Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
Best Trainers at the Cheltenham Festival
Straight off the bat, here are the top five performing trainers at the Cheltenham Festival over the past ten years:
- Willie Mullins with 72 winners
- Gordon Elliott with 36 winners
- Nicky Henderson with 22 winners
- Henry De Bromhead with 22 winners
- Paul Nicholls with 13 winners
Carry on reading as we are going to have a look at the trainer records at the Cheltenham Festival over the past ten years.
Who has performed well? which ones are best avoided? Are there certain angles to approach each trainer?
We will look at both trainer records in the Win market and also the Place markets which sometimes offer great value.
Head over to our essential Cheltenham Free Bets page to see the latest bookmaker offers at the Cheltenham Festival.
Remember to check out our Cheltenham Festival tips from our racing tipsters to see if they are backing the highlighted trainers.
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Top Ten Cheltenham Festival Trainers by Wins
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| W P Mullins | 628-72-181 | -69.94 | -121.37 |
| Gordon Elliott | 386-36-122 | +14.15 | +20.37 |
| Nicky Henderson | 270-22-77 | -93.17 | -53.80 |
| Henry De Bromhead | 201-22-59 | +12.03 | -7.73 |
| Paul Nicholls | 196-13-33 | -14.00 | -49.05 |
| Dan Skelton | 133-11-32 | +15.50 | +2.91 |
| Gavin Cromwell | 62-8-22 | +6.63 | +10.13 |
| Joseph Patrick OBrien | 95-5-20 | -52.00 | -32.97 |
| Ben Pauling | 66-4-13 | +2.00 | -3.42 |
| Mrs John Harrington | 41-3-8 | -5.00 | -10.14 |
Willie Mullins
Willie Mullins has notched up an incredible seventy-two winners over the past ten years with over an additional one hundred placed runners.
Between 2009 and 2014 the most he recorded was five wins but he had 8 in 2015 followed by 7, 6 & 7 and then despite only 4 winners in 2019, he was back to his best in 2020 with 7 winners, then 6 winners in both 2021 & 2023 and 9 winners in 2024.
However, it was in 2022 when Willie Mullins did write his name in festival history when he notched up a total of ten winners, that was over 23 races which means his runners won 43% of the races they were entered in!
In 2025, he went one better too, he again noticed up 10 winners but across just 22 races, winning 45% of the races that he had runners entered in and he returned an LSP of +87.34!
One which has not been successful is Handicap Chases which he is 0-28 over the past ten years although he had Meetingofthewaters (2024) and Sa Majeste (2025) both place at the last two festivals.
Gordon Elliott
Gordon Elliott has now notched up thirty-six winners over the past ten years with an additional eighty-six placings and is now second on the ten-year trainer list behind Mullins.
He had six winners in 2017 and an incredible year in 2018 when notching up eight winners but he only managed three winners in 2019. He was back in business in 2020 when he banged in 7 winners meaning he had 24 winners between 2017-2020.
After being suspended in 2021 and not able to enter any runners, his return has been rather quiet with just two winners in 2022, three winners in both 2023 and 2024 and then a very disappointing 2025 with just one winner from fifty-two entries.
He has won 17% of Non-Handicap races where he has a runner entered and shows an LSP of +22.15 whilst he also shows a loss in handicaps with an LSP of -8.00 despite him winning 20% of the handicaps that he has a runner in.
Twenty-three of his winners have come in fields of 16+ runners so do not be put off by his runners in large fields.
For his three hundred and eighty-six runners at the Cheltenham Festival over the past ten years, he shows an LSP of +14.15, however, had you backed them at Betfair SP (considering a 5% comm) his LSP is +113.30!
Nicky Henderson
Nicky Henderson is still third on the list (tied with Henry De Bromhead) and the best of the Brits, he is some fifty winners behind Mullins and fourteen behind Elliot.
Henderson had his best festival since 2013 in 2019 when he hit four winners and showed a healthy LSP (+27.36), he hit four again in 2020 but has since only managed two in both 2021 & 2022.
In 2023 Henderson recorded his worst festival since 2014 with just one winner which was the mighty impressive Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle but the other twenty runners were all losers.
