Cheltenham Festival Day 4 Guide 2026

The Cheltenham Festival features some of the biggest races of the year, some of which are reserved for Day 4, the final day of the festival! With distance races, hurdle races and the prestigious Gold Cup, the final day of the Cheltenham Festival comes with some of the best and most exhilarating racing of the year. Here at OddsMonkey, we’ll take a look at all the different races that will take place on day four of the Cheltenham Festival. For each race, we will review favorites and other strong picks, race times, previous winners, and other important factors such as the number of obstacles in each race.

Cheltenham Festival Overview Day 4

As this is the final day of the event, the fourth day of the Cheltenham Festival is planned to take place on Friday, March 13th. The focus throughout the day is on the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which is not only the main race of the day but the entire festival. With this race as the main focus, the entire day was named Gold Cup Friday. As with other days throughout the Cheltenham Festival, there are seven races taking place throughout the day, with the most important event taking place at 16:00 (GMT), namely the Gold Cup. Here, you can find all the different races that will take place on the Friday of the Cheltenham Festival:

• JCB Victory Hurdle
• William Hill State Handicap Hurdle Race
• Mrs Paddy Power Mares Tower Chase
• Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle Race
• Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Tower Chase
• St. Patrick’s Festival Hunter Chase James’s Place
• Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle

With all the different races taking place throughout the final day, bettors are already placing and planning their bets for the festival. If you haven’t placed one yet, make sure to check out our Cheltenham Festival betting offers guide to find the best promotions!

Racing Day 4 of the Cheltenham Festival

Looking at the racing throughout the Gold Cup on Friday, there are plenty of events that have created excitement throughout the horse racing community! If you’re interested in learning more about horse racing, check out our horse racing betting guide!

13:20 – JCB Victory Hurdle (Hurdle)

The opening race on the final day, the JCB Triumph Hurdle, is a 2m1f race, which is a Grade 1 race restricted to four-year-old juvenile runners. With 8 hurdles in the race, this year’s edition has one favourite, with Narciso Has placed at 6/4 to win. In the last four editions of the JCB Triumph Hurdle, Willie Mullins has been the trainer to win the race with three different horses!

14:00 – William Hill State Handicap Hurdle Race (Hurdle)

Known for its fierce competitiveness, the William Hill Country Handicap Hurdle is the second race of the day and takes place over 2m1f. With 8 hurdles, this is another race won by trainer Willie Mullins last year, with Kargese winning at odds of 3/1! This year, there are no clear favorites, with Murcia set at 8/1, Let It Rain set at 10/1, and Khrisma also placed with odds at 10/1.

14:40 – Mrs Paddy Power Mares Tower Chase (Chase)

Being one of the newest events throughout the Cheltenham Festival, the first iteration of the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Tower Chase took place in 2021, with Colreevy winning at odds of 16/1. In 2026, the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Steeple Chase will see Dinoblue, who is the clear favorite at 15/8 and looking to win the race two years in a row. Spindleberry and Panic Attack are both the closest challengers with scores of 7/2 and 7/1 respectively.

15:20 – Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle Race (Hurdle)

Being one of the biggest tests for the best novice distance hurdlers, this race is a Grade 1 race and was first held in 2005. With a total of 12 hurdles, in 2025 Jasmin De Vaux won at odds of 6/1. This year, Doctor Steinberg stands out at odds of 10/3, while tipsters see outsiders like Espresso Milan, who has odds of 14/1.

16:00 – Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Tower Chase (Chase)

Known as the most prestigious tower chase race found anywhere in the world, the Gold Cup is the highlight of the four-day festival. Having won two Gold Cups, Galopin Des Champs looked favorite to win in 2025, but it was Inothewayurthinkin who emerged victorious at odds of 15/2. Over 3 miles and 2 miles, the Gold Cup features 22 hurdles, making it a very challenging race, and in the 2026 edition, we see horses like Fact To File and Jango Baie as the standouts.

16:40 – Spot Festival Challenge Hunter Chase (Chase)

Often referred to as the amateur rider’s Gold Cup, the St. James was won last year by Wonderwall at odds of 28/1, while this year, Wonderwall look like favorites to win twice in a row, with Its On The Line the closest challenger at 7/1. These odds can change when a horse may back off or be injured, which can activate Rule 4 deductions!

17:20 – Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (Hurdle)

Being the final race of the entire festival, it was held in 2009 and honors Martin Pipe, who was a 15-time champion trainer who retired in 2006 with 34 wins at the festival. With 10 obstacles over 2 miles and 4 over long distances, we see options like Storm Heart and Son of Anarchy at odds of 12/1 and 14/1 respectively. Last year, Wodhooh won at odds of 9/2, with Danny Gilligan the jockey to win the final race of the 2025 festival.

With all the different races across the Cheltenham Festival covered, users can check out OddsMonkey’s Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup guide, which goes into more detail about the prestigious event. Bettors can also check out our other Cheltenham Festival guides, such as our Cheltenham Festival match betting guide.