The 2025 Cheltenham Festival was unforgettable, purely down to the sheer number of well-backed favourites that were beaten, leaving the grandstands silenced and the bookmakers celebrating. Perhaps the biggest upset was Galopin Des Champs' failed Gold Cup three-peat bid, with the storied French horse well beaten by Inothewayurthinkin. But another was the Champion Hurdle.
The Champion Hurdle is the biggest race on day one of the Cheltenham Festival, and in 2025, all the talk was about Constitution Hill. Nicky Henderson's prized charge won the storied race in 2023 but was forced to surrender his crown without running in 2024 due to a lung infection. In 2025, he was the odds-on favourite to reclaim his crown, with long-time rival and reigning champion State Man expected to run him close. What unfolded was a wild ride.
Constitution Hill never looked settled and shockingly fell four from home, leaving onlookers stunned. State Man then inherited the lead, but he too fell, this time at the last. That opened the door for 25/1 outsider Golden Ace to race through, upsetting odds to claim a scarcely believable win.
Now, as the New Year approaches, a new Cheltenham Festival does too. With less than three months to go until the eyes of the racing world descend upon Gloucestershire, which horses are currently being positioned by online betting sites as the main contenders to secure Champion Hurdle victory on day one? Let's take a look.
Lossiemouth
Look, if you’re previewing the 2026 Champion Hurdle and Lossiemouth isn’t your headline act, you’re doing it wrong. This grey rocket from Willie Mullins’ yard is the one they’re all chasing right now – and with good reason. She’s unbeaten in five starts at Cheltenham, a record that tells you this place suits her down to the ground. Back in 2025, she toyed with the field in the Mares’ Hurdle again, romping home by eight lengths like it was a glorified sparring session. Fast forward 12 months, and betting sites have her priced in for the biggest win of her career.
The latest Bovada horse betting odds currently list the immensely talented mare as the 2/1 favourite to win the 2026 Champion Hurdle, and if she can live up to the lofty billing, she will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Annie Power and Honeysuckle, mares who took on and beat the boys at their own game. But the 2025 season wasn't all plain sailing, despite yet another win at Cheltenham.
A fall in the Irish Champion Hurdle when tanking along, and a Christmas flop behind Constitution Hill at Kempton, had a few doubters muttering. She bounced back with an Aintree demolition job, reminding everyone she’s got gears most horses can only dream of. Perfect at Prestbury Park: Triumph as a juvenile, then two Mares’ Hurdles without breaking a sweat.
Now the big question: does Mullins finally throw her in against the boys? That 7lb allowance is a massive perk, and her speed up the hill could embarrass a few geldings. At 2/1, she’s no value screamer, but she’s the most likely winner in a division crying out for a standout. If they go for it, she’ll be tough – very tough – to peg back.
Sir Gino
Sir Gino – the “what if” horse of the moment. Nicky Henderson’s speedball looked like a monster early in 2025, blitzing the Fighting Fifth and then switching to fences for a sparkling debut win over Ballyburn in the Wayward Lad. Electric doesn’t cover it. But then disaster: a nasty leg infection hits and sidelines him for the season, no Cheltenham, no nothing. Gutting.
Before the setback, he was unbeaten over hurdles, with that juvenile form stacking up nicely – a proper Triumph trial winner at Cheltenham, where he made the hill look flat. Course record: one from one, and he loved it.
Now the talk is a return to hurdles for the Champion. Henderson’s keen, reckons the two miles sharp is his game, and the horse is back in work looking a picture. Lightly raced, bags of upside, that devastating turn of foot intact. But here’s the rub: he’s missed so much time, and this division’s moved on. Lossiemouth’s flying, The New Lion’s unbeaten vibe is strong.
At 3/1, there’s an appeal if you’re a glass-half-full type – a fresh, classy five-year-old with Henderson magic. But forgive me for a touch of scepticism; coming back from a serious injury into a red-hot Champion Hurdle? Brave call. Still, if he turns up like his old self, he’ll scare the life out of them.
The New Lion
Dan Skelton’s The New Lion – unbeaten, tough as a two-dollar steak, and suddenly the progressive force this race might revolve around. What a 2025 he had: stayed perfect with a gritty win in the Turners Novices’ at Cheltenham, digging deep up the hill to hold off strong stayers. Before that, the Challow demolition at Newbury had tongues wagging – proper Grade 1 stuff.
The only hiccup? An early fall in the Fighting Fifth when odds-on, but let’s not dwell; it happens. Cheltenham loves him: one run, one battling success on that demanding track.
Skelton’s banging the drum for a drop back to two miles in the Champion, convinced his sharp acceleration will shine. JP McManus ownership, Harry Skelton aboard – it’s got all the ingredients. He’s versatile, travels like a dream, and that unbeaten tag carries weight in a wide-open year.
9/2 feels fair, maybe even generous if he starts the season with a bang. No superstar dominating yet, so why not this tough cookie? He’s got the stamina from the Turners, the speed for sharper tests – could be the blend that wins it. I’m excited about him; in a renewal short on proven elite, his upward curve screams danger.
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