He topped that in 2024 when he had his first blank at the festival since he went 0-20 in 2008, he ended 2024 with 0-16 although it was well documented that he had issues within his yard with plenty of unwell horses.
Henderson's winners tend to come in the higher class races with eighteen of those winners coming in Grade 1 races. He does have a poor record in Grade 2 races though with no wins from nineteen and only three of those placing.
Like Mullins, he struggles in Handicap Chases with just one winner from forty-three sent out although did win the Ultima in 2019 with Beware The Bear.
One to keep an eye out for is his entry in races over 2m, so we are looking at the Arkle and Champion Chase, his record is 6-11 (55%). His favourites usually do well too with 41% of outright favourites going on to win (9-22).
Top Cheltenham Festival Trainers
Here are the best Cheltenham Festival trainers since 2006 and a graph to show how they have progressed with each year:
Trainers with Poor Cheltenham Festival Records
We will start with Fergal O'Brien! In the last ten festivals, Fergal has sent out a total of 52 runners which has returned 0 wins and just 6 placings.
Another trainer who you would expect better from is Gary Moore who is 0-45 with only one of his runners hitting the frame.
Five trainers have sent twenty or more runners to the festival over the past ten years without success, the two already mentioned and then the following.
Neil Mulholland has gone 0-43 with just three of those placing, Charlie Longsdon has gone 0-34 with only four placings and Olly Murphy has just four placings from his 0-25 record.
Alan King does not have a great record, 94 runners have resulted in just 1 winner whilst Tom George has sent out 48 for just 1 winner too.
Two others you would expect better from are Nigel Twiston-Davies (2-122) and Venetia Williams (2-95) who both have a strike rate of about 2%!
Top Ten Cheltenham Festival Trainers in Handicaps
Gordon Elliott leads the way in handicaps with sixteen winners showing a return of -8.00, however, had you backed them on the Betfair Exchange at SP, those would have shown a profit of +30.85.
Mullins has notched up eight whilst Nicholls has had six handicap winners over the past ten years but all from a large number of runners.
Dan Skelton who is becoming a bit of a Handicap Master is now third on the list splitting Mullins & Nicholls with seven winners and shows an LSP of +34.50.
Keep an eye on the main horse racing tips page to see if the OLBG racing tipsters are backing any of these trainers in the build-up to the festival, are any of them hitting form at the right time?
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon Elliott | 219-16-52 | -8.00 | +14.74 |
| W P Mullins | 154-8-31 | -58.75 | -36.31 |
| Dan Skelton | 86-7-21 | +34.50 | +18.16 |
| Paul Nicholls | 105-6-18 | -11.00 | -17.72 |
| Joseph Patrick OBrien | 55-5-13 | -12.00 | -6.22 |
| Nicky Henderson | 126-4-29 | -54.00 | -16.84 |
| Nick Williams | 18-3-5 | +27.50 | +15.38 |
| Lucinda Russell | 11-3-5 | +14.50 | +16.81 |
| Henry De Bromhead | 68-2-13 | -39.00 | -27.07 |
| David Pipe | 41-2-7 | -19.00 | -13.23 |
Schedule for Tuesday at the Cheltenham Festival
Prepare for the ROAR of the Cheltenham Festival on the opening day when the tape goes up for the Supreme Novices Hurdle, the feature on Tuesday is the Champion Hurdle.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Cheltenham Supreme Novices Hurdle | Kopek Des Bordes (FR) 5yo - 4/6 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 14:00 Cheltenham Arkle Challenge Trophy | Jango Baie (FR) 6yo - 5/1 | Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville |
| 14:40 Cheltenham Ultima Handicap Chase | Myretown (IRE) 8yo - 13/2 | Lucinda Russell Patrick Wadge |
| 15:20 Cheltenham Close Brothers Mares Hurdle | Lossiemouth (FR) 6yo - 4/6 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 16:00 Cheltenham Champion Hurdle | Golden Ace (GB) 7yo - 25/1 | Jeremy Scott Lorcan Williams |
| 16:40 Cheltenham Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle | Puturhandstogether (IRE) 4yo - 17/2 | Joseph Patrick O'Brien Mark Walsh |
| 17:20 Cheltenham National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup | Haiti Couleurs (FR) 8yo - 7/2 | Rebecca Curtis Ben Jones |
Schedule for Wednesday at the Cheltenham Festival
The dust has settled on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival and now on to day two. The feature on the second day is the Queen Mother Champion Chase. We also have the cross country scheduled on Wednesday, a race like Marmite, some love it and some don't!
