Cheltenham Gold Cup: Ten-Year Trends and Best Bets

Each of the four days at the Cheltenham Festival is lit up by a signature Grade 1 event. The 2m hurdlers grab the limelight on Day 1 in the Champion Hurdle, Day 2 belongs to the Queen Mother Champion Chase, and the stamina-laden hurdlers take centre stage in the Stayers’ Hurdle on Day 3. However, for many racing fans, the best is saved until last, as the Cheltenham Gold Cup strides into view on Day 4.

This 3m2½f event isn’t only the most anticipated contest at the magical March meeting, it is the most prestigious staying chase of the season, bar none. For connections of the leading Grade 1 stars, this is the race they all want to win. Offering a guaranteed £625,000 in prize money, the Gold Cup roll of honour reads like a who’s who of racing excellence. Kauto Star, Denman, Arkle, Best Mate, and Golden Miller are but a selection of the star names to have entered the winners’ enclosure since the race made its debut back in 1924.

Ahead of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, the identity of the Gold Cup winner is one of the hottest topics of conversation. With that in mind, here at NewBettingSites.uk, we have taken a look back at the ten editions of the race between 2016 and 2025. Here we present the standout trends and stats from this ten-year sample and identify our best bets for one of our favourite racers of the year.

Cheltenham Gold Cup: Fate of the Favourite

The Cheltenham Gold Cup has been a relatively happy hunting ground for favourite backers in recent years. Of the ten editions in our sample, five were won by the market leader. A £1 level stakes punt on the favourite over this period earned a profit of £5.89. The only horse to come home in front at a double-figure price was the 2019 champ Al Boum Photo.

Cheltenham Gold Cup: Age of Winner

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is open to runners aged five and older but none so young have come home in front since Golden Miller in 1932. At the other end of the spectrum, the most recent winner aged ten or older was Cool Dawn in 1998. The ten editions in our sample were dominated by runners aged seven or eight, with 2016 champ Don Cossack the only winner to fall outside of this bracket.

Turning to this year's field, 13 of the 28 remaining entries fall outside of the preferred age range, including the two-time champ Galopin Des Champs, Welsh Grand National winner Haiti Couleurs, 2024 Aintree Grand National hero I Am Maximus, and the Dan Skelton-trained Grey Dawning.

Finishing Position Last Time Out

Recent results suggest that we should pay particular attention to last time out winners when seeking the Cheltenham Gold Cup champ. Seven of the ten winners in our sample also came home in front on their previous appearance, while all ten finished in the first four.

Interestingly, only seven of the 28 remaining entries won last time out, namely Envoi Allen, Haiti Couleurs, Heart Wood, Impaire Et Passe, Nick Rockett. Spillane’s Tower, and The Jukebox Man,

Rating of Winner

Interestingly, the average rating of the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner has remained almost dead level over the past decade. There are outliers, most notably the 179-rated Galopin Des Champs in 2024 and the 160-rated Inothewayurthinkin in 2025, but the average has remained steady at just below 170.

Of this year’s entries, Spindleberry, Lecky Watson, Firefox, Resplendent Grey, Handstands, Myretown, Gold Tweet, Monty’s Star, Stellar Story, and Three Card Brag all arrive with a lower rating than any winner over the past ten years.

Top Trainers

Willie Mullins waited until 2019 to win his first Cheltenham Gold Cup with Al Boum Photo. He now needs just one more success to join Tom Dreaper as the most successful trainer in the history of the race. Mullins is responsible for eight of the 28 entries. Of that octet, the market suggests that Galic Warrior and Galopin Des Champs boast the strongest claims. However, the shortest price Mullins runner is a horse not even entered in the race at present. Hugely impressive in the Irish Gold Cup last time out, Fact To File needs to be supplemented, but is the outright favourite with most firms.

There is a strong Irish theme to the above table. Nine of the past ten winners emerged from an Irish yard, with the only exception being the Colin Tizzard-trained Native River in 2018.

Stamina Considerations

Class, tactical speed, and jumping accuracy are all needed for Gold Cup success, but one of the most important traits is stamina. Looking at the ten editions in our sample, only dual winners Al Boum Photo and Galopin Des Champs, and Welsh Grand National winner Native River, had won over the full 3m2½f Gold Cup distance or further. However, nine of the ten winners had previously scored over at least 3m.

Other Factors

• All ten winners had previously won at Grade 1 level
• All ten winners had previously run at the Cheltenham Festival, with five of those ten winning on one of those previous appearances
• The Irish Gold Cup was the most informative trial, with five of the ten winners appearing in that Leopardstown event on their most recent appearance

Best Bets: Jukebox Joy for Pauling Team

Of the 28 entries, the eight-year-old duo of The Jukebox Man and Gaelic Warrior are the strongest fits on our trends. In addition to their age, both runners have previously appeared at the Festival. The Jukebox Man finished second in the 2024 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle. Gaelic Warrior, meanwhile, finished second in the 2022 Fred Winter, second in the 2023 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, and won the 2024 Arkle Chase. Gaelic Warrior also has the Mullins factor in his favour, and finished second in the key trial of the Irish Gold Cup last time. Lots to like, but he is the 6/4 favourite for the Ryanair Chase and may line up in the Day 3 event rather than tackle this assignment.

All of which leaves us with The Jukebox Man. Hailing from the Naunton yard of Ben Pauling and sporting the silks of ex-football manager and I’m A Celebrity winner Harry Redknapp, he heads to Cheltenham on the back of a thrilling success in the King George VI Chase at Kempton. Not included among the latest list of Ryanair entries, this is his only Cheltenham Festival entry and he has all the attributes to go very close.

For an each-way punt, the two to catch our eye are the JP McManus duo of Spillanes Tower and Inothewayurthinkin. Both are eight years old, hail from an Irish yard, and have won over 3m+ and in Grade 1 company. Spillane’s Tower has the benefit of a win last time, but we narrowly prefer Inothewayurthinkin.

16/1 is a big price for a horse who stormed to a famous six-length win in the 2025 edition of this. Those odds stem from the fact that he has been beaten by over 40 lengths twice and fallen in his three outings this season. However, he was also zero from three ahead of his win 12 months ago. Two from two at the Cheltenham Festival, having also won the Kim Muir in 2024, he looks worth a bet with QuinnBet, who are offering non-runner no-bet on the race.

• Recommended Bet - The Jukebox Man to win @ 11/2 with BetGoodwin
• Recommended Bet - Inothewayurthinkin each way @ 16/1 with QuinnBet