Thanks to the increasing dominance of Willie Mullins and his mighty squadron, the Cheltenham Festival has become a relatively happy hunting ground for favourite backers.
Ahead of the 2025 edition, Mullins is once again responsible for the market leader in many headline events, whilst we have a short-price favourite in all four championship-level contests.
When looking ahead to the magical four days, many punters will no doubt keep things simple and focus on the favourites. There’s nothing wrong with such a strategy, but when it comes to the Cheltenham Festival, there is invariably a betting banana skin lurking in the mix.
Raucous cheers are the default accompaniment to the winner crossing the line at the Cheltenham Festival. However, there are sometimes results which leave the vast majority of punters scratching their heads instead. Back in 1990, 100/1 shot Norton’s Coin became the Gold Cup’s longest odds winner when leading home a field containing Desert Orchid no less.
Here we take a look back at four more recent occasions when you could have heard a pin drop at Prestbury Park.
Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle 2019: Minella Indo, 50/1
| Position | Horse (SP) | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Minella Indo (50/1) | Rachael Blackmore | Henry de Bromhead |
| Second | Commander Of Fleet (4/1) | Jack Kennedy | Gordon Elliott |
| Third | Allaho (6/1) | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins |
Ahead of the 2019 edition of this three-mile event, 19 of the 20-runner field had at least one win to their name. The sole exception hailed from the yard of Henry de Bromhead and went by the name of Minella Indo.
However, no one told Minella Indo he wasn’t supposed to break his duck on the biggest stage. Racing prominently throughout, the six-year-old switched to the stands rail in the straight and stayed on powerfully to deny the market leader, Commander Of Fleet.
Second winner of the week for Rachael Blackmore! Minella Indo lands the Albert Bartlett and at a mighty 50-1 in a 1-2-3 for Ireland #TheFestival #CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/7BIFYb0Ew8
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 15, 2019
Whilst hard to fathom at the time, there was certainly no fluke about this result. Minella Indo added a second top-tier success to his CV in the Grade 1 Novice Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival before returning to Cheltenham in 2021 to win the Gold Cup.
Stayers’ Hurdle 2020: Lisnagar Oscar, 50/1
| Position | Horse (SP) | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Lisnagar Oscar (50/1) | Adam Wedge | Rebecca Curtis |
| Second | Ronald Pump (20/1) | Bryan Cooper | Matthew Smith |
| Third | Bacardys (33/1) | Patrick Mullins | Willie Mullins |
Ahead of the 2020 Day 3 feature, the 2019 champ, Paisley Park, was the centre of attention. Unbeaten in two starts since that victory, including an easy course and distance success in the Cleeve Hurdle, the Emma Lavelle star was the hot favourite to defend his crown. If the favourite came up short, the market suggested that the 2018 champ, Penhill, or Gordon Elliott’s superstar mare, Apple’s Jade, were the most likely to take advantage. Having tasted defeat in his previous seven starts and come up well short in two outings in Grade 1 company, Lisnagar Oscar was some way down the pecking order.
Once underway, the 2020 Stayer’s Hurdle wasted little time tearing up the script. Starting like a bat out of hell, it soon became clear that Apple’s Jade would struggle to see out the trip, whilst Penhill blundered at the third hurdle and was pulled up before the fourth. Paisley Park, meanwhile, briefly threatened, only to uncharacteristically weaken in the straight.
With the market leaders floundering, 50/1 shot Lisnagar Oscar, 20/1 chance Ronald Pump, and 33/1 outsider Bacardys fought out the finish, with the former asserting in the final furlong; a fine result for those who backed him, whilst the clairvoyants who picked out the tricast were rewarded with a £28,381.06 payout.
Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle 2019: Eglantine Du Seuil, 50/1
| Position | Horse (SP) | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Eglantine Du Seuil (50/1) | Noel Fehily | Willie Mullins |
| Second | Concertista (66/1) | Danny Mullins | Willie Mullins |
| Third | Tintangle (40/1) | Jack Kennedy | Gordon Elliott |
Added to the Cheltenham Festival schedule in 2016, this 2m1f event quickly developed a familiar pattern. Limini won the inaugural edition at odds of 8/11, Let’s Dance scored at 11/8 in 2017, and Laurina strolled clear at 4/7 in 2018. Three winning favourites, all trained by Willie Mullins, appeared to make this one of the easier festival contests to unravel.
However, the 2019 edition wasn’t as straightforward on paper. Rather than the latest Mullins’ flying machine, the market was headed by future Champion Hurdle queen Epatante, from the yard of Nicky Henderson, followed by the Paul Nicholls-trained Posh Trish. Mullins had no fewer than seven entries, priced between 13/2 and 66/1.
Thriller! Eglantine Du Seuil at a mighty 50-1 just nabs Concertista as Willie Mullins lands a 1-2 in the Dawn Run #TheFestival #CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/ZGBlEhx1ui
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 14, 2019
The market may have looked significantly different than in previous years, but the result was the same. Mullins’ first string, My Sister Sarah, managed only 13th, but the Closutton colossus still recorded a one-two, as Eglantine Du Seuil got up in the shadow of the post to deny her 66/1 stablemate Concertista. With Gordon Elliott’s 40/1 chance Tintangle grabbing third, the tricast paid a whopping £73,711.25.
Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle 2021: Jeff Kidder, 80/1
| Position | Horse (SP) | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Jeff Kidder (80/1) | Sean Flanagan | Noel Meade |
| Second | Saint Sam (9/2) | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| Third | Elham Valley (66/1) | Paddy Brennan | Fergal O’Brien |
| Fourth | Houx Gris (11/2) | Harry Cobden | Paul Nicholls |
If any race at the festival is set up to provide an upset, it is likely to be this fast and furious handicap that is restricted to unexposed four-year-olds. As such, it isn’t too surprising to learn that the past 10 editions have featured just one winning favourite and four winners priced at 25/1 or bigger.
The biggest surprise of all – and the biggest shock in any Cheltenham Festival race this century – was provided by the Noel Meade-trained Jeff Kidder in 2021. The Hallowed Crown gelding broke his hurdles duck in a lowly maiden at Fairyhouse but warmed up for this with a last-of-seven effort in a Grade 2 contest at Leopardstown.
Jeff Kidder wins the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle from a massive 80-1
Watch LIVE
📺 @ITV
📱 https://t.co/qvqqUMKxOG#ITVRacing#CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/3LOwPdx6jr— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 16, 2021
Not the most obvious of winners on paper, but the mount of Sean Flanagan relished the drop in class and frenetic pace to win far more easily than the two-length winning margin would imply. Having found his stride, Jeff Kidder followed up in a Grade 2 at Fairyhouse before causing a 22/1 upset in the Grade 1 Champion Four Year Old Hurdle at Punchestown.