Sports
Cheltenham Festival 2026 – Day 1
It’s the opening day of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival – Champion Day.
Leader D’Allier out of Supreme Novices’
The seven-race card gets underway with the Grade 1 SkyBet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. There are now 11 runners in the race with Willie Mullins’ Leader D’Allier withdrawn this morning having been found lame.
Nicky Henderson bids to win his sixth Supreme Novices’ Hurdle 40 years after River Ceirog gave him his first victory in the race. He is represented by Old Park Star, the mount of Nico de Boinville.
There is, as usual, a string Irish challenge in the race, with Mighty Park [Mark Walsh], Tale The Talk [J.J. Slevin] and El Cairos [Jack Kennedy] the market leaders among the seven Irish-trained runners.
Kopek Des Bordes bids for Arkle Chase
Last year’s SkyBet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner, Kopek Des Bordes, bids to land the Singer Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase at 2.00pm.
The Charles McCarthy-owned French-bred faces a field of six, with Nicky Henderson’s Lulamba, and Kargese, the likely main challengers.
Unibet Champion Hurdle
The Unibet Champion Hurdle, the opening day feature race, has a field of 9 runners.
The Champion Hurdle was first run almost a century ago, but only seven mares have won it: African Star (1939), Dawn Run (1984), Flakey Dove (1994), Annie Power (2016), Epatante (2020), Honeysuckle (2021 & 2022) and Golden Ace (2025).
Three mares in field of nine
This afternoon, there are three mares in the starting line-up: Brighterdaysahead from the Gordon Elliott yard, last year’s winner, Golden Ace, and Lossiemouth from the Mullins yard.
Five of the past ten renewals of the race have been scooped by mares, including achieving a 1-2 in 2022.
No horse in this year’s Unibet Champion Hurdle line-up has had a blemish-free campaign, which is highly unusual.
Thirty-one of the past 35 winners of the race won on their most recent start. Only The New Lion and Brighterdaysahead qualify on that count this year.