After three days of drama-filled racing, the Cheltenham Festival’s grand finale awaits: Gold Cup Day.
The Cheltenham roar will be turned up to fever pitch as the horses sprint for the finish and a place in the annals of jump racing history.
Underlined by a host of hotly contested races including the Trumph Hurdle and Novices’ Hurdle, Gold Cup day rarely disappoints.
– Cheltenham Festival: What to know, dates, races, horses, how to watch, prize money, more
– Prestbury Cup at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival explained: Score, winners, standings, more
Friday’s racecard
All times GMT
1.20 p.m. The JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 179y
2 p.m. The William Hill County Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) 2m 179y
2.40 p.m. The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Grade 2) 2m 4f 127y
3.20 p.m. The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 7f 213y
4 p.m. The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1) 3m 2f 70y
4.40 p.m. The Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase 3m 2f 70y
5.20 p.m. The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle 2m 4f 56y
Going and Weather at Cheltenham on Friday
The going is rated as Good to Soft, but with plenty of rain around Gloucestershire during Festival week, there is a good chance it gets softer underfoot.
The meteorologists expecting some of the wet stuff during the afternoon of Gold Cup Day, as well as some welcome sunny spells.
Racegoers shouldn’t have to wrap up too warm, though, with highs of 12°C expected and an overnight low of 7°C.
Gold Cup race info
The Gold Cup is the most prestigious National Hunt race in the world. It is the blue riband race of the four-day Cheltenham Festival and makes legends of the horses that win it.
The race is run over 3 miles, 2 furlongs and 70 yards and horses jump over steeplechase fences which are a minimum of 4½ feet (1.3m).
As one of the highlights of the racing calendar, it attracts more than 70,000 racegoers and a TV audience of close to two million.
When: Friday, March 13 at 4 p.m. GMT
Where: Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire
Gold Cup odds
Note: Odds are courtesy of Bet365 and are correct as of Friday March 6. They are subject to change.
Gaelic Warrior (3/1)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: Mrs S Ricci, Trainer: Willie Mullins
Jangoe Baie (7/2)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: Countrywide Park Homes Ltd, Trainer: Nicky Henderson
The Jukebox Man (4/1)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: Harry Redknapp, Trainer: Ben Pauling
Inothewayurthinkin (13/2)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: JP McManus, Trainer: Gavin Cromwell
Hauti Coleurs (13/2)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: Conyers, McDermott And Prowting, Trainer: Rebecca Curtis
Grey Dawning (11/1)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: Robert Kirkland, Trainer: Dan Skelton
Spillane’s Tower (11/1)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: JP McManus, Trainer: James Joseph Mangan
Affordale Fury (20/1)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: PL Polly, Trainer: Noel Meade
Envoi Allen (20/1)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: Cheveley Park Stud, Trainer: Henry De Bromhead
Banbridge (25/1)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: RA Bartlett, Trainer: Joseph Patrick O’Brien
Firefox (25/1)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: Bective Stud, Trainer: Gordon Elliott
L’homme Presse (40/1)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: Dfa Racing (Pink,Edwards & Sharman), Trainer: Venetia Williams
Stellar Story (40/1)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: Gigginstown House Stud, Trainer: Gordon Elliott
Gold Tweet (100/1)
Jockey: TBC, Owner: Agv Karwin Stud, Gabriel Leenders Et Al, Trainer: Gabriel Leenders
Who are the favourites?
The Jukebox Man, owned by former Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth head coach Harry Redknapp, is tipped by many to taste glory on Friday.
The eight-year-old bay gelding is unbeaten over fences (four from four) with his King George triumph at Kempton over the Festive Period underlining his class. Three of his Gold Cup rivals were behind him that day — Jango Baie, Banbridge, Gaelic Warrior.
“It’s a dream to have a horse run in the Gold Cup and go there with a chance,” Redknapp said a few weeks before the meeting. “I’m not saying we’re going to win it, but we’ve got a serious horse. It’s an open race and I think we’ve got as good a chance as anything.”
– The Jukebox Man: All you need to know about Harry Redknapp’s Cheltenham Gold Cup horse
Elsewhere, two-time Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs was ruled out of attempting to regain his Gold Cup triumph after finishing second a year ago.
Willie Mullins told Sporting Life: “After working very well on Thursday morning, he wasn’t right on Friday morning and will miss the Gold Cup and the other spring festivals.”
Last year’s victor Inothewayurthinkin is looking to go back-to-back but does not have much form behind him.
What is the Gold Cup prize money?
One of the most lucrative races in the sport, the Cheltenham Gold Cup will make a small fortune for the winner.
2026 place-by-place breakdown:
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Winner: £363,999
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2nd: £137,139
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3rd: £68,634
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4th: £34,285
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5th: £17,207
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6th: £8,603
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7th: £4,269
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8th: £2,199
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Total: £625,000
Who has won the Gold Cup in recent years?
2025: Inothewayurthinkin — 15/2
2024: Galopin Des Champs — 10/11F
2023: Galopin Des Champs — 7/5F
2022: A Plus Tard — 3/1F
2021: Minella Indo — 9/1
2020: Al Boum Photo — 100/30F
2019: Al Boum Photo — 12/1
2018: Native River — 5/1
2017: Sizing John — 7/1
2016: Don Cossack — 9/4F
2015: Coneygree — 7/1
