. begambleaware |
|||||
|
18+| GambleAware.org. New GB customers only. Opt in. Deposit and Bet £10+ on sports at min odds of 2.0+ (1/1) for £30 in Free Bets within 7 days. Debit cards or instant bank transfers only. Free bets expire within 7 days of issue. Geographical restrictions and T&C’s apply.#AD |
|||||
|
New customers only. Min £20 bet at odds 2.00+. Max reward: One £10 Free Bet and two £5 Combo Free Bets. £10 Free Bet min odds 1/1 (2.00). £5 Combo Free Bets min odds 2/1 (3.0). Free Bets expire 7 days after credit. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. |
