Cheltenham Tips Today: RoadCheltenham's Friday Festival Selections On Gold Cup Day

The biggest day in all racing fans' calendar is here: Cheltenham Gold Cup day. For the final time this week, @RoadCheltenham is on hand to take us through each of his Cheltenham Tips  for Friday.

Three down, one to go as punters take on the bookmakers once again on Gold Cup day at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival. It’s been an exhilarating week of racing so far and fans will be hoping that the final day of the meeting lives up to the hype.

13:20 - Triumph Hurdle

Willie Mullins has dominated this race in recent times but MAESTRO CONTI appears to have a great chance of giving Dan Skelton a first Triumph Hurdle success. He is 3-3 over hurdles and he had plenty in the tank when winning at Cheltenham last time out.

Course form may not mean a whole lot in this particular race but punters can at least be confident that he handles the track. I’m struggling to see the selection out of the places and the Skelton yard are enjoying a decent week, with horses going well in most races.

14:00 - County Hurdle

Mullins and Skelton are the biggest trainers in the sport right now and they’ve had a real stranglehold on this race in recent years, with nine of the previous 10 winners stabled at either Closutton or Lodge Hill. With that in mind, I’m taking a punt on SINNATRA.

I talked this horse up as a potential handicap plot a few months ago but it looked like he would miss out on qualifying for the Festival due to lack of runs. However, Skelton has managed to get him into the race and he could be much better than his mark of 133.

14:40 - Mares' Chase

Gavin Cromwell’s horses have been running well this week and he had a winner in the Cross Country Chase on Wednesday. With that in mind, it gives me more confidence in ONLY BY NIGHT and I like how this has been her target all season long.

One of the best target trainers in the sport, Cromwell has always stated that he feels the mare will stay the trip and better ground will give her the best opportunity – she can be a bit ‘in and out’ so hopefully she brings her A-game and she’ll be in the mix.

15:20 - Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle

The vibes around Doctor Steinberg have been weak enough heading into the Festival and I’m going to take him on with THEDEVILUNO. He was visually impressive when winning the Grade 2 River Don Novices Hurdle and he can go close here.

He finished a few lengths adrift of his main market rival at Navan in December but the nicer ground at Cheltenham may swing it in favour of Paul Nolan’s horse. He has a bit to find on official figures but he looks to have a fantastic chance of reversing form.

16:00 - Cheltenham Gold Cup

That’s right – I’m making a case for INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN as the vibes are strong for the defending champion. Reportedly working well at home, Mark Walsh was very happy with a piece of work at Fairyhouse recently and I’m well and truly buying into the hype.

While others bring a better level of recent form to the race, Cromwell’s stable star is 2-2 at Cheltenham and both wins came on the New Course. It looks a competitive race but you’d expect as much and I’m banking on him being back to his best.

16:40 - Hunters' Chase

This wouldn’t be my sort of race to be completely honest and I’d be lying to readers if I said I’d spent a great deal of time studying form here. I’ll probably have a small wager on STATTLER but I wouldn’t feel comfortable advising him as a selection if truth be told.

SELECTION: NO BET

17:20 - Martin Pipe

Second in last year’s race and this is arguably a weaker looking renewal, so you could easily give ACT OF AUTHORITY a chance here. Olly Murphy mentioned the Pertemps Final as a possible target earlier in the year but he failed to prove himself at the trip.

Lewis Saunders gets on particularly well with this horse and he knows him inside out, which is more than can be said for many of the riders in this conditionals race. He’s a big price considering he is just 1lb higher than this time 12 months ago.