Lossiemouth Takes On The New Lion In The 2026 Champion Hurdle – Runners, Odds & Tips
The 2026 Champion Hurdle has crystallised into a fascinating clash headed by Lossiemouth and The New Lion, with a strong supporting cast ensuring Tuesday’s feature looks deeper than the bare numbers suggest.
Nine Champion Hurdle runners go to post over 2m½f on Tuesday 10 March at 4:00pm, giving this renewal a compact but very select feel.
The race brings together last year’s heroine Golden Ace, emerging star The New Lion, and a trio of Mullins contenders spearheaded by Lossiemouth, alongside Gordon Elliott’s Brighterdaysahead and several solid each-way types.
Bookmakers now broadly agree on a clear front four in the market, with the rest priced at double figures but not written off, especially given how open recent Champion Hurdles have felt once Constitution Hill left the scene.
The field has a strong Anglo-Irish balance, with Mullins responsible for Lossiemouth, Poniros, and Anzadam, while The New Lion and Tutti Quanti lead the home defence with Golden Ace representing a smaller British yard.
Add in Alexei and Irish outsider Workahead, and you have a line-up mixing proven Cheltenham records, interesting second-season hurdlers, and a couple of horses stepping up from handicaps or slightly lower grades.
On paper, it is less about sheer star power than depth, and that should make for a genuinely competitive race from flag-fall to the top of the hill.
Lossiemouth’s Switch from the Mares’ Hurdle
The key talking point is Willie Mullins’ decision to aim dual Festival winner Lossiemouth at the Champion Hurdle rather than seek a third success in the Mares’ Hurdle.
Connections had the option of what looked a more straightforward assignment against her own sex, but after discussions over the weekend they felt the time was right to let her take her chance in the two‑mile championship, with cheekpieces fitted for the first time.
Mullins has long hinted she had the class for this race, and her smooth Triumph Hurdle and Mares’ Hurdle victories at Cheltenham support the view that this track and trip bring out her best.
Bookmakers reacted quickly to the confirmation, trimming Lossiemouth into around 9/4 or thereabouts and, with some firms, even making her a marginal favourite.
Others still have Dan Skelton’s The New Lion just ahead at roughly 15/8–7/4, meaning the pair effectively share top billing going into declarations day.
Champion Hurdle Market Leaders
*Odds from Betfred correct at time of publishing
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lossiemouth | Paul Townend | W P Mullins | 2/1 |
| The New Lion | Harry Skelton | D Skelton | 5/2 |
| Brighterdaysahead | Jack Kennedy | G Elliott | 5/1 |
| Golden Ace | Lorcan Williams | J Scott | 7/1 |
| Poniros | Danny Mullins | W P Mullins | 14/1 |
| Alexei | Brendan Powell | J Tizzard | 18/1 |
| Tutti Quanti | H Cobden | P F Nicholls | 18/1 |
| Anzadam | Mr P W Mullins | W P Mullins | 22/1 |
| Workahead | Darragh O’Keeffe | H De Bromhead | 33/1 |
The New Lion brings rock‑solid graded form and crucial course experience, having won at Trials day in January and built a sequence of ones and a fall around Cheltenham-type conditions.
His style of travelling strongly and finding off the bridle has persuaded many judges that he sets the standard in this post‑Constitution Hill landscape, and he will appeal to those wanting the most straightforward case at the head of the market.
Lossiemouth, by contrast, offers the proven Festival brilliance, but with the question of how she will cope now that she meets older geldings at the very top level over two miles.
She is already operating in elite territory, and if the cheekpieces eke out even a small improvement in concentration and speed, she has every right to go very close.
Brighterdaysahead adds another high‑class mare to the mix for Gordon Elliott, bringing strong Irish graded form and a profile that suggests she stays well and finds for pressure.
She looks tailor‑made for a truly run Champion Hurdle, and it would be no surprise if Jack Kennedy aimed to have her creeping into it off the home turn, hoping her stamina kicks in up the hill.
Golden Ace, last year’s shock winner after the dramatic exits of Constitution Hill and State Man, returns to defend her crown and has done little wrong since, albeit still fighting for full respect from the layers.
Her current single‑figure price reflects both that proven Festival temperament and the sense that she might still be a shade underrated coming back to the scene of her career‑best.
Dark Horses and Each‑way Players
Behind the front four, a couple of names stand out as possible each‑way or “dark horse” options.
Poniros, last year’s 100/1 Triumph Hurdle shock winner, has been flagged by several analysts as a runner who could outrun his double‑figure odds.
He has a perfect record at the track and showed in the Triumph that he handles a strong pace and the hill, attributes that often prove vital when the screw is turned in the Champion.
Expert previews have noted that his form lines may be stronger than they first appear and that, with natural progression from five to six, he could be capable of getting involved if the principals underperform.
From the British side, Tutti Quanti is quietly building a progressive profile for Paul Nicholls and has been hovering in the mid‑teens in the betting.
His recent wins suggest there is still improvement to come, and if the ground and pace scenario falls right, he looks the type who could sneak into the frame without ever threatening to go off among the top three in the market.
Alexei and Anzadam have both been mentioned in some previews as tough, reliable types rather than likely winners, but that resilience is often rewarded in a truly run championship event, especially for those playing each‑way or in extended place markets.
Workahead, meanwhile, is the rank outsider but comes from a yard that knows how to ready one for the Festival in Henry de Bromhead.
He will need a career‑best by some margin to get seriously involved, yet his presence adds to the pace and tactical complexity of the race, which could indirectly help closers or strong stayers if the leaders go too hard.
So, Who Will Win The 2026 Champion Hurdle?
This Champion Hurdle may lack a single dominant superstar, but that is precisely what makes it so engaging from a betting and sporting point of view.
The New Lion brings the profile of a battle‑hardened favourite, Lossiemouth offers the intrigue of a top‑class mare finally stepping into open company, and Brighterdaysahead and Golden Ace ensure the front of the market is as compelling as it is competitive.
Add in the lurking threat of a horse like Poniros, or a late‑developing type such as Tutti Quanti, and you have a race in which angles abound for punters willing to look beyond the obvious.
By the time they turn for home on Tuesday afternoon, we should have our answer as to whether Mullins was right to roll the dice with Lossiemouth and whether The New Lion really is the new standard‑bearer in the two‑mile division.
Whatever the outcome, this looks set to be a Champion Hurdle decided more by toughness, jumping and racecraft than aura, and that is a prospect to savour as the roar goes up for the first championship race of the Cheltenham week.
BETFRED
