Coral Cup Trends for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival

By James Stoddart

Feb 12th, 2026 11:27 AM EST

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2026 Coral Cup Trends

The Coral Cup is often seen as one of the most difficult races at the Cheltenham Festival to find the winner of. Let's take a look at the Coral Cup trends from the last 10 years to try and narrow down the field to make finding a winner at betting apps that bit easier. 

The last 10 winners:

• Were not carrying top weight 
• Were rated 138+, two were rated 150+
• Last ran over hurdles - and at least 22 days ago
• Had run over at least 2m4f before

Nine of the last 10 winners:

• Carried at least 5lbs less than top weight (exception William Henry)
• Had never won a Grade 1 race (Commander Of Fleet)
• Had never won a Grade 2 race (Bleu Berry)
• Were not the favourite in the betting (Dame De Compagnie)
• Had never won a chase (Heaven Help Us)
• Had only won once over jumps that season, if at all (Heaven Help Us)
• Had never won the Coral Cup before (Langer Dan the only horse to win it more than once since it began in 1993)
• Had not won more than two handicap hurdles (Langer Dan)
• Had already run at Cheltenham - four had won at the course (Bleu Berry)
• Had run at least six times over hurdles (Jimmy Du Seuil)
• Were aged between 7-9, including the last nine (Jimmy Du Seuil)

Eight of the last 10 winners:

• Had won at least two hurdle races, but not more than four (Langer Dan and Jimmy Du Seuil)

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Key Trials from the last 10 years

Three runners in the Grade 3 William Hill Hurdle at Newbury have gone on to be placed in the same year's Coral Cup (Blazer (2016), Activial (2015) and Smashing (2014). The winner of that handicap hurdle has never won the next Coral Cup. Last year's winner, Joyeuse, was unplaced in the Mares' Hurdle instead.

Bleu Berry ran in February's valuable 2m handicap hurdle at Leopardstown before his Coral Cup win in 2018 for Willie Mullins. In 2020 the winner of that race, Thosedaysaregone, finished third in the Coral Cup and in 2022 Fastorslow was down the field at Leopardstown, but second in the Coral Cup. It's generally a better guide for the County Hurdle, but, if you need to know, Bowensonfire won this year at 10/1.

2020 Coral Cup winner Dame De Compagnie was the first female winner in the race's 28-year history, and she warmed up for the Festival race by winning a mares’ handicap hurdle at Cheltenham in December. That day a mare also finished second, and in 2021 another mare won - Heaven Help Us - after winning a mares' handicap hurdle at Leopardstown.

In 2022, the winner Commander Of Fleet and third Ashdale Bob had been placed in the Grade 2 Boyne Hurdle at Navan on their latest outing before Cheltenham. The 2017 winner Supasundae also ran in that race before his Coral Cup win.

Trainer Trends

• Nicky Henderson boasts the most winners in the Coral Cup with four winners overall, including two of the last six. He also had 2025's second home.
• Gordon Elliott has won this race three times and saddled five placed-runners (two in 2020).
• Willie Mullins has had eight placed runners to add to his two winners in 2018 and 2025.
• Paul Nicholls hasn't won the race for 11 years, winning last in 2015 with Aux Ptits Soins.
• Dan Skelton is extremely good at producing Cheltenham Festival handicap hurdle winners, and he got his first Coral Cup win in 2023. Backing that up in 2024 with the repeat success of Langer Dan.
• Martin Brassil saddled the second in 2022 and 2023. He has had only three runners in the last 10 years. Respect what he enters.
• The race is evenly split between the UK and Ireland, with both having won five of the last 10 renewals. Only Nicky Henderson (twice), Dan Skelton (twice) and Paul Nicholls have won for British trainers in the last 10 years. Gordon Elliott is the only Irish repeat winner in that time.

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Jockey Trends

• Harry Skelton won two renewals in a row, getting the leg up on Langer Dan both times. He is also the only jockey to win the race more than once in the last 10 years.

How Did the Trends do Last Year?

When taking the race for the second time in 2023, Langer Dan had all the hallmarks of a Coral Cup winner, hitting some of the key trends including number of handicap hurdle wins. His performances meant he was in the right rating bracket with his mark of 141 giving him a weight that was more than 6lbs lower than top weight.

However, Langer Dan blew the trends apart in 2024 when he became the first horse win the race for a second time.

Jimmy Du Seuil, 2025's winner, did his best to put a dent in a few trends too. He is the only one in the last 10 years to have run in fewer than six career hurdles races and was aged under seven. Nicky Henderson's Impose Toi was exactly that, an imposing pick on trends having been from a top yard in the race, having won at Cheltenham before and fell slap bang in the middle of the weight category.

Check out the top horse racing betting sites.

2025 Coral Cup Result

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Who Fits The Trends Best In 2026?

This is as ever a wide-open field, but looking at Cheltenham betting sites there are some already standing out on trends.

As stated above, Bowensonfire won the valuable handicap hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival, but he would be setting new trends if he were to be the winner. He would join last year's winner as the only six-year-olds to be victorious in the race and has won more than the ideal number of handicap hurdles. He's won twice already this season, which is not typically a good indicator.

The first two home in the Boyne Hurdle, Better Days Ahead and Staffordshire Knot could be of interest to punters. Trainer Gordon Elliott has been a winner twice in this race over the last 10 years so these two will be on interest. Better Days Ahead may well have been tuning up for a chase at the Festival, though.

Another who fits the trends fairly well but could be looking at other races at the Festival would be Nicky Henderson's Iberico Lord.

 2026 Coral Cup 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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