Apart from the Grand National, the race every jockey, trainer and owner wants to win is the Gold Cup.
The Gold Cup is run on the Friday of the Cheltenham Festival and is run over an extended 3m 2f on the new course and is open to 5yo+ chasers.
The winner of the Gold Cup will receive a prize of £351,688, making it the most lucrative prize of the week.
Cheltenham 2026: Gold Cup history
The first ever Gold Cup to take place was back in 1924, but the first ever race known as the ‘Cheltenham Gold Cup' was a flat race in 1819, which was over three miles on the Cleeve Hill overlooking the current racecourse.
In its early renewals, the Gold Cup was run on the old course, but this was switched in 1959 to the new course, where it has remained.
The most successful horse of the Gold Cup is probably a horse that not many of you have heard of before. Golden Miller won this race five times in a row between 1932 and 1936. Since then, many horses have done the back-to-back, and the likes of Arkle won it three times in a row in the 60s.
This century, the likes of Best Mate (3 x winner), Kauto Star, and Denman were winners. In all fairness, the list is endless, and we could be sitting here all night naming every winner of this race, as you will not see a bad winner. Coneygree went against the trends and won this race as a novice; the last one to do that was Captain Christy in 1974!
This year we don't see the two-time winner Galopin Des Champs, which is a sad sight, even if he wasn't to win. However, Inothewayurthinkin returns, and could be another to win the Gold Cup back-to-back.
Cheltenham 2026: Gold Cup top picks
Gaelic Warrior is a very talented horse on his day, and has proven with age that he can win staying races. Whether he has the stamina for this race, time will tell, but you cannot write him off. He was second to Fact To File at the DRF and looked outstayed. He is too keen in his races, so he'll need to relax if he wants a solid chance.
Everyone would be buzzing at Cheltenham if Harry Redknapp's The Jukebox Man were to win. This lad nearly won the Albert Bartlett in 2024 and has improved plenty for his move to fences. He was impressive as a novice last year, but had problems, and he didn't return till november last year. He is the reigning champ of the King George, which isn't a trend you'd want. There hasn't been a horse to do the double since 2011.
If you asked me three months ago if Inothewayurthinkin would be a top pick for the Gold Cup, I'd probably laugh at you. But, if you were to write him off, then you don't know jumps racing and Cheltenham. Take a look at the results this week, horses just miraculously bounce back to form, albeit in handicaps, but this horse never shows any form, then puts in career-best performances at this track. He was impressive last year when doing a lot wrong.
Cheltenham 2026: outsiders
It's weird to call Haiti Couleurs an outsider for this race, as he is shorter odds than last year's winner. I'm not sure what to expect from him in this race, as he could be a glorified handicapper. However, we saw Native River win this, and he was a hardy handicapper before winning this. If this turns into a slog, he has a solid chance of getting involved.
Jango Baie is also a shorter price than Inotheayurthinkin, but I think he'll drift. The ground looks to be going against him, but if it were on good ground, he'd have a solid chance. Unfortunately, it won't, so it looks unlikely that he'll win.
Cheltenham 2026: Gold Cup ground
The ground this week has been a nightmare to follow.
The groundsmen were watering throughout the week, but it hasn't made the ground any softer than it was the night before. However, yesterday was the first time we had a lot of rain. The rain is going to continue through the night, so I can see the ground going to good to soft, soft in places. Maybe the ground might be even worse.
It's a huge guessing game, and considering we didn't get an update throughout day three from the course, it's a tough call.
GambleAware