After all the exciting action over the Festive Season, I have set my sights on the Cheltenham Festival. I like the look of four horses at big odds e/w, get my 2026 Cheltenham ante-post e/w lucky 15 tips below.
Arkle Chase – Irish Panther e/w @ 20/1
I mentioned in my festive e/w lucky 15 preview that Irish
Panther was one of my original selections but by the time of publication, he
had shortened into single figure odds. Eddie Harty’s charge ran an absolute
cracker after drifting back out to 12s and was narrowly denied by Romeo Coolio,
currently around 8/1 for this race.
At Leopardstown, Irish Panther jumped and travelled
supremely well, just like he did when winning on his chase debut at Naas.
Clearly, he is a far better chaser than hurdler and only for a very slight
stumble after jumping the last, I think he would have held on to beat the fast
finishing Romeo Coolio.
Some might argue that he didn’t quite see out the trip and
that the hill at Cheltenham will find him out stamina wise. I don’t buy that. I
think he saw out the distance perfectly well and he finished over 12l ahead of
a Grade 2 novice chase winner in July Flower.
Connections have already said that they are considering
going straight to the Arkle, so barring injury, he should be a runner. I think
odds of 20/1 are a bit of an insult considering how well he ran in Dublin and
he is the first of our four 2026 Cheltenham ante-post selections.
Champion Chase – Solness e/w @ 25/1
Another horse that impressed at Leopardstown’s Christmas
meeting was Solness. We backed this horse when he won at 28/1 at last year’s meeting
and he went on and followed up at the DRF in February. Unfortunately, he could
only manage a poor fourth in this race last March, but he’s going to have
a very different preparation this year.
When Solness finished down the field at Galway in July 2024,
he was returning from a three-month break. Incredibly, he was kept on the go
all through the autumn, the winter and then into the spring, running in the Champion
Chase on what was effectively his ninth run on the spin without a break of 50
days or more. Surely, that played a part in his below par performance (and his
lesser effort at Punchestown a month later).
This time, Solness has had a 292 day break and will likely have
his third run of the season in the Champion Chase. He returned to action with a
win at Leopardstown, holding off the late surge of Marine Nationale, who did really
well to get so close after his early blunder. You’d have to fancy Barry Connell’s charge to
reverse that form but Solness finished over 3l clear of Majborough, an erratic
jumper who is 7/1 for this, yet the sure footed Solness can be backed at 25s.
This race is almost certain to cut up considerably, and it
would be no surprise if less than eight turned up in March. 25/1 about Solness with
three places on offer sounds alright to me and he is our second 2026 Cheltenham
ante-post selection.
Pertemps Handicap Hurdle – Electric Mason e/w @ 16/1
Our third selection is (yet) another horse we have backed
this year. We were on Electric Mason at huge odds when he found just one too
good in a qualifier for this race at Cheltenham on his seasonal reappearance.
The horse that beat him, Ma Shantou, won again off 9lb higher at Cheltenham on
New Year’s Day.
Electric Mason rocked up to Haydock on his next start and we
were on him again at 14s. Off a 4lb higher mark he went one place better,
jumping well and holding off the late challenge of Hartington to score by a
neck.
He got hit with a 7lb rise for that and afterwards, his
trainer Chris Gordon stated all roads led to the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham
in March. This horse goes well fresh so I concur with that plan and I think he
has the potential to rate higher than his current mark of 139. Hopefully he
gets there in one piece.
Gold Cup – I Am Maximus e/w @ 33/1
With Galopin Des Champs seemingly on the decline and the
reigning champion Inothewayurthinkin bang out of sorts, this is the most open
looking Gold Cup we’ve had for quite a while. Our Christmas winner Affordale
Fury announced his arrival at the top table in the Savills but it is the horse
who finished second behind him that I think could be set for a big run at
Cheltenham in March.
I Am Maximus is a horse that owes us nothing. We were on
ante-post at 25s when he won the 2024 Grand National and he pitched up in that race
again last April and ran another cracker off a mark of 167, finding just Nick Rockett too good.
Lightly Raced
Many will point to this horse’s age as a negative. Yes,
there is no denying he’s no spring chicken at the age of ten but since his
Irish Grand National win in April 2023, he’s probably only run on his merits five
times so he is a fresher horse than his age suggests.
My view is that connections have realised that he will
struggle to win another National off his rating of 170 (no shame in that) and
after a pipe opener in the John Durkan, they decided to unleash the beast in
the Savills. He beat all comers bar Affordale Fury and over another furlong and
a half (the Gold Cup Trip), he probably would have stayed on best to win.
His only previous run at Cheltenham came in the 2023 Brown
Advisory (3m) and he got outpaced before staying on into fourth. I Am Maximus
acts on any ground, an obvious plus when betting ante-post, and he was given an
official entry today. At 33s, I think he is capable of a huge run.
