Seven races. Seven chances. Tuesday sets the pace. Champion Day is the opening act of the Cheltenham Festival, and it has earned its reputation as the most bettor-friendly day on the card. Since 2000, favourites have won at a 37% rate on Day 1 — the highest of any festival day and a full eight percentage points above the four-day average. That is not a coincidence. Tuesday’s card is anchored by championship races where established form counts for more than it does in the open handicaps later in the week.
The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle opens proceedings and delivers the Cheltenham Roar — that wall of sound that tells you the festival has properly begun. The Champion Hurdle provides the afternoon’s centrepiece. In between and around them sit races that range from competitive handicaps to Grade 1 novice events, each with its own form puzzle. The going for 2026 is Good to Soft after a wet winter, which tilts certain races toward stamina-laden types over pure speedsters. Here is the full card, race by race, with the angles that matter.
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle & Arkle Chase
The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is the festival’s curtain-raiser — two miles for novice hurdlers, and the race that has launched the careers of some of jump racing’s greatest names. The form for this race is typically led by performances at the Dublin Racing Festival and the key UK novice hurdles through the winter. In 2026, the Irish challenge looks formidable once again, with Mullins and Elliott both likely to field strong contenders. The key question for any Supreme selection is whether the horse can handle the unique atmosphere of a festival opener. Some novices freeze when the crowd erupts; others thrive on it. Previous Cheltenham experience — even a run at the November Meeting — is a useful filter, though not a requirement.
The Arkle Chase sits alongside the Supreme as Tuesday’s other Grade 1 novice event, this time over two miles for chasers. The Arkle rewards speed and accurate jumping; mistakes over fences at this pace are usually fatal to a horse’s chance. Willie Mullins holds the record for festival victories with 113 wins, and his novice chasers have been a consistent source of success. The trainer’s 2026 entries include several horses who graduated from successful hurdling campaigns into chasing — a pathway that Mullins has refined into something close to an assembly line. Look for horses whose chasing debut form includes clean jumping rounds; the ones who have been sloppy over fences in their early starts rarely tighten up enough for a festival-pressure Arkle.
Ultima Handicap Chase & Champion Hurdle
The Ultima Handicap Chase is Tuesday’s big-field betting heat — a three-mile handicap chase that routinely attracts 20-plus runners and produces winners at generous prices. This is each-way territory, not accumulator territory. The Ultima favours experienced chasers who handle soft ground and stay the trip properly. Irish-trained runners have an excellent recent record in this race, consistent with the broader trend of Irish dominance in festival handicaps. If you are looking for a value play to start the day, the Ultima is the race to study form lines carefully and identify horses whose handicap marks do not fully reflect their ability.
The Champion Hurdle needs little introduction — it is the race that defines Day 1 and often the entire festival. At Grade 1 level over two miles, this is where the best hurdlers in training meet, and the favourite’s record here is stronger than in most other festival races. For 2026, the Mullins-Henderson rivalry takes centre stage again. Both operations bring their strongest two-mile candidates, and the jockey bookings in the final days before the race will reveal which horse each yard considers its primary weapon. The Champion Hurdle is a race where the market usually identifies the winner — the challenge for punters is accepting the short price or finding a way to play it through combination bets.
Mares’ Hurdle & Boodles Handicap Hurdle
The Mares’ Hurdle has grown into one of Tuesday’s most competitive races. Restricted to female horses over two miles and four furlongs, it has become a Mullins benefit in recent years — the yard’s strength in depth across the mares’ division is remarkable, and the trainer frequently enters multiple contenders who would each be a leading hope for any other operation. The betting market can be deceptive here; stablemate dynamics mean the odds on Mullins runners do not always reflect their individual chance. Look at race fitness and recent form rather than assuming the shortest-priced Mullins runner is the right one.
The Boodles Handicap Hurdle, formerly known as the Fred Winter, is a juvenile handicap hurdle that brings together younger horses with limited form. This race is notoriously difficult to solve — the runners often have just two or three career starts, making form analysis closer to guesswork than science. Field sizes are large, which means four places are paid each-way, and the favourite’s record is poor. If there is a race on Tuesday’s card to leave out of your accumulator and treat as a standalone each-way play instead, this is it. The Boodles rewards punters who focus on trainer records in juvenile hurdles and who identify horses coming from strong French or Irish form lines that the British handicapper may not have fully accounted for.
National Hunt Chase & Day 1 Summary
The National Hunt Chase closes Tuesday’s card — a stamina test over nearly four miles that attracts staying chasers from both sides of the Irish Sea. This race tends to draw less betting attention than the earlier contests, partly because it falls at the end of a long afternoon and partly because the form can be difficult to assess at this extreme trip. But for punters with the patience to study it, the National Hunt Chase occasionally produces strong-value winners. Horses with point-to-point backgrounds and proven stamina over three miles or more are the starting point. The going matters enormously at this distance; on soft ground, the race becomes a survival test where jumping ability and endurance outweigh pure class.
Across the full Day 1 card, the pattern is clear: the championship races — Supreme, Arkle, Champion Hurdle, Mares’ Hurdle — offer more predictable form and favour the market. The handicaps — Ultima, Boodles, National Hunt Chase — are where the upsets happen and where each-way betting earns its keep. A smart Tuesday strategy splits your approach: back the form horses in the Grade 1s, play the value in the handicaps, and resist the temptation to link everything into a single accumulator. Seven races, seven different puzzles. Treat them that way and Tuesday’s card becomes your strongest day of the week.
Setting the Tone With a Sensible Budget
Day 1 sets the tone for your entire festival — both emotionally and financially. A big early win can lead to reckless betting later; a bad Tuesday can trigger desperate attempts to recover. Set your daily budget before the first race and stick to it regardless of how the afternoon unfolds. The festival lasts four days, and the smartest punters treat each day as a separate event. If you need support at any point, BeGambleAware offers free, confidential help on 0808 8020 133.