Cheltenham Festival
JP McManus fancied to have six winners at the Cheltenham Festival
It’s a matter of days until the Cheltenham Festival begins and the anticipation for the big four days of National Hunt action is at a fever pitch.
The leading jockeys, trainers and owners from across the UK and Ireland will be battling it out to land one of the 28 prizes across the week, but there is one owner who no doubt holds the aces in several of the contests at Prestbury Park.
That is none other than the famous green and gold colours of JP McManus who has several of the leading contenders across the races in the week, and he looks increasingly likely to be the leading owner of this year’s Festival.
The question is how many winners will he achieve?
How Many Winners Will JP McManus Have At The 2026 Cheltenham Festival?
Odds correct at time of publishing
With several leading hopes for a variety of the races at this year’s Cheltenham Festival, it’s no surprise to see that multiple winners for JP McManus at the festival is best fancied.
In the betting, a total of six green and gold winners is shortest at 9/4. On the face of it this may seem steep but you only have to look at his chances to realise he could be halfway there before the end of the first day.
We kick off the festival with the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle with it confirmed that the exciting Mighty Park will go for the festival opener, and he goes with a great chance after his impressive performance on debut seeing him priced up at 3/1 for the race.
He has the current favourite in the Champion Hurdle in The New Lion, who won at the festival last year, at 2/1. Alongside those chances in the graded races, he has a very strong hand in the handicaps on the opening day. The juvenile handicap hurdle has often been a race where he’s got a leading chance and that’s no different here where he has Manlaga and Saratoga who are both in as joint favourites at 11/2.
With the pair of Jagwar and Iroko in the Ultima and McLaurey in the Plate, he could be on for a serious start to the festival.
This could bring seven winners (10/3) or even eight or more winners (9/2) into the equation, especially with the chances that he has as the week progresses.
Kaid d’Authie has a chance in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase after his win at the Dublin Racing Festival with Majborough arguably his best chance of the week in the Champion Chase following the unfortunate injury to main rival Marine Nationale.
Fact To File has the option of defending his Ryanair crown, he’d be a short priced favourite to do, whilst Outschool Outlaw could upset the favourite in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, though she does already have a win to her name over Bambino Fever and it would be no surprise to see either of Honesty Policy or Impose Toi to win the Stayers’ Hurdle.
The Kim Muir is a race that JP has dominated in recent years and the market suggests that that trend won’t be bucked this year with Jeriko Du Reponet and Waterford Whispers both prominent in the betting.
He could kick off Friday in style with Proactif in the Triumph and there’s no doubt that whatever he runs in the County Hurdle is worthy of a second look. Dinoblue looks another who is banker material in the Mares’ Chase before the big one, the Gold Cup.
He won the race last year with Inothewayurthinkin, who looks to set to try and defend his crown alongside Spillane’s Tower.
Check out the latest horse racing betting odds with William Hill here
