Key Points
- I have selected four horses for the opening day of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival
- I believe all four of these horses have an outstanding chance
- We will get a return from just one place but the more the merrier!
After a lot of waiting and anticipation, the 2026 Cheltenham Festival is here! You simply will not find a better four days of National Hunt racing anywhere in the world. This is the Olympics of horse racing where the best take on the best! For Day 1, I have compiled a Lucky 15 for you, with selections from four of the seven races. I think all four have a fantastic chance of winning, and they certainly won't be out of the places.
If this is your first visit to Betting.co.uk, I’m RacingGav and I’m the resident horse racing expert here. I have a very profitable record for my
free horse racing tips, so if you have been missing out, then now is your chance to take a look at my selections for the feature races at Cheltenham for the rest of the week:
Betting advice - An each way Lucky 15
- 13:20 Cheltenham - The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle -
Talk The Talk
@ 5/1 (3 places)
- 14:00 Cheltenham - The Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase -
Kopek Des Bordes
@ 6/4 (2 places)
- 16:00 Cheltenham - The Champion Hurdle -
Brighterdaysahead
@ 5/1 (3 places)
- 17:20 Cheltenham (National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase -
Backmersackme
@ 4/1 (5 places)
PricedUp has the best odds for today’s Lucky 15!
At the time of writing on Monday evening, PricedUp are head and shoulders above the rest of the market in terms of the
best horse racing odds
for this Lucky 15 bet. For context, the rest of the market have the four horses combined odds ranging between 266.75/1 to 377.13/1 but PricedUp are offering a fantastic 449/1! In addition, they have a special sign up offer for you. Instead of the usual bet £40, get £20 of free bets deal, as it’s the Cheltenham Festival, they’ve taken things up a notch and increased it to £30.
These four horses have a fantastic chance of getting our Festival off to a flyer!
A Lucky 15 combines multiple bets into one. As the name suggests, the bet is made up of 15 individual bets: four singles, six doubles, four trebles and a fourfold. So just one place would give you a return but the more places and wins you get, the more you will win! I think all four of these horses have a fantastic chance of winning their races and I’ll be shocked if they don’t get into the places at least.
Talk The Talk @ 5/1 - With Old Park Star short, Talk The Talk is the value play in the Supreme!
The market has the Supreme right in terms of the two most likely winners, Old Park Star and Talk The Talk. I’d have these two as the clear stand outs with the best chance of winning. Personally, I see the pair closer together, or perhaps Talk The Talk a little shorter.
I have written a full article on
the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, where I have given my thoughts on a few of the other runners too. But in short, I was mightily impressed by Talk The Talk at the Dublin Racing Festival where he won the Grade 1 Novice Hurdle over 2m, despite everything being against him. The ground was far more testing than he wanted, and the way the race was run couldn’t have been any less suitable. In my opinion that performance needs to be marked up, and I can easily see him winning for us today.
Kopek Des Bordes @ 6/4 - This horse has the potential to blow the field away, including Lulamba!
There are six contenders in this year’s Arkle, but just two standouts in the market, Kopek Des Bordes and Lulamba. While I love Lulamba, I think he’ll be taken off his feet by the speed of Kopek Des Bordes, and he won’t be able to live with him. Even if he is defeated here, Lulamba is one to keep on side for the future, as I think he could be a superstar over longer trips.
I have already tipped Kopek Des Bordes individually for the
Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase, and discussed the race in general. But I will just say here that the only negative for Kopek Des Bordes is inexperience, as this will be just his second run over fences. His yard has done plenty of work with him at home of course, but nothing compares to the real thing. That said, the vibes from Ireland are that lack of experience won’t stop him winning, and the market echoes that sentiment.
Brighterdaysahead @ 5/1 - This mare can silence her critics by becoming a Cheltenham Champion!
The vast majority of people see this as a two horse race between Lossiemouth and The New Lion, the two market principals. Those who don’t like either, will likely side with last year’s winner, Golden Ace. It seems I’m very much in a small minority who believe that
Brighterdaysahead will win the 2026 Champion Hurdle.
As soon as you mention Brighterdaysahead, you are met with comments along the lines of
“she doesn’t perform around Cheltenham”
or
“she cannot win around Cheltenham”. However, I think this is nonsense. She had two poor runs here, and has excuses for both. Jack Kennedy gave her a terrible ride in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, allowing it to become a dawdle and then a sprint for the line, which didn’t suit her. Then last year, she wasn’t right, and consequently performed badly. I’m happy to draw a line through both!
In a year where there isn’t an elite two miler in the field, I think Brighterdaysahead is the one to beat, despite her sitting third in the market. I tipped her as a single bet before Lossiemouth joined the party, and I said back then that if Lossiemouth took her chance here, she wouldn’t frighten me, and I stand by that.
Backmersackme @ 4/1 - This Dublin Racing Festival winner should thrive over this much longer trip!
I really liked this horse for a Handicap Chase over 3m 1f on the Old Course back at The Showcase Meeting in October. I tipped him, but sadly he only came second, finishing very strongly, but too late in the race. I thought he was an unlucky loser that day, and
the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase
immediately sprang to mind as being ideal for him.
We didn’t see him again for 63 days when he ran at Leopardstown with Jake Coen booked to ride. He was disappointing that day, but I don’t think he was expected to win (no offence to Jake). He then went to the Dublin Racing Festival over a shorter trip of 2m 5.5f, which looked a tough task. But with the testing ground, there was a chance he could outstay them if he could stay in touch through the earlier stages of the race. Again, I tipped him with a small win only bet in case he delivered, and he certainly did, winning at 14/1.
To do what he did over that trip only excited me further in terms of his prospects for the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase, because I see him as an out and out stayer. I tipped him as an antepost bet at 8/1, and he has now shortened to half that price, so I’m clearly not the only one who believes he has a great chance here.
Four places would be great, but four winners is my target!
Many will look at the prices and consider playing this Lucky 15 as a win only bet. However, I believe it’s worth going each way. While the odds aren’t huge individually, considered as doubles, trebles and a fourfold, they have the potential to bring a decent return.
With three places at 5/1, 6/4 and 4/1, we would see almost two thirds of our stake returned. With four places, we would nearly double our outlay. Of course, the dream is to have all four of the selections win, in which case we would be looking at a 36x return on our initial stake.
For today’s races, I think all four of these horses can win, and I’m certain they won’t be far away even if they don’t. Which makes them ideal candidates for an each way Lucky 15 bet.
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