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.
2026 Festival Plate Preview
A handicap chase over 2m4½f on the new course at the Cheltenham racecourse, formerly known as the Mildmay of Flete for many years, this is a race where the Martin/David Pipe yard had an exceptional record, scoring seven victories between 1997 and 2014.
It is also worth noting that Venetia Williams has had three wins since 2007 so there are two trainers to note in this race, both had placed runners in 2016 and David Pipe also had the runner-up in 2015.
Read on below for our preview of the race in greater detail with previous Festival Plate trends and stats to help you find the winner of the Festival Plate.
Dominate the Festival Plate betting scene by leveraging our expert insights into previous race patterns and trainer stats, and don't forget to check out the free bets for Cheltenham.
Festival Plate Information:
Our dedicated Cheltenham tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the Festival Plate but will also have predictions for each meeting at Cheltenham throughout the season so be sure to head over there. We cover every race at the Cheltenham Festival and below you can find links to all of the races for each of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Festival Plate market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2013 when the race had an over-round of 116%. The race in 2020 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 137%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Festival Plate, the over-round has been 131%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £131 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Festival Plate Trends, see which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal, we also have a section that looks at the Festival Plate Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Festival Plate over the last 20 renewals:
- Ballynagour (4:59.34) in 2014
- Non So (5:05.20) in 2006
- Holmwood Legend (5:08.17) in 2011
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the Festival Plate next time out then you would have backed a total of 3 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of +7.00. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Festival Plate remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.
When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 4:59.34 was set by Ballynagour in 2014, which is the quickest time over that period, the runner was trained by David Pipe and ridden by Tom Scudamore. The slowest winning time was set in 2024 when Shakem UpArry won in a time of 5:29.11, booked to ride was Ben Jones by the trainer Ben Pauling.
Festival Plate Past Winners
Here are the Festival Plate past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Festival Plate are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 5:15.50 | Jagwar (FR) 6yo 10-10 3/1F | Jonjo O'Neill Jr Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero (GB) |
| 2024 5:29.11 | Shakem UpArry (IRE) 10yo 11-5 8/1 | Ben Jones Ben Pauling (GB) |
| 2023 5:16.60 | Seddon (IRE) 10yo 10-9 20/1 | Ben Harvey (5lbs) John C McConnell (IRE) |
| 2022 5:13.85 | Coole Cody (IRE) 11yo 11-2 22/1 | Adam Wedge Evan Williams (GB) |
| 2021 5:18.28 | The Shunter (IRE) 8yo 10-5 9/4F | Jordan Gainford (7lbs) Emmet Mullins (IRE) |
| 2020 5:26.08 | Simply The Betts (IRE) 7yo 11-4 100/30F | Gavin Sheehan Harry Whittington (GB) |
| 2019 5:14.29 | Siruh Du Lac (FR) 6yo 10-8 9/2 | Lizzie Kelly (3lbs) Nick Williams (GB) |
| 2018 5:28.20 | The Storyteller (IRE) 7yo 11-4 5/1F | Davy Russell Gordon Elliott (IRE) |
| 2017 5:08.90 | Road To Respect (IRE) 6yo 10-13 14/1 | B J Cooper Noel Meade (IRE) |
| 2016 5:13.10 | Empire Of Dirt (IRE) 9yo 10-11 16/1 | B J Cooper C A Murphy (IRE) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Festival Plate have been based:
- GB: 15 winners with an additional 48 placings from 351 runners
- IRE: 5 winners with an additional 9 placings from 81 runners
- FR: 0 winners with an additional 2 placings from 7 runners
Festival Plate Trainer Statistics
There are two leading trainers in the Festival Plate over the last 20 renewals with both Venetia Williams and David Pipe who have both won the race three times. Venetia Williams winners have been with Idole First (2007), Something Wells (2009) and Carrickboy (2013). David Pipe winners have been with Great Endeavour (2010), Salut Flo (2012) and Ballynagour (2014). Multiple trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Festival Plate, Paul Nicholls (0-28), Nigel Twiston-Davies (0-16), Alan King (0-15), Jonjo O'Neill (0-15), Philip Hobbs (0-15) and W P Mullins (0-12) have all failed to produce a single winner despite sending multiple runners to the race.
Here are some of the top Festival Plate trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venetia Williams | 29-3-6 | +69.00 | +46.07 |
| David Pipe | 27-3-7 | +10.50 | +5.38 |
| Nicky Henderson | 26-1-5 | -11.00 | -4.25 |
| Gordon Elliott | 18-1-4 | -12.00 | +16.32 |
| Evan Williams | 7-1-4 | +16.00 | +14.69 |
| Sue Smith | 5-1-2 | +62.00 | +41.88 |
| Kim Bailey | 5-1-1 | +29.00 | +16.63 |
| Ben Pauling | 5-1-2 | +4.00 | +3.50 |
| John C McConnell | 4-1-1 | +17.00 | +9.50 |
| C A Murphy | 2-1-2 | +15.00 | +13.63 |
Festival Plate Jockey Statistics
There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the Festival Plate, Sam Twiston-Davies has ridden 12 runners to the race without recording any wins.
