The 2026 Cheltenham Festival is edging into view again, with the jumping season beginning to revolve around four familiar centrepieces and four very different reigning champions at the top of the market.
As the action builds over the next few weeks, and all eyes focus on Cheltenham, we look at the four feature race reigning champs and if they can retain their crowns.
Golden Ace, Marine Nationale, Bob Olinger, and Inothewayurthinkin are the horses everyone now measures against, but what are their chances, and who are their biggest rivals?
2026 Champion Hurdle
Reigning champ: Golden Ace
Golden Ace returns to Cheltenham as the new standard-bearer in the two‑mile hurdle division after one of the most dramatic Champion Hurdles in recent memory.
Jeremy Scott’s mare was a 25‑1 outsider in March 2025, lining up against Constitution Hill, State Man, and Brighterdaysahead in what looked, on paper, a deep renewal.
Constitution Hill’s exit at the fifth and State Man’s late fall at the last left the race wide open, but Golden Ace still had to be in the right place to take advantage and finish the job up the hill.
She did exactly that, staying on strongest to become only the seventh mare to win the Champion Hurdle, and in doing so turned a chaotic contest into a breakthrough Grade One success.
That result reshaped the pecking order for 2026, and the conversation now turns to whether Golden Ace can confirm the form in a more conventional race.
Constitution Hill could feature, and State Man is out injured for the season, but they still set a high bar on bare ability.
Instead, we progressive types such as Brighterdaysahead and other younger hurdlers aiming for her crown.
Golden Ace, though, has shown she handles the track, the occasion, and the stiff finish, and connections now head into the season with a proven Festival mare rather than a dark horse.
Her campaign choices through the winter have been watched closely, but whatever route she takes (she also has an option in the Mares’ Hurdle), the Champion Hurdle picture now starts with her name at the top.
2026 Queen Mother Champion Chase
Reigning champ: Marine Nationale
Marine Nationale comes into the new season as champion chaser after a decisive Queen Mother Champion Chase win that carried as much emotion as it did authority.
Sent off at 5‑1, Barry Connell’s eight‑year‑old travelled in mid-pack behind a strong pace, while Jonbon, the odds‑on favourite, saw his chance compromised by a serious error down the back straight.
As Energumene and others faded, the race developed into a battle between Marine Nationale and Quilixios, only for Quilixios to fall at the last and leave the winner to stride clear by a wide margin.
For a horse who had already won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2023, this was a complete top‑level performance back at a track he clearly relishes.
Looking ahead to 2026, Marine Nationale is now the established force at two miles, with his jumping, change of gear, and attitude all proven in Championship company.
Jonbon remains an obvious danger if he returns in top order, while other Irish runners such as Majborough and Il Etait Temps add depth to the potential opposition.
The entries for the coming season suggest a solid, if not huge, pool of challengers, but Marine Nationale has already shown he can cope with pressure, pace and the demands of the hill.
His task now is to back up that Queen Mother display and show that last March was the beginning of a spell of dominance rather than a one‑off peak.
2026 Stayers Hurdle
Reigning champ: Bob Olinger
Bob Olinger’s success in the 2025 Stayers’ Hurdle completed a notable set of Festival feature race wins for Rachael Blackmore and restored his own reputation as a high‑class staying hurdler.
Henry de Bromhead’s gelding, once seen as a potential star over fences, returned to the smaller obstacles and produced a strong, patient performance over three miles.
Teahupoo travelled well and moved to the front turning for home, but Bob Olinger joined him at the last and then powered away on the climb to the line to secure his third Cheltenham Festival victory.
It was a polished display from a horse whose record at the track has generally been very good and who responded when asked in the closing stages.
The staying hurdle division can often feel open, but Bob Olinger now goes into 2026 as a clear target for the rest.
Teahupoo, along with other durable stayers from Britain and Ireland, including Kabral Du Mathan and Honesty Policy, will be there to test him again, with the younger horses stepping up in trip looking to exploit any sign of vulnerability.
For now, though, Bob Olinger has set a recent benchmark for class, speed, and stamina at three miles, and connections know they have a horse who stays the trip and handles the demands of Festival week.
2026 Cheltenham Gold Cup
Reigning champ: Inothewayurthinkin
The last of our reigning champions is Inothewayurthinkin, who now tops the staying chase division after winning the 2025 Cheltenham Gold Cup, giving trainer Gavin Cromwell and jockey Mark Walsh their first victories in the race.
The seven‑year‑old added his name to a long list of Irish‑trained Gold Cup winners with a performance built on sound jumping and a strong finish at the end of a well‑run race.
Walsh described the feeling afterwards as “dancing inside” and emphasised how well the horse had travelled and jumped, bar a minor mistake at a ditch down the back on the final circuit.
It was the sort of measured, professional display that often defines modern Gold Cup winners, combining tactical speed with the ability to see out an exacting trip.
However, as the season unfolded, it became clear that JP McManus’s Gold Cup winner was not on the best of form, falling last time out in the Irish Gold Cup.
As a result, he has drifted in the odds, and it is now Jango Baie and The Jukebox Man who are vying for poll position at the top of the betting markets.
Ireland again looks likely to supply much of the depth in the race, with proven Grade One chasers and second‑season horses all aiming for a share of the spotlight.
Irish trainers have won the last seven renewals, but this year it is definitely for the Brits to lose, with plenty of top-class entries.
It is definitely more open than in previous years and any of five or six contenders have a genuine chance.
The 2026 renewal will answer whether Inothewayurthinkin is a one‑year champion or the start of another extended Irish era at the top of the staying chase tree.
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