Cheltenham Festival Lucky 15 Tips 2026: Billy Grimshaw’s Four Best Bets

The Cheltenham Festival is the biggest week in the National Hunt calendar and it always throws up a handful of standout betting opportunities across the four days of elite racing. For punters looking to turn a small stake into a sizeable return, one of the most popular approaches is a Lucky 15, combining four selections into a single bet that pays out on singles, doubles, trebles and the fourfold.

With that in mind, Billy Grimshaw has picks out four of his Cheltenham Tips running across the meeting that look capable of running huge races at Cheltenham. The following Lucky 15 combines proven Festival form, strong contenders in the ante-post markets and horses who look particularly well suited to the demands of Prestbury Park.

Kopek Des Bordes – Arkle Chase

Kopek Des Bordes was always likely to be prominent in the betting for this race following his Supreme triumph last year, but he really does look tailor-made for the demands of the Arkle Chase. His jumping was a major asset on his chase debut - which is the only time we have seen him so far this season - and that slick technique is often crucial in the Festival’s championship two-mile chase for novices. The pace of the race is almost always ferocious in this race but Paul Townend is peerless when on a bold frontrunner, which the exuberant Kopek Des Bordes certainly is. It'll be a worry if Lulamba, his main market rival, can keep up with him throughout the race as he has a wicked finishing kick which has been shown on multiple occasions, but I am confident Kopek will get him out of his comfort zone early and won't be for catching ripping around Prestbury Park.

Kitzbuhel – Brown Advisory Novices' Chase

The Brown Advisory Novices' Chase is always a searching test of stamina and jumping, and Kitzbuhel has the profile of a horse who should thrive under those conditions. A strong travelling galloper, he has shaped throughout the season like a horse who will appreciate the step up to three miles and proved himself a brilliant jumper at Kempton. His jumping let him down at Sandown but the worries over his favouring of right handed tracks is overblown and the weather becoming dry has happened at just the right time of the season for his chances here. While stamina is always decisive in this race, Kitzbuhel has the required speed to get a lot of these plodders in trouble early, particularly with Wednesday predicted to have the quickest ground of the entire week.

Selma De Vary – Triumph Hurdle

Juvenile races at the Cheltenham Festival are often dominated by horses with strong French form and Selma De Vary fits that mould perfectly heading into the Triumph Hurdle. She has already shown a high level of ability in her limited runs over hurdles and looks the type who will continue improving as the season progresses. The Triumph regularly rewards juveniles who travel strongly and jump accurately at speed, and those are both attributes she has displayed in her run at Leopardstown behind the former big favourite for this race Narcisco Has. With the promise of further improvement and a profile that suggests she will relish a truly run race, Selma De Vary could take plenty of beating in the Festival’s championship contest for four-year-olds.

Only By Night – Mares' Chase

Only By Night makes plenty of appeal in the Mares' Chase, a race where last year's winner Dinoblue looks farcically short to me. Gavin Cromwell's horse has shown herself to be a reliable performer throughout the season and her jumping has generally been solid under pressure. She has experience of Cheltenham after running a stormer in the Arkle last season, and while plenty have issued warnings about her stamina stepping up to this intermediate trip I cannot see this being too much of a hotly run race.

If she is in the mix coming down to the final fences she has the required speed to pick off the rest of the field - even Dinoblue with her two mile experience - and she is the final leg of my Festival four fold.