LIVECheltenham Festival, Day One tips, results and live updates
Saratoga, with Mark Walsh up, jump the last on their way to winning the McCoy Contractors Juvenile Handicap Hurdle. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile.
Ultima Handicap chase result:
1. Johnnywho
2. Jagwar
3. Quebecois
4. Blow your wad
5. Leave of absence.
What a finish! 💥
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 10, 2026
Johnnywho gets the better of them to take the Trustmarque Ultima Handicap Chase! 🥇#ITVRacing | @richiemclernon | @oneill_racing pic.twitter.com/Tg23Rpy6Wb
What a finish!
Johnnywho wins it at 18-1.
A J.P McManus one-two. His birthday gets even better!
Right, no rest for the wicked. Here are the three favourites for the 3.20pm Trustmarque Ultima Handicap Chase
Jagwar – 3/1
Iroko – 7/1
Hyland – 9/1.
Watch: Ruby Walsh on crowds, covid and Cheltenham.
"Every winner at Cheltenham is very, very special" ✨
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 10, 2026
A birthday winner for J P McManus who reacts to his 85th Cheltenham Festival winner with @MCYeeehaaa 👏 pic.twitter.com/atFqJJbqdS
Saratoga for Mark Walsh and J.P McManus wins it at 10/1!
A happy birthday for J.P McManus then.
Winster Junior is second.
Klycot is third.
Pourquoi Pas Papa is fourth
Quinta Do Lago is fifth.
Right here are the three favourites for the 2.40pm McCoy Contractors Juvenile Handicap Hurdle:
Mustang Du Breuil – 4/1
Manlaga – 5/1
Winston Junior – 6/1.
Charlie McCarthy reflects on Kopek Des Bordes fine run when second in the Arkle.
ITV notify us of some sad news via a statement from the Jockey Club. Hansard was put down after sustaining an injury on the flat.
“While running on the flat Hansard sustained a fatal injury,” said a statement. … he was dismounted and attended by a team of professionals.”
A tale of two stories! pic.twitter.com/nvQcf5MVJw
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 10, 2026
Kargese sprang a minor surprise as she made all for victory in the Singer Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham.
A mistake at the last may have cost the Cork-owned Kopek des Bordes the victory
Click here to read the race report.
Danny Mullins laps up the applause in the winners’ enclosure. That’s a seventh Arkle for Willie Mullins, we’re told by ITV.
Right, Andrew Horgan here saddling up to keep you all updated on the next few races at Cheltenham. I hope to bring you all some luck!
7-1 shot Kargese takes the Arkle for Danny and Willie Mullins!
Kopek des Bordes is second.
Kopek, Kargese and Lulamba were neck-and-neck with two to go before a couple of errors told and Kargese powered home.
Charlie McCarthy sounds emotional as he speaks to Matt Chapman on ITV about his 'horse of a lifetime'.
"If he jumps, he wins," he says of Kopek.
"He has so much speed, I think nobody will stay with him."
"Kopek has so much speed, I actually think nobody will stay with him" 👀
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 10, 2026
Safe to say, Charlie McCarthy is confident in Kopek Des Bordes' ability 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/zZ4n6alGSw
"The Arkle will be one-way traffic in my eyes," Ruby writes. "Kargeese will jump and run, putting Lulamba on the back foot from an early stage but allowing Kopek Des Bordes to fall into a beautiful rhythm just behind the pace. The top two in the market will come to the fore as they race downhill from three out, where Nico de Boinville will try to press Paul Townend, but Paul will sit and hold his fire until he unleashes off the bend. The second last could be a crucial jump, but hopefully it will be an easy watch, and the rest, as they say, will be history.
Read more here.
Attention turns to the 2pm Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase then... and the big interest is the McCarthy's Kopek Des Bordes.
Lulamba – 5/4
Kopek Des Bordes – 7/4
Kargese – 5/1
Steel Ally – 16/1
Jax Junior – 22/1
Hansard – 100/1
Ruby's tip Sober Glory made all the running but made that vital mistake at the last.
Old Park Star took advantage and it means a 76th win at Cheltenham for Nicky Henderson: 'England's in front now' he tells ITV.
Hear from the beaten jockeys in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/nGzaX4h4Zo
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 10, 2026
There'll be no enquiry so this is the official result:
1. Old Park Star
2. Sober Glory
3. Mydaddypaddy
4. Baron Noir
5. Too Bossy For Us
6. Koktail Brut
7. El Cairos
8. Talk The Talk
9. Eachtotheirown
10. Mighty Park
11. Sageborough
Read how the race unfolded here.
Sober Glory and Mydaddypaddy in a photo-finish for second.
It's a dramatic start to the meeting however -
there was contact among the leading three horses in the closing stages as it got messy after the last. The stewards will have a look.
And, with the famous roar, they're off in the Novice's Hurdle!
Let's go then for the first, the Supreme Novices' Hurdle.
Old Park Star is the favourite at 15-8 in the 11-horse field.
“I think the ground might be a little easier today than it will be tomorrow," says AP McCoy on the TV coverage. "But I think the race today is much deeper … this is the best Novice’s Hurdle we’ve had for a while.”
We're moments away from the famous Cheltenham roar as the jockeys and horses emerge down the runway.
Cheltenham Festival racegoers were given a chance to bid farewell to Constitution Hill as he paraded in front of fans in a final visit to the Prestbury Park track earlier.
The Nicky Henderson-trained nine-year-old was once the undisputed champion of the hurdling world, but a string of falls has understandably triggered a change in tack and a switch to the Flat racing code.
His debut on the level was a runaway success at Southwell, confirming plans to leave behind his hurdling career and head to Cheltenham simply to parade for his many admirers rather than to contest the Unibet Champion Hurdle.
"It's lovely that people have come to say hello to him, or goodbye" said Henderson.
Brendan O'Brien brought the biscuits and called into Ruby Walsh for a very enjoyable conversation ahead of the Festival.
Here, he talks about the crowd experience in the Cotswolds, covid and more.
Some pre-action reading?
Here's a guide to some of the value lurking in the handicaps.
Six battles to savour this week.
And Darren Norris speaks to Fermoy's Charlie McCarthy ahead of his big hope, Kopek Des Bordes' run in the Arkle in an hour.
racing correspondent Darren Norris has been soaking up the early atmosphere and sends this video insight from trackside.
Read Darren's Day 1 preview here... and check out his selections for Tuesday:
Talk The Talk
Kopek Des Bordes (NB)
Winston Junior
Iroko
The New Lion (Nap)
Madara
Backmersackme
Old Park Star
Lulamba
Glen To Glen
Jagwar
Lossiemouth
McLaurey
Iceberg Theory
Ruby Walsh is on site, as always, for another Festival.
Here's how the former champion jockey -- and Irish Examiner columnist - sees Tuesday playing out.
"Some bemoan the extended build-up, and others have said this year feels more low-key than others. To me, it feels like it always does. I can't wait for the roar to greet the departure of the runners for the Supreme at 1.20, not that I will really hear it from the TV compound in the car park. But you know what I mean.
"Twenty eight races will unfold over the next four days, offering drama and excitement, elation and despair, the obvious and the obscure."
And Ruby was up early and out on the gallops where he sent us this video update.
And we're off...
It's the most magical time of the year for jump racing enthusiasts from the Cotswolds to Benidorm.
We'll follow all the runners and riders throughout the first day of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival with input from our writers and pundits.
