Key Points
- Today’s betting tip has already won over Hurdles at a Cheltenham Festival
- His form with Teahupoo from the Hatton’s Grace gives him every chance in this race
- If you choose to forgive his latest run this horse is overpriced at 10/1
Over the last two days, I have covered the
Champion Hurdle
and the
Champion Chase, which are the feature races from the opening two days of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival. On day three, there are two feature races, the Stayers' Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase. Today, I have a selection for you in the Stayers' Hurdle at a double-figure price.
If you’re not already familiar with my content, where have you been? Joking aside, I’m RacingGav and I’m the resident horse racing expert here at Betting.co.uk. My main task here is to provide you with
free horse racing tips, and I’m sure that’s why you’re reading this article right now.
I have already provided further betting tips for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, which you'll surely want to check out:
Betting advice
- Thursday 12 March 2026 - 2026 Cheltenham Festival - Stayers'’ Hurdle -
Ballyburn
@ 10/1-
0.75pt each way
Back Ballyburn with Betfred for £50 in free bets!
At the time of writing, most bookmakers are offering 10/1 with three places for Ballyburn. Without any standout
horse racing odds, I’ve looked at the sign up offers to decide on my recommendation, and the best offer currently out there is at Betfred. If you bet £10, you’ll get £50 of free bets. That’s a fantastic offer, so get Cheltenham ready!
Ballyburn is the forgotten horse in this year’s Stayers' Hurdle
After just one below par run, Ballyburn has been somewhat written off, but I think he has a great chance in this year’s Stayers' Hurdle. In this article, I’ll explain why I think he is underestimated and overpriced at 10/1.
Ballyburn has already won over Hurdles at a Cheltenham Festival
During the 2024/25 season, Ballyburn was beaten by Firefox at Fairyhouse on his Hurdles debut. However, he progressed rapidly from that point on. Stepped up in trip in another Maiden Hurdle, he won by 25 lengths. He then went to the Dublin Racing Festival, where he stepped up intoran in a Grade 1 race over 2m. He produced another fantastic performance to beat the subsequent Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner, Slade Steel, by seven lengths!
When the 2025 Cheltenham Festival came around there was a lot of talk over whether he would line up for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle over 2m, or the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle over 2m 5f. In the end, Willie opted for the latter, and he was sent off 1/2F. He lived up to the hype, winning easily by 13 lengths, and looked like a real superstar in the making. He also added another Grade 1 to his CV at Punchestown to finish off his season, despite not looking at his best.
Last season, Ballyburn switched to Chasing, with mixed results. He won on his Chase debut at Punchestown by 13 lengths. However, next time out he bumped into Sir Gino at Kempton in the Wayward Lad Chase. In hindsight, he bumped into a superstar, but that race also showed that he didn’t have the jumping speed for 2m Chases. However, back up to 2m 5.5f at the Dublin Racing Festival, he became a Grade 1 winner over fences. They tried him over 3m 0.5f in the Brown Advisory at Cheltenham, where he underperformed, and finished in fifth place. He was also defeated at Punchestown by Champ Kiely.
Willie had seen enough of him over fences by this point, and decided his future lay over Hurdles. He threw him straight in at the deep end in the Hatton’s Grace against Teahupoo, who was bidding for her third win in the race. Ballyburn wasn’t unsupported, and he was sent off 13/8 second favourite. He was keen, but ended up running a huge race and losing by a nose. After that, he was favourite for the Stayers' Hurdle at a price of 5/2.
If you forgive Ballyburn’s latest run he is overpriced at 10/1
The reason Ballyburn is 10/1 now is because he was disappointing on his second start back over Hurdles. He was sent off 13/8F in the Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown, but he could only manage third. Once again, he took a keen hold, which didn’t help his chances. Neither did getting in tight at the sixth last, nor did a very awkward jump at the fourth last. Between racing too freely, and his jumping errors, he was weak at the finish. It's also worth noting that he played up during the preliminaries, so I’m not convinced he was himself that day.
Before running in the Christmas Hurdle, Ballyburn was favourite for the Stayers' Hurdle, and I’m always willing to forgive a horse one bad run. I appreciate he’s had more than one in his career but only that one over Hurdles. If Ballyburn can behave himself ahead of the race at Cheltenham, he could be a major player in this year’s Stayers' Hurdle, and connections may bring in a hood to help him settle.
He still needs to prove he stays 3m but, we already know from his Cheltenham Festival win that he is capable of jumping around this track over Hurdles. I also wonder how much pace there will be in the Stayers' Hurdle this year, if there isn’t a lot, and it becomes a dash for the line, he should have gears that others don’t possess.
Can Ballyburn become a two-time Cheltenham Festival winner?
There are plenty of positives for Ballyburn. We know the engine is there, and he is already a Cheltenham Festival winner over Hurdles. Likewise his defeat by a nose in the Hatton’s Grace will give him every chance of coming out on top here. If he had behaved himself ahead of the race, and settled in the early stages, he would have had his head in front that day. If a hood is brought in at Cheltenham this time, it may well prevent a similar thing happening again.
In terms of the negatives, he can have off days, as we saw on his latest run in the Christmas Hurdle. That said, his issues over fences were largely jumping-related, which is irrelevant now that he is back over Hurdles. His behaviour ahead of the race also didn't help, but either way, I’m always willing to forgive one poor run.
All facts considered, I think too much emphasis is being placed on Ballyburn's Christmas Hurdle run, leaving him underestimated and overpriced for the Stayers' Hurdle. At 10/1 I think he is a fantastic each way bet. But given the fact he needs to bounce back from a poor effort at Christmas, and must prove he can settle and stay 3m, I’m limiting the stake to 0.75pt each way.
Take your pick from these free bet deals
Below you will find a list of our recommended bookmaker partners and the
betting offers for horse racing
they currently have available. As you can see, if you sign up and bet a modest amount, you can be rewarded with free bets. I strongly recommend you check them out!
Want more RacingGav content? Join my Discord!
While I produce several articles per week for Betting.co.uk, the vast majority of my content is exclusive to members of my Discord server. It’s the only place where you can access all of my betting tips and much more!
The Discord launched back in January 2024 and it’s still going now, so I must be doing something right!
February 2026 was a great month for the Discord, with twelve winners on the board at 14/1, 7/4, 10/3, 3/1, 7/4, 11/4, 7/1, 9/4, 9/2, 10/1, 5/1 & 5/1!
I’m sure you are wondering how much all of this will cost you? Well, it’s just £14.99 per month - less than 50p per day!
Alternatively, you may prefer a longer-term commitment for savings:
- Quarterly: £34.99 (saves £9.98)
- Bi-Annually: £74.99 (saves £14.95)
- Annually: £149.99 (saves £29.89)
I’m confident that you’ll
enjoy the Discord, and I’m also confident that my tips will make a profit, so if you join and don’t make a profit across your first 30 days, I’ll refund your subscription fee!
If you want to know more, my DMs are always open on X – @RacingGav
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
