The wait is finally over – the 2026 Cheltenham Festival is here. A year in the making, Champion Hurdle Day kicks things off in style, and we have four outstanding Cheltenham Tuesday tips.
Cheltenham Day One Tips – The New Lion to be Pride of Cheltenham
Cheltenham Festival tips for day one centre on four carefully selected runners, led by our Cheltenham NAP of the day, The New Lion, who looks primed to be crowned king of the Champion Hurdle field. Alongside him, three more strong contenders complete our four-horse team, offering class, great value, and Festival-winning potential.
Betfred, Ladbrokes and William Hill, three of our very best bookmakers, have priced up our selections for the opening day of what looks like a fascinating 2026 Cheltenham Festival.
| Race | Horse | Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:20 – Supreme Novices' Hurdle | Mighty Park | 10/3 | Betfred |
| 2:00 – Arkle Trophy | Lulamba | 7/4 | Ladbrokes |
| 3:20 – Ultima Handicap Chase | Filanderer | 80/1 | William Hill |
| 4:00 – Champion Hurdle | The New Lion | 5/2 | Betfred |
Odds correct at 13:30 GMT on 08/03/26. Odds subject to change.
MIGHTY PARK, 1:20 (Supreme Novices’ Hurdle) – 10/3 with Betfred
We cannot wait for the “Cheltenham Roar” to greet the beginning of the opening race, the two-mile Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. What we are really interested in of course is what happens four minutes later, by which time we hope jockey Mark Walsh is saluting the crowd up the horse walk as he accompanies Mighty Park into the winner’s enclosure.
This is a deep renewal. Talk The Talk just about got the job done at the Dublin Racing Festival, he’s proven in Grade 1’s, while long-time favourite Old Park Star should take a bit of beating. There is potential star quality in the talking horse, Mighty Park, and we’re siding with Willie Mullins’ runner.
Though Old Park Star cleared away to win by 18 lengths at Haydock, trainer Nicky Henderson must be cursing his luck that Mullins has yet again unearthed a new star at the last minute. At a Quakerstown point-to-point meeting last April, owner JP McManus won a three-miler, his horse beating Mighty Park. He saw enough in the runner-up to get his wallet out, his recruit finally making a debut over hurdles in January at Fairyhouse.
Mighty Park just oozed class that day, beating an admittedly weak field by 38 lengths. Mullins thinks he’s something special, and he would know. There’s enough in his potential to make him the first of our Cheltenham Festival picks.
LULAMBA, 2:00 (Arkle Trophy) – 7/4 with Ladbrokes
The Arkle Trophy comes next, the race that crowns the best two-mile novice chaser of this season. Kopek Des Bordes has been the one for money over the weekend, last year’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner, but this could be an early chance for Nicky Henderson to get one over on Willie Mullins.
Henderson trains Lulamba, ante-post favourite for this race for months. He ran a massive race in preparation, and looking at the form of those he beat on unsuitable heavy ground, it seems that ratings-wise, he has been underestimated. Younger than his main rivals, Lulamba has loads of progression to come and should already be rated around 167 in our view.
An honourable mention goes to Steel Ally, a big price and one who could run into a place.
FILANDERER, 3:20 (Ultima Handicap Chase) – 80/1 with William Hill
The Ultima is a gruelling handicap run over three-miles and one-furlong, and it takes a certain type to win it. This year’s race is extremely competitive, with JP McManus’ pair Jagwar and Grand National favourite Iroko to the fore in the betting.
Plenty of others were considered, but the genuine value lies with Hughie Morrison’s Filanderer, a recent scorer at Market Rasen. The form of that win is outstanding; horses he beat by 11 and 15¼ lengths have each come out and won easily since. He is very well handicapped indeed, and the 100/1 available about him was snapped up on Sunday afternoon. He must be one of the top Cheltenham dark horses this week.
THE NEW LION, 4:00 (Champion Hurdle) – 5/2 with Betfred
Our Cheltenham horse racing tips for Tuesday are rounded off by a pick for the big race of the day – the Champion Hurdle. This is a fascinating renewal, with popular mare Lossiemouth taking her chance, rather than running in the Mares’ Hurdle which she has won for the last two years.
We’re going against her for the last of our day one Cheltenham Festival predictions. The New Lion, who won for our Saturday horse racing tips page on Trials Day at Cheltenham, is the one to be on.
Kept fresh by Dan Skelton having run only twice since winning the Turners Novices’ Hurdle at last year's meeting, he carried 11st 7lbs to victory in that race, coming home having averaged 14.81 seconds per furlong. On the same day, Lossiemouth carried 11-5 to victory over a furlong shorter in the mares’ race, achieving 14.69 seconds per furlong.
She gets 7lbs from The New Lion, and she has been strongly backed, but their respective runs last year tell us plenty. JP McManus’ runner is young, improving, is a fresh horse, and hasn’t been fully tested yet. We know what Lossiemouth can offer, and it’s plenty, but can she cope going down to two miles, running at a quicker pace in a stronger field?
The New Lion should have won the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle, and did win next time on Trials Day. Now, he finally gets the ideal conditions to show what he can do. Any money for Willie Mullins’ Lossiemouth may simply lead to us getting a better price for our runner.
It may be worth considering an each-way Lucky 15 on these selections. Given the price of Filanderer, a win or a placed effort from him would make that a valuable bet.
