Mares' Hurdle Trends For The 2026 Cheltenham Festival

By James Stoddart

Feb 20th, 2026 8:57 AM EST

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2026 Cheltenham Mares' Hurdle Trends

Need some help finding the winner of the 2026 edition of the Cheltenham Festival Mares’ Hurdle? Well, look no further because our team of experts at Bookies.com have done the hard work for you by pinpointing the most critical trends and pointers from the last 10 renewals in order to help you find the winner of this Grade 1 contest when using your Cheltenham free bets.

The last 10 winners:

• Rated 140 or higher.
• At least four starts over hurdles.
• At least two wins over hurdles.
• At least two wins on a galloping track.
• Had run in the last 52 days.

Nine of the last 10 winners:

• Were not bred in Britain (exception Black Tears).
• Won at a left-handed track (Vroum Vroum Mag).
• Had run at least six times over hurdles (Vroum Vroum Mag ran four times).
• Last ran in a hurdle race (Benie Des Dieux).
• Had won over 2m4f before (Lossiemouth).

Eight of the last 10 winners:

• Had won a Graded race before (exceptions Marie's Rock and Benie Des Dieux).
• Trained in Ireland (Roksana and Marie's Rock).

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Last 10 Mares' Hurdle Winners

Key Trials from the last 10 years

The Warwick Mares' Hurdle in February has thrown up two winners in recent times, but this year's renewal looked very poor. It was won by the 129-rated Kingston Queen, with similarly rated horses filling the places. It's unlikely to be a factor this year.

The Warfield Mares’ Hurdle at Ascot is another good quality mares’ race that has thrown up a winner in the last 10 years (Vroum Vroum Mag). Take No Chances won the 2025 edition and went on to finish third at the Festival. Ooh Betty won this year's running but isn't expected to run at Cheltenham, so you'll need to look elsewhere at horse racing betting sites.

The Quevega Mares' Hurdle at Punchestown was used as a springboard for winners Apple's Jade and Black Tears. This season's renewal looks to have been a weak affair, with winner Grainne A Chroi likely swerving the trip to the Cotswolds.

The Grade 3 Mares’ Hurdle run at Leopardstown over Christmas - and the Cheltenham Mares' Hurdle - has been dominated by Willie Mullins in recent years. Wodhooh, trained by Gordon Elliott, took the Leopardstown race at Christmas and is among the favourites to go on to Cheltenham success.

The winner of the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at the Festival has yet to graduate to Mares' Hurdle winner, but Limini went on to finish third, and the 2021 winner Black Tears had finished fourth in the novice event. 2024 winner Golden Ace went on to win the 2025 Champion Hurdle, but we're still waiting for the race to produce a Mares' Hurdle winner.

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Trainer Trends

Willie Mullins has dominated this race since its inception in 2008, training 11 winners and also having 16 placed runners.

Nicky Henderson (2022), Denise Foster (2021), Henry De Bromhead (2020), Dan Skelton (2019), Gordon Elliott (2017) and Donald McCain (2008) have trained the other six winners. Elliott has saddled five runners and one winner, with Black Tears coming from his stable too, while temporarily trained by Foster.

Irish trainers have saddled 14 of the race's 17 winners.

Jockey Trends

Given the record of Willie Mullins in this race, it goes without saying that his stable number one, Paul Townend, will generally have a great chance in the race. His chances will be further improved should Lossiemouth choose to swerve the Champion Hurdle. It is worth noting that the winning horse in each of the last 10 years had who would be regarded as the stable first string jockey on board.

Harry Skelton is another jockey worth noting. A winner when riding Roksana in 2019, with three further placed efforts from six rides in the race. He's expected to be on board last year's third, Take No Chances.

How Did the Trends Do Last Year?

Lossiemouth ticked all the key trends and wasn't hard to find. She hadn't won one of the key trials, but instead won a better standard prep race when going up against Constitution Hill in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton before falling in the Irish Champion Hurdle. On the other hand, she was trained by the right trainer with the right jockey on board. Her race history, in terms of wins over specific trips or track types were also spot on.

Take No Chances finished third at a healthy SP of 22/1 having won the Warfields Mares' Hurdle, strengthening that race's profile as a key trend for this race.

2025 Mares' Hurdle Result

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Who Fits The Trends Best In 2026?

The betting is dominated by Lossiemouth and Wodhooh, with there still some uncertainty over which race the former will run in. They're both high-class mares, as evidenced by the fact that Lossiemouth has been running in a higher grade than the usual key trials for this. Wodhooh landed the Leopardstown trial at Christmas to bring her career record over hurdles to nine wins from 10 starts.

Outside of these two, the trends don't really point towards much else. The winners from this season's key trials are unlikely to line up in the Mares' Hurdle. Most of the expected lineup has either been chasing this season or doesn't tick the 140-rating box.

One that stands out is Feet Of A Dancer. Trained in Ireland by Paul Nolan, she finished second to Wodhooh at Leopardstown in December. On the back of that, she won a Doncaster Grade 2 in January. She has the right profile for this, with six hurdles wins, including over 2m4f. Her last run will have been 47 days ago, and she's won going left-handed. If you're looking for something beyond the two favourites, she may well be the answer.

2026 Mares' Hurdle Odds

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About the Author

James Stoddart

More About James

Born in Liverpool, James is an LFC fan and season ticket holder. He's got an interest in playing and watching most sports including golf, darts, football and horse racing. As a keen punter, he's always on the lookout for value and loves spotting something at a big price that fits the trends. He applies this to online casino too, and is always looking to beat the house.

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