Coral Cup Tips & Odds

The race takes place on Wednesday 11th March, 2026.

Watch the hugely competitive Coral Cup live on ITV1 and Racing TV which also offer options to stream the race via their streaming services. 

Alternatively, most bookmakers offer a free live horse racing stream allowing you to watch the race after you've placed a bet.

Several winners of the Coral Cup have gone on to bigger and better things, including the 2014 winner, the Nicky Henderson-trained Whisper. Having prevailed at the Festival by the smallest of margins, it didn’t take long for Whisper to build on that, winning the Grade 1 Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree the following month - a race he would follow up in 12 months later. Whisper would go on to develop into a top chaser, and was part of one of the most memorable finishes in Cheltenham Festival ever - though admittedly, he was as much as a spectator as the rest of us - sticking to his task gamely in the 2017 RSA Chase, while the enigmatic Might Bite proceeded to seemingly throw away all chances of victory when veering disastrously right after the final flight, before snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.    

With the Coral Cup being a handicap, the route to Cheltenham is a little more unclear, and contenders can come from a host of sources. The Coral Cup’s distance of two miles and five furlongs means it can prove useful to keep an eye on qualifiers for the Pertemps Final (which is over three miles), while races such as the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Ffos Las and the Boyne Hurdle at Navan have been contested by recent winners of the Coral Cup on their way to Cheltenham.

Davy Russell and Barry Geraghty have both tasted victory three times in the Coral Cup.

Nicky Henderson is the most successful trainer in the Coral Cup having saddled the winner four times during his illustrious career with Spirit River (2010), Whisper (2014), William Henry (2019), and Dame De Compagnie (2020).