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The late, great Hugh McIlvanney was never better than when writing about the magic and lure of Cheltenham and I make no apology for turning to him now.
‘Anyone immune to the delicious lunacy of horse racing,’ he once observed, ‘is suffering a deprivation for which mere solvency cannot compensate.’
Glorious. There has been plenty of lunacy in this beloved sport of ours over the last 10 days, with Lord Allen quitting his role as chairman of the BHA and the potentially ruinous eruption of infighting at the Racecourse Association, but to the sporting public this is what matters — the thrill of sport.
Racing, I’ve learned during this last decade, has a capacity for trying hard to destroy itself, but it never will.
Crowds are going to flock through the gates here over the course of this week, or camp themselves in front of a television, to watch the drama unfold. Cheltenham, simply, is delicious.
This has always been the highlight of my year, but there has been a different sensation around the 2026 Festival, and that is the unknown. I’m not writing today, looking at a list of odds-on favourites and fearing predictability — I’m exhilarated by the glorious unpredictability of this occasion.
I am exhilarated by the glorious unpredictability heading into this year’s Cheltenham Festival
A win for Harry Redknapp’s horse The Jukebox Man in the Cheltenham Gold Cup would catapult racing onto front pages and lead news bulletins
What a journey we can embark upon before the climax of a Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup for the ages. Support has been strong for Gaelic Warrior ever since his stablemate, Galopin Des Champs, was ruled out with injury, but this is as open as the race has been for years.
Imagine a win for Harry Redknapp and his horse The Jukebox Man, which would catapult racing onto front pages and lead news bulletins. Will there be tears of joy from Nicky Henderson for his runner Jango Baie, after the anguish of reluctantly ruling Constitution Hill out of the Champion Hurdle?
We will get to see Constitution Hill today, when he will be applauded around the paddock on a lap of honour before embarking on a new career on the Flat. He will deserve the acclaim, as who can forget his last appearance at Cheltenham, when he ended up on the floor?
Champion Hurdle day 12 months ago was unforgettable. There was the raw emotion as we said goodbye to Michael O’Sullivan, the brilliant young Irish jockey who had been killed in a fall at Thurles a month before the festival, and then unscripted drama of the big race. ITV Racing won the Sports Programme of the Year Award for that production, beating a shortlist that included the England Lionesses retaining their European Championship, the Six Nations and other giant sporting events, which shows the lure and magic of the Cheltenham Festival.
Its standing as an elite sporting event that the public adores is beyond doubt. You get the same return for £10 on 2-1 favourite at smaller tracks as you do at Cheltenham, but roaring one up the run-in at the festival hits differently — this is what it is all about.
So where do we think the winners are coming from on day one? Well, the opening Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is as good a renewal as I can remember. I’m hearing good things about El Cairos and Talk The Talk, two fascinating Irish contenders. Mighty Park, meanwhile, is the proverbial ‘could be anything’ horse — he’s being pitched into this race on the back of winning a maiden hurdle at Punchestown by 38 lengths and is one of several candidates for JP McManus, the leading owner who is celebrating his 75th birthday today.
Lulamba is a strong contender to beat Kopek Des Bordes in the Arkle Chase on Wednesday
His green and gold silks will be everywhere and it’s inconceivable JP won’t be in the winners’ enclosure at some point — keep an eye on Manlaga in the four-year-old handicap hurdle (2.40), while Jonnywho has a chance in the Ultima (3.20).
I’m sticking, though, with Old Park Star in the Supreme (1.20) for Henderson and it could be a double for the maestro of Seven Barrows, as Lulamba is a strong fancy to beat Kopek Des Bordes in the Arkle Chase (2.00) — believe me, you don’t want to miss this dust-up.
Lulamba is a horse I’ve always felt possesses special qualities. I’d backed him to win the Triumph Hurdle 12 months ago — I cashed out beforehand, but it was still agony watching him being pipped on the line — and it’s getting to the stage where I might have to find space on a wall for a picture of him!
The main event, of course, is the Champion Hurdle. I’ve argued all winter with Ruby Walsh that Lossiemouth needed to run in it, rather than the Mares’ Hurdle, and we’ll see how good she is now. Ruby says, in top-level sport, winning is all that matters. Is this a significant clue?
If The New Lion, for Dan Skelton, stays on his feet he will win but it is great to see Golden Ace, last year’s heroine, come back for more. ‘He who dares, Rodney!’, Jeremy Scott, her trainer, said after she profited from State Man’s final-flight fall, and the crowd will take him to their hearts again.
But, really, anything could happen and the only thing I will predict with certainty is the unpredictable. That is how it should be. Let the lunacy begin.
Ed Chamberlin is a SkyBet UK ambassador
