The Arkle is the second race on Tuesday 16 March and is off at 2pm. Run over a trip of 1m 7f 199y, the Grade 1 Arkle attracts the speediest novice chasers and is set to be a fascinating renewal at the 2027 Cheltenham Festival.
Our top tipsters, including Andrew Mount and Matty Sutcliffe will pick out their Arkle tips nearer the off.
Matty Sutcliffe’s Arkle Tips
Matty Sutcliffe believes that Lulamba‘s class will tell in the Arkle. He is confident that the race will set up for him to close from the back of the field and out his experience to good use.
Joe Napier’s Arkle Tips
Joe Napier is also siding with Lulamba in one of the clashes of the entire meeting. Kopek Des Bordes’ inexperience might ultimately be the difference and Lulamba’s form in open company makes him the better value bet of the duo.
Arkle Challenge Trophy Bookmaker Odds – Race 2, Tuesday 10th March 2:00
The Arkle Challenge Trophy field will only become clearer closer to the opening of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.
All About The Arkle Challenge Trophy in 2027
The Arkle takes place over two miles of Prestbury Park. A Grade 1 novice chase, with 13 fences to be jumped in all, the combination of obstacles and undulations are a true test for any novice chaser.
Last year’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle hero Kopek Des Bordes and Triumph Hurdle runner-up Lulamba are set for an epic clash in the 2026 Arkle.
Qualifications/Trends
We pick out some of the key Arkle trends ahead of the 2026 race:
- 9 of the last 10 winners have been aged 6 or 7
- 7 of the last 10 winners have been favourite
- 6 of the last 10 winners have been trained in Ireland
- Willie Mullins has trained 5 of the last 10 winners
Prize Money in 2026
Last year’s connections of Jango Baie took home £112,540. There was a total pot was just shy of £175,000, ensuring owners of all eight horses who finished the race returned with some prize money.
Arkle Chase History
The Arkle Challenge Trophy was originally run as the Cotswold Chase. There’s no prizes for knowing after whom it is named now.
Arkle remains a fabled name in the history of jumps racing, winning three Gold Cups in the 1960s without seemingly breaking out of a canter. He received Timeform’s highest ever rating of 212, a mark which no horse apart from his stablemate, Flyingbolt, has got within 20lb of. Ironically, Flyingbolt won this race in 1965, four years before it was renamed in Arkle’s honour.
Despite him being a staying chase specialist, the race named in Arkle’s honour is over the minimum trip at Cheltenham, with emphasis on speed jumping. The first running of the newly-commemorated Arkle Challenge Trophy was in 1969. Appropriately, among the first winning trainers in 1971 was Arkle’s handler, Tom Dreaper.
In all, 12 horses who have won the Arkle have gone on to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the two-mile championship run on the second day of the Festival. Put The Kettle On was the most recent to do just that in 2020-2021.
Gold Cup winners are harder to come by, certainly within the roll of honour. Only Alverton has won both races, with Pendil narrowly failing to beat him to the feat a few years previously. However, in more recent years, Kicking King (2004), and Sizing John (2016), were runner-up in the Arkle before taking the Gold Cup a year later.
The recently-retired pair of Barry Geraghty and Ruby Walsh, the two winningest jockeys at the Festival in its entire history, also lead the way in the Arkle with four victories each. An honourable mention to Jamie Osborne, however, who won the race for three years in succession between 1992-94 for three different trainers. He was very much the man for this occasion.
There are two glaring omissions from the current honours board. Given their success at the Festival elsewhere, neither J.P. McManus, nor the O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud, have owned a winner of the Arkle in its history. Jonbon and Saint Roi came close two years ago for McManus, while both Petit Mouchoir and Trifolium have hit the frame for Gigginstown.
Winners since 2000
| Year | Horse | Jockey/Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Tiutchev | J:Mick Fitzgerald T:Nicky Henderson | 8/1 |
| 2001 | VOID | J:N/A T:N/A | VOID |
| 2002 | Moscow Flyer | J:Barry Geraghty T:Jessica Harrington | 11/2 |
| 2003 | Azertyuiop | J:Ruby Walsh T:Paul Nicholl | 5/4F |
| 2004 | Well Chief | J:Tony McCoy T:Martin Pipe | 9/1 |
| 2005 | Contraband | J:Timmy Murphy T:Martin Pipe | 7/1 |
| 2006 | Voy Por Ustedes | J:Robert Thornton T:Alan King | 15/2 |
| 2007 | My Way De Solzen | J:Robert Thornton T:Alan King | 7/2 |
| 2008 | Tidal Bay | J:Denis O’Regan T:Howard Johnson | 6/1 |
| 2009 | Forpadydeplasterer | J:Barry Geraghty T:Tom Cooper | 8/1 |
| 2010 | Sizing Europe | J:Andrew Lynch T:Henry de Bromhead | 6/1 |
| 2011 | Captain Chris | J:Richard Johnson T:Philip Hobbs | 6/1 |
| 2012 | Sprinter Sacre | J:Barry Geraghty T:Nicky Henderson | 8/11F |
| 2013 | Simonsig | J:Barry Geraghty T:Nicky Henderson | 8/15F |
| 2014 | Western Warhorse | J:Tom Scudamore T:David Pipe | 33/1 |
| 2015 | Un de Sceaux | J:Ruby Walsh T:Willie Mullins | 4/6F |
| 2016 | Douvan | J:Ruby Walsh T:Willie Mullins | 1/4F |
| 2017 | Altior | J:Nico de Boinville T:Nicky Henderson | 1/4F |
| 2018 | Footpad | J:Ruby Walsh T:Willie Mullins | 5/6F |
| 2019 | Duc Des Genievre | J:Paul Townend T:Willie Mullins | 5/1 |
| 2020 | Put The Kettle On | J:Aidan Coleman T:Henry de Bromhead | 16/1 |
| 2021 | Shishkin | J:Nico de Boinville T:Nicky Henderson | 4/9F |
| 2022 | Edwardstone | J:Tom Cannon T:Alan King | 5/2F |
| 2023 | El Fabiolo | J:Paul Townend T:Willie Mullins | 11/10F |
| 2024 | Gaelic Warrior | J:Paul Townend T:Willie Mullins | 2/1F |
| 2025 | Jango Baie | J:Nico De Boinville T:Nicky Henderson | 5/1 |
| 2026 | Kargese | J:Danny Mullins T:Willie Mullins | 7/1 |
Cheltenham Festival Racing Schedule – Day 1
| Time | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 1:20 | Supreme Novices’ Hurdle | 2m 87y |
| 2:00 | Arkle Challenge Trophy | 1m 7f 199y |
| 2.40 | Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle | 2m 87y |
| 3:20 | Ultima Handicap Chase | 3m 1f |
| 4:00 | Champion Hurdle | 2m 87y |
| 4.40 | Sun Racing Plate Handicap Chase | 2m 4f 127y |
| 5:20 | National Hunt Chase | 3m 5f 201y |