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Cheltenham Turners Novices Hurdle | The New Lion (GB) 6yo - 3/1 | Dan Skelton Harry Skelton |
| 14:00 Cheltenham Brown Advisory Novices Chase | Lecky Watson (IRE) 7yo - 20/1 | W P Mullins Sean O'Keeffe |
| 14:40 Cheltenham Coral Cup | Jimmy Du Seuil (FR) 6yo - 16/1 | W P Mullins Danny Mullins |
| 15:20 Cheltenham Cross Country Chase | Stumptown (IRE) 8yo - 5/2 | Gavin Cromwell Keith Donoghue |
| 16:00 Cheltenham Queen Mother Champion Chase | Marine Nationale (IRE) 8yo - 5/1 | Barry Connell Sean Flanagan |
| 16:40 Cheltenham Johnny Henderson Grand Annual | Jazzy Matty (FR) 6yo - 15/2 | Cian Collins Danny Gilligan |
| 17:20 Cheltenham Champion Bumper | Bambino Fever (IRE) 5yo - 4/1 | W P Mullins Miss J Townend |
Schedule for Thursday at the Cheltenham Festival
Halfway through the festival and onto day three where the Stayers Hurdle is the feature race. A hurdle race to test the stamina and see how can last best up the Cheltenham hill.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Cheltenham Mares Novices Hurdle | Air Of Entitlement (IRE) 6yo - 16/1 | Henry De Bromhead Rachael Blackmore |
| 14:00 Cheltenham Novices Limited Handicap Chase | Caldwell Potter (FR) 7yo - 7/1 | Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden |
| 14:40 Cheltenham Pertemps Network Final | Doddiethegreat (IRE) 9yo - 25/1 | Nicky Henderson Brian Hughes |
| 15:20 Cheltenham Ryanair Chase | Fact To File (FR) 8yo - 6/4 | W P Mullins Mark Walsh |
| 16:00 Cheltenham Stayers Hurdle | Bob Olinger (IRE) 10yo - 8/1 | Henry De Bromhead Rachael Blackmore |
| 16:40 Cheltenham Festival Plate | Jagwar (FR) 6yo - 3/1 | Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero Jonjo O'Neill Jr |
| 17:20 Cheltenham Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup | Daily Present (IRE) 8yo - 12/1 | Paul Nolan Mr B T Stone |
Schedule for Friday at the Cheltenham Festival
The final day of the festival and feature race that we have all been waiting for, the Cheltenham Gold Cup in which the Irish have been fairly dominant in recent years.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Cheltenham Triumph Hurdle | Poniros (GB) 4yo - 100/1 | W P Mullins Jonjo O'Neill Jr |
| 14:00 Cheltenham County Handicap Hurdle | Kargese (FR) 5yo - 3/1 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 14:40 Cheltenham Mrs Paddy Power Mares Chase | Dinoblue (FR) 8yo - 6/4 | W P Mullins Mark Walsh |
| 15:20 Cheltenham Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle | Jasmin De Vaux (FR) 6yo - 6/1 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 16:00 Cheltenham Cheltenham Gold Cup | Inothewayurthinkin (IRE) 7yo - 15/2 | Gavin Cromwell Mark Walsh |
| 16:40 Cheltenham Festival Hunters Chase | Wonderwall (IRE) 9yo - 28/1 | S Curling Mr R James |
| 17:20 Cheltenham Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle | Wodhooh (FR) 5yo - 9/2 | Gordon Elliott Danny Gilligan |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Best Trainers at the Cheltenham Festival are at hand, Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.
James Banting
Tipster Competition Assistant
Andy Powell
Content Editor
