2026 Prestbury Cup Odds – Let The Battle Between British & Irish Trainers Commence!
The 2026 Prestbury Cup is the running total of winners trained in Ireland versus winners trained in Britain across all 28 races at the Cheltenham Festival.
It starts with the opening race on day one and continues until one side reaches 14 winners or more, which is the point at which the Cup is mathematically secured.
The trophy takes its name from Prestbury, the village closest to Cheltenham Racecourse, and even contains a plug of Cheltenham turf in the base as a nod to the course itself.
It is presented to the winning “team” – effectively the trainers and jockeys from the victorious country – once the result is confirmed.
Ireland are very short odds for the 2026 Prestbury Cup again, and on balance the market is probably right – but treating it as a serious betting angle rather than a bit of fun looks optimistic at 1/6!
Rivalry, But Mostly Banter
On paper, it is Britain versus Ireland, but in reality, the Prestbury Cup is more about bragging rights in the bar than blood and thunder nationalism.
Irish dominance in recent years, fuelled by powerhouses like Willie Mullins, Henry De Bromhead, and Gordon Elliott, has turned the Cup into a running joke for many British fans rather than a bitter rivalry.
When Ireland rattles in winners, the atmosphere is usually more good‑natured ribbing than tribal hostility, helped by the fact that plenty of punters happily back Irish horses regardless of the flag.
Even the official racecourse blurb signs off with “Best of luck, or as they say in Ireland, Is fearr de luck!”, which tells you it is meant to be taken with a smile.
Recent Results: Why Ireland Is So Short In The Betting
The odds quoted on Betfred – Ireland 1/6, Great Britain 5/1, tie 12/1 – reflect a long stretch of Irish superiority.
Recent tallies show Ireland repeatedly racking up clear winning margins: in 2024, Ireland won 18 races to Britain’s 9, and in 2025, it was 20–8 in favour of Ireland.
Those numbers sit on top of earlier routs, including the remarkable 23 Irish winners in 2021, which set the benchmark for what a one‑sided Festival can look like.
Bookmakers, therefore, now price the Prestbury Cup much more like a foregone conclusion than a competitive handicap, and the current odds of 1/6 are simply a reflection of that pattern.
Favourites In The Big Races: Who Trains Them?
If you look at the major championship events in 2026, the Irish influence is immediately obvious.
In the Champion Hurdle, the early market is headed by The New Lion, with Brighterdaysahead and Lossiemouth close up; Brighterdaysahead and Lossiemouth are Irish‑trained, while The New Lion gives Britain a strong home hope at short odds.
The Champion Chase betting is led by Majborough, with Il Etait Temps and others prominent.
Both horses are trained by Willie Mullins, with only Dan Skelton’s L’Eau du Sud high enough in the betting market to suggest a British upset is possible.
In the Stayers’ Hurdle, Teahupoo is clear favourite, representing Ireland, ahead of Honesty Policy, Kabral Du Mathan, Bob Olinger, and Ma Shantou, several of whom are also trained across the Irish Sea.
The Ryanair market is headed by Fact To File – another Irish star – with Gaelic Warrior and Jonbon among the closest pursuers.
That said, Jonbon could swerve Cheltenham completely and instead aim for the Aintree Bowl Chase, so don’t pin your hopes on him!
The Gold Cup picture is more mixed, with Jango Baie and The Jukebox Man prominent for Britain, but Gaelic Warrior, Fact To File, Haiti Couleurs and Galopin Des Champs ensuring that Ireland still has a strong hand at the top of the betting.
That snapshot is only the tip of the iceberg. When you expand from the four Grade 1 centrepieces to the full 28‑race programme, Irish‑trained horses dominate the top of many ante‑post markets, especially in novice and staying events where Mullins, Elliott and others traditionally deploy deep squads.
History also shows that roughly one in three starting‑price favourites win at Cheltenham overall, so even if Britain does have a handful of market leaders, they do not all convert.
| Race type | Market picture (NRNB) | Likely training base tilt |
|---|---|---|
| Champion Hurdle | Mix of GB and Irish | Slight Irish edge |
| Champion Chase | GB favourite, Irish depth | Very competitive |
| Stayers’ Hurdle | Strong Irish favourite | Clear Irish edge |
| Ryanair Chase | Strong Irish favourite | Clear Irish edge |
| Gold Cup | Mixed at the top | Very balanced |
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When you factor in the handicaps – where Irish trainers now routinely farm valuable prizes with well‑placed runners – the balance of likely winners tilts even further towards Ireland over the four days.
Is The Prestbury Cup Worth Betting On?
From a pure value point of view, backing Ireland at 1/6 is hard to recommend unless you are treating it as a small‑yield, long‑term interest.
You are tying up money for four days to win a fraction of your stake, in a market where one bad day for the Irish, a clutch of British handicap winners, or a couple of upsets in the championship races could at least make things uncomfortable.
Britain at 5/1 is more eye‑catching but still feels the wrong side of hopeful, given the recent 18–9 and 20–8 scorelines and the way the 2026 ante‑post boards lean towards Irish yards.
The tie at 12/1 has a certain quirky appeal – particularly if you enjoy cheering for a close, see‑saw Festival – but it is, by definition, a narrow outcome and historically rare.
For most punters, the 2026 Prestbury Cup works best as a bit of background colour: something to track as you go through your daily bets rather than a serious target in its own right.
If you like the narrative, one sensible approach is to have a very modest interest on the tie or on Britain, treating it as a fun “saver” against an unexpectedly good year for the home team, while still building your main staking plan race by race.
The real edge, as always at Cheltenham, is more likely to come from spotting individual horses that are overpriced in specific races rather than trying to second‑guess the cumulative impact of 28 of them.
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