Cheltenham Festival Odds: Who Will Be Top Trainer Over The Four Days?

Willie Mullins has dominated National Hunt racing to the extent that he has been top trainer at the Cheltenham Festival in each of the last six seasons and 10 of the last 12 in all. 

It was business as usual for Mullins at Prestbury Park on the opening day of the festival as he won the Supreme and Mares' Hurdle, and he remains the favourite on betting sites to have the most winners this week.

Mullins was arguably unlucky not to make it four wins after jumping errors from State Man and Majborough let them down at critical times in the Champion Hurdle and Arkle respectively.

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Nicky Henderson picked up a victory in the Arkle with Jango Baie, but hit the crossbar twice on Wednesday as Impose Toi and Jonbon finished runners-up.

Gordon Elliott also had two second-place finishes on Wednesday with The Yellow Clay and Stellar Story, and is still aiming to register his first winner on day three of the meeting.

Mullins On Course For Top Trainer

Mullins got off to a flyer on the opening day of the meeting as Kopek Des Bordes landed the Supreme in impressive style but Majborough failed to deliver in the Arkle as his jumping cost him the race.

He was unlucky not to land the Champion Hurdle as State Man fluffed his lines at the last but he was soon back in the winner’s enclosure as Lossiemouth stamped her class in the Mares' Hurdle to win easily.

Mullins doesn’t have the same ammunition on Thursday as the bulk of his runners are all trading at double-figure odds, but Fact To File in the Ryanair is his best chance of a winner today as he trades at 7/4 with horse racing betting sites.

Muillins now has five winners after the first two days and with his market rivals getting nowhere near that, it’s impossible not to see him winning the top trainer trophy again.

Cromwell Leading Without Mullins Market

Gavin Cromwell’s horses have put in some top performances this week, but the Irish trainer has ultimately recorded just one winner.

When you consider that six of his runners have finished in the first three to date, you can’t say his team have let him down.

Stumptown remains his sole winner after a masterclass of staying in the Cross Country Chase, and the Aintree Grand National is now very much on that horse’s agenda.

Punters will be hoping that Cromwell can get another winner on the board early on Thursday, as Sixandahalf is a strong favourite for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.

Day three also features a number of tricky handicap races, and Cromwell has some decent chances with the likes of Will To The Wise (Pertemps Hurdle), Thecompanysergeant (Plate Chase) and Mint Boy (Kim Muir Chase).

If his horses continue to run as they have been this week, it would be no surprise to see him move up in the standings for Top Trainer, for which he is priced at 8/11 without Mullins.

Elliott Left With Mountain To Climb

Gordon Elliott was top trainer at Cheltenham in successive seasons in 2018 and 2019 but since then Willie Mullins has won five in a row.

Although his team doesn’t look as strong as before, he still has plenty of firepower to go to war with.

That said, Tuesday was a day to forget for Elliott as he wasn’t even close to getting a winner from 11 runners, with Brighterdaysahead being a major disappointment in a remarkable Champion Hurdle.

Things did not pick up for him on Wednesday as The Yellow Clay and Stellar Story both finished second in the opening two races.

Galvin and Kalypso’chance were well fancied for the Cross Country and Bumper but they failed to get into the mix.

On Thursday, Elliott’s main hope will be Teahupoo in the Stayers’ Hurdle who is 7/4 for back-to-back wins, but his stable-mate The Wallpark is being heavily punted to land the spoils instead of the favourite.

Elliott is 3/1 with betting apps to finish top trainer without Mullins.

Henderson Looks To Bounce Back

Nicky Henderson has claimed the top trainer title three times, but has failed to win it since 2012 because of Mullin's domination.

The Henderson stable got off to the perfect start on Tuesday as Jango Baie came from the clouds to win the Arkle, but Constitution Hill was a disappointment as he couldn’t stay on his feet in a dramatic Champion Hurdle.

Jonbon was a major let-down for his team on Wednesday as a jumping error cost him the chance of winning at the Cheltenham Festival for the first time.

On Thursday, Henderson’s main hopes are Lucky Place (13/2) and Jeriko Du Reponet (8/1) for the Stayers' and Pertemps respectively.

Henderson is 5/1 in the without Mullins market.