📝 Post Summary
The final day of the Cheltenham Festival, known