Cheltenham Top Jockey Odds 2026: Mark Walsh The Value Bet

Paul Townend has been crowned Leading Jockey at five of the previous six Cheltenham Festivals and it’s no surprise to see him priced up as favourite to claim that award once again.

Willie Mullins’ stable jockey has ridden 38 Festival winners, making him one of the most successful riders at the meeting. He has operated at a strike rate of 27% in Britain over the past five years and he’s a worthy favourite in this market.

However, I’m inclined to take him on with MARK WALSH at the prices and he has been riding supremely well in recent months. He notched four Grade 1 winners at the Dublin Racing Festival and he’ll have a strong book of rides.

In fact, you certainly could argue that Walsh’s book is just as strong as Townend’s and the discrepancy in price is too big. Here, I take a look at the Top Jockey odds for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival and predict how many winners the leading riders will have.

Paul Townend

As stable jockey for the all-conquering Willie Mullins yard, it’s probably no surprise to see Townend at the head of the market. While targets are up in the air for several key runners, Townend will still have a quality book of rides.

Bambino Fever is being talked up as the Closutton banker of the meeting while the likes of Kopek Des Bordes, Lossiemouth and Doctor Steinberg have leading claims. Townend is the most successful active jockey with 38 Festival winners and he’s the right favourite.

In years gone by, Townend has been selective when it comes to the handicaps and I’d be surprised if that changes this year. It’ll be a tip in itself if he puts his hand up but backers will hope that they won’t be relying on Townend landing a competitive handicap.

Mark Walsh

However, I’m expecting JP McManus to enjoy a hugely successful meeting and Walsh is a big price at 11/4 to finish as the Leading Rider this year. He looked like a man with a point to prove at the Dublin Racing Festival and he is looking hungrier than ever.

Whether Fact To File goes for the Ryanair Chase or not, he will take the ride on several favourites – including Proactif, Dinoblue and Majborough. Looking at the current prices, you could argue that Walsh’s four best rides are more likely to win than Townend’s.

The green and gold colours are likely to hold strong claims in handicap races and Walsh will have his pick of the Irish-trained runners. Punters will be hoping to see Walsh land a winner or two on a busy opening day and that will settle a few nerves.

Jack Kennedy

Gordon Elliott is chasing the Irish trainers championship but he’ll still be going all out for success at Cheltenham. Wodhooh is the standout ride for Jack Kennedy but Teahupoo, Romeo Coolio and Brighterdaysahead are major contenders in their respective races.

Kennedy leads the Irish jockeys title race and he’s riding incredibly well this year, with the Cullentra House number one enjoying an injury-free campaign thus far. For me, he is the best in the business and he’s a certainty to add to his tally of 12 Festival winners.

He’ll be busy enough throughout the week and he could easily notch four or five winners if Elliott has a good meeting. He’s a big price but backers will be relying on Mullins to mis-fire and that rarely happens at Prestbury Park.

Best Of The Rest

Dan Skelton is on the verge of notching his first British trainers title and he is likely to go hell for leather at Cheltenham. With that in mind, Harry Skelton is worth considering at 16/1 but they will need to land plenty of handicaps.

At the same price, I prefer Harry Cobden. He may earn rides for soon-to-be employer JP McManus and he’ll almost certainly get rides for Mullins, as well as Paul Nicholls. Throw in the likes of Faye Bramley and he is a tempting proposition at 16/1.

Both jockeys will likely fall short in the Leading Jockey standings but it wouldn’t be a huge shock to see Skelton and Cobden on the leaderboard by the end of the meeting.