The Cheltenham Festival Brain Has Spoken: Here's What The Data Says Will Win
We're launching something new for Cheltenham 2026!
The Cheltenham Festival Brain is a first-of-its-kind tool that analyses decades of historical winning trends across all 28 races at the meeting, weights them by reliability, and combines that with current sentiment to produce a predicted finishing order for every single race across the four days.
Not all trends are created equal. A trend that applies to every winner in the last 20 years carries far more weight than one that hits 65% of the time. The Brain accounts for that, scoring each horse against every relevant trend and ranking them accordingly.
Where horses are inseparable on trends alone, we apply tiebreakers based on market position, trainer form and race-specific data.
The result is a transparent, data-led set of predictions you can explore race by race and then maybe even use them for your Cheltenham punts on horse racing betting sites.
Elliott To Edge Mullins In A Titanic Trainer Battle
The headline call is a bold one. The Brain predicts Gordon Elliott will be crowned Cheltenham’s Top Trainer with eight winners across the four days, just pipping Willie Mullins on seven.
It would be a significant moment — Elliott reasserting himself at the very top of the training ranks on the sport's biggest stage.
Between them, the two Irish giants are predicted to account for 15 of the 28 races, which feeds into the Brain's wider Prestbury Cup forecast: Ireland 21, Great Britain 7.
That would be yet another commanding performance for the raiders from across the Irish Sea.
The Championship Races
The Brain has strong opinions on all four feature races.
In the Gold Cup, it's Gaelic Warrior who comes out on top. He fits the historical profile across almost every key trend and the Brain makes him the selection to deliver for Mullins and owners the Ricci family on Friday afternoon.
Tuesday's Champion Hurdle goes to Brighterdaysahead for Gordon Elliott. She's the horse the Brain identifies as the best trend fit in a competitive renewal, and a win here would set the tone for Elliott's charge towards the Leading Trainer title from day one.
The Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday is where Dan Skelton lands his biggest blow. The Brain picks L'Eau Du Sud to take the two-mile crown, a result that would underline Skelton's growing status as Britain's premier jumps trainer.
And the Stayers' Hurdle stays in familiar hands. Teahupoo is the Brain's selection to deliver again for Elliott on St Patrick's Thursday, with the historical data strongly favouring the defending champion.
The Trainers To Watch
Beyond the big two, the Brain highlights several trainers set for memorable weeks.
Dan Skelton is predicted to land two winners, headlined by that Champion Chase call. Joseph O'Brien is another tipped for a double as he continues to make his mark at the Festival in his own right.
One of the most popular storylines the Brain has thrown up concerns Fergal O'Brien. The Cotswolds trainer is predicted to land a first-ever Cheltenham Festival winner with Sixmilebridge in the Jack Richards Novices' Chase on Thursday. It would be a richly deserved moment for a trainer who has been knocking on the door for years.
Nicky Henderson faces a quieter week than we've become accustomed to. With Constitution Hill and Sir Gino both absent from the meeting, the Brain forecasts just two winners for the Seven Barrows team from a depleted squad.
Explore The Full Predictions
The Festival Brain covers every race, every trend and every horse. You can explore the full predicted finishing orders, see which trends each horse hits or misses, and dig into the data behind every call.
Whether you're building your Festival bets or simply want a data-driven steer on the biggest week in racing, the Brain is your starting point!
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