Cheltenham Festival Top Trainer - A Look At The Contenders

The Cheltenham Festival is the pinnacle of National Hunt racing and it brings together the cream of the crop from Britain and Ireland for a wonderful series of championship races.

Being the top trainer at Cheltenham is the ultimate accolade for any jumps handler.

What Is The Cheltenham Festival Top Trainer?

Every race at Cheltenham carries a momentous billing, with winners in the Cotswolds carrying additional gravitas for the connections involved.

Across four days there are 28 races at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival and the accolade of Top Trainer goes to the person with most wins over four days, with a countback system based on second and third-placed finishes used to split trainers in the event of a tie on overall wins.

Below we are looking at some of the leading contenders to be top trainer at the Cheltenham Festival this year as we ponder their best hopes of glory.

Willie Mullins

No trainer in history has amassed anything close to Willie Mullins’ tally of 113 Cheltenham Festival winners and the Irish powerhouse has been top trainer at the meeting 12 times, including each of the last seven years. Can anyone touch his domination in 2026?

Mullins will hope for a fast start. He has declared top novice Mighty Park for the opening Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, set to be run on owner JP McManus’ birthday, while last year’s Supreme winner Kopek Des Bordes is jostling for favouritism in the Arkle.

In the Champion Hurdle, the Irishman has options aplenty with Lossiemouth and Poniros – both festival winners already – joining Anzadam in the mix.

Mullins and McManus also have hot favourite Majborough in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, while the likes of Fact To File and Gaelic Warrior are major contenders in whichever races they line up in and Galopin Des Champs will bid to regain the Gold Cup after finishing second last year.

Winner of the Champion Bumper last season, Bambino Fever, goes for the Mares Novices’ Hurdle and has been touted by many experts as Mullins’ most likely winner at the meeting.

Gordon Elliott

Gordon Elliott has 41 Cheltenham winners on his CV and was top trainer at the Cotswolds showpiece in 2017 and 2018. The Cullentra House handler is having a superb season on home soil and travels to Cheltenham with a strong team.

Former Stayers’ Hurdle winner Teahupoo attempts to regain that crown on day three, while Elliott’s mare Brighterdaysahead won the Irish Champion Hurdle last time out and now goes for the Cheltenham version.

Wodhooh was Elliott’s sole winner here last season and is now a big player in the Mares’ Hurdle, while star novices’ El Cairos and Ballyfad have Grade 1 pretensions in the Supreme.

Nicky Henderson

Nicky Henderson has 75 winners at the Cheltenham Festival in a decorated career and the Seven Barrows supremo has been top trainer nine times in a career spanning more than four decades.

He, too, will want a fast start as Old Park Star has headed the market for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle for some time and Lulamba has similar claims in the Arkle.

Act Of Innocence looks like another top novice in the Turners, while last year’s Arkle hero Jango Baie is a major contender to give Henderson his third Gold Cup.

Dan Skelton

Dan Skelton is the new kid on the block and is on a relentless march towards being Britain’s champion trainer for the first time come season’s end.

He now has 11 Cheltenham Festival winners on his CV and that number is sure to keep rising.

The New Lion won a Grade 1 novice here last March and is favourite to win the Champion Hurdle on day one, which would give Skelton his first success in a Cheltenham Championship event.

Other Contenders

Irish duo Henry De Bromhead and Gavin Cromwell have won three of the last five Gold Cups between them and are no strangers to glory at this meeting, while Joseph O’Brien is another Irish-based handler with a good record.

On the home team, Paul Nicholls may not have the firepower of old, but he typically has something to work with and unbeaten star No Drama This End tops his hopefuls this time, while Ben Pauling has a useful squad that includes King George winner The Jukebox Man going for Gold Cup glory.

Golden Ace won the Champion Hurdle last season for Jeremy Scott and will attempt a repeat on day one.

Previous Cheltenham Festival Top Trainer Winners

Willie Mullins is the dominant force and his recent tallies suggest that displacing him is going to be very tough.