Here are some of the top Festival Plate jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Wedge | 6-1-2 | +17.00 | +11.00 |
| David Bass | 4-1-1 | +30.00 | +17.63 |
| Gavin Sheehan | 4-1-1 | +0.33 | -0.92 |
| Jordan Gainford | 3-1-1 | +0.25 | -0.59 |
| Ben Harvey | 2-1-1 | +19.00 | +11.50 |
| Ben Jones | 2-1-1 | +7.00 | +4.00 |
| Jonjo O'Neill Jr | 2-1-2 | +2.00 | +1.82 |
| Mr William Biddick | 1-1-1 | +33.00 | +20.63 |
| Danny Cook | 1-1-1 | +18.00 | +11.25 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 12-0-2 | -12.00 | -8.50 |
2026 Festival Plate Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): F, 19, F, 2, 2, 3, 1, 8, 2, 2, (F, PU), PU, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, PU, F, 1
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well.
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Furthest Won 2m1½f - 2m6½f
- 20 / 20 (83%) - In a field of 8 - 19 (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Ran over 2m - 2m5½f (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - No bigger than 20/1 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - In a field of 4 - 17 (Last Win)
- 19 / 20 (72%) - Placed within last 3 starts
- 19 / 20 (75%) - Won by at least 1¼l (Last Win)
- 19 / 20 (83%) - Beaten no more -32l (LTO)
- 19 / 20 (88%) - No bigger than 66/1 (Career)
- 18 / 20 (75%) - No more than +15lbs (Vs Min Weight)
- 18 / 20 (76%) - Held an OR of 136+
- 18 / 20 (77%) - No bigger than 33/1
- 18 / 20 (84%) - Carried no more than 158lbs
- 17 / 20 (84%) - No more than -4yrs (Vs Max Age)
- 16 / 20 (45%) - Won within last 3 starts
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Cheltenham racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Festival Plate. Did you know that we have an OLBG Betting School section on OLBG? It is a place to help you improve your betting experience with articles covering numerous topics.
Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the Festival Plate by adding a tip on the race here.
101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
Festival Plate Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +117.00 is when runners had 1 win in the past 180 days.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 2 wins in the past year, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-84.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Festival Plate is Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 8 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Leopardstown, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Leopardstown last time out.
The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 427 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 12 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Festival Plate:
- Flemensfirth (2 Wins)
- Shantou (2 Wins)
- Stowaway (2 Wins)
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Festival Plate despite multiple attempts:
- Presenting (0 Wins from 15 runners)
- Kings Theatre (0 Wins from 12 runners)
- Oscar (0 Wins from 8 runners)
- Old Vic (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Anshan (0 Wins from 6 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Mister McGoldrick in 2008, winning for Sue Smith at odds of 66/1 under the guidance of Dominic Elsworth. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 5 winning favourites in the race. Remember to bookmark the best racing tipsters page so you can get easy access to the best OLBG racing tipsters.
Route to the Festival Plate
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Festival Plate, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Jagwar Cheltenham - 1st of 7 (4/1) | Timeform Novices Handicap Chase |
| 2024 - Shakem UpArry Cheltenham - 1st of 6 (11/2) | Cheltenham New Years Day Handicap Chase |
| 2023 - Seddon Leopardstown - 1st of 16 (7/2) | Adare Manor Opportunity Handicap Chase |
| 2022 - Coole Cody Cheltenham - 7th of 10 (5/1) | Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase |
| 2021 - The Shunter Kelso - 1st of 14 (5/2) | Morebattle Hurdle |
| 2020 - Simply The Betts Cheltenham - 1st of 12 (11/2) | Timeform Novices Handicap Chase |
| 2019 - Siruh Du Lac Cheltenham - 1st of 11 (6/1) | Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase |
| 2018 - The Storyteller Leopardstown - 7th of 11 (20/1) | Ladbrokes Novice Chase |
| 2017 - Road To Respect Navan - 2nd of 8 (6/1) | Ten Up Novice Chase |
| 2016 - Empire Of Dirt Leopardstown - 1st of 11 (8/1) | Leopardstown Handicap Chase |
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 Festival Plate Preview are at hand, Andy and Darren. 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.
Darren Brett
Tipster Competition Manager
Andy Powell
Content Editor
