Cheltenham Day One Tips 2026: @RoadCheltenham’s Best Bets for Tuesday’s Festival Opener

Final declarations are now confirmed for Tuesday’s opening day of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, with the full fields set for all seven races at Prestbury Park. Expert racing analyst @RoadCheltenham has now shared his selections for every race on Day One.

The biggest meeting of the National Hunt season is here and it’ll be great to be back at Prestbury Park with thousands of racegoers on Tuesday afternoon for Day One of the Cheltenham Festival. Declarations are in for the opening day of the meeting, so here are my Cheltenham Tips for each race…

13:20 - Supreme Novices' Hurdle

The vibes coming out of Closutton have always suggested that LEADER D’ALLIER is an extremely talented animal and it was no surprise to see Paul Townend booked to ride after the hype and positive words on the Cheltenham Festival preview night circuit.

While it would seem that the JP McManus-owned Mighty Park is the yard’s number one, Leader D’Allier produced a big performance last time out and the form of his second to Ballyfad at Christmas looks decent enough now. He’s got each way claims for sure.

14:00 - Arkle Chase

Another Willie Mullins-trained horse and I’m taking Grade 1 novice chaser Lulamba on with KOPEK DES BORDES. A two-time Grade 1 winner as a novice hurdler, he was much the best when winning the Supreme last year and he’s undoubtedly talented.

We’ve seen him just the once over fences but he’s always had the build of a chaser and he looked imperious on debut at Navan. What he lacks in experience, he can more than make up for in talent and he is my best bet at Cheltenham on Tuesday.

14:40 - Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle

There were a few whispers doing the rounds suggesting that connections were thinking about sending WINSTON JUNIOR to the Triumph Hurdle and that shows the esteem he is held in. I can’t see him finishing out of the first five, personally.

Jack Kennedy is an interesting jockey booking and I see that as a massive positive for his chances. He’s one of the best in the business and he could still have a fair bit in hand off a mark of 131 – he could be a Grade 1 juvenile in a handicap.

15:20 Ultima Handicap Chase

Is JAGWAR thrown in off his current mark? The closer we get to the Festival, the more I’m warming to his chances. A few key Ultima trends are against him but he might just have enough in hand to defy the historical figures and I’m looking forward to him.

Mark Walsh takes the ride and it’ll be interesting to see if he can get his mount’s head in front. Jonjo O’Neill Jr is on Iroko and he came under scrutiny for his ride the last day so punters will hope that Walsh can make the difference on Tuesday afternoon.

16:00 Champion Hurdle

Yes, you read that right – I’m putting up WORKAHEAD at 80/1 as an each way chance in the Champion Hurdle. Look, he’s the outsider of the field and rightly so but the ground will be in his favour and it’s not a particularly strong renewal. Maybe, just maybe, we may be in for a shock.

Workahead beat William Munny by seven lengths on decent ground last Christmas and the runner up that day went on to finish second in the Supreme. He remains unexposed and can outrun his odds with a bit of luck.

16:40 Plate Handicap Chase

Jack Kennedy gets the leg up on DOWN MEMORY LANE and I can see him running a big race in this. The conditions will suit and there should be plenty of pace, giving him a real target to aim at – the switch to the Old Course will put more emphasis on speed.

He has form behind some nice types at Graded level but has fell short when tried in that sort of company. He produced a huge effort to win on soft ground at Navan in December and he’s been kept fresh – presumably with this race in mind – since then.

17:20 National Hunt Chase

I was at Cheltenham earlier in the season when BACKMERSACKME finished second to Three Card Brag and the Emmet Mullins-trained runner did all his best work at the end of the race that day – and he should have no issue staying the 3m6f trip.

In fact, he’s probably been crying out for a proper stamina test for a while. He won over 2m5f at the Dublin Racing Festival but it was testing ground and a BHA mark of 135 may be on the kind side. He has a favourite’s chance in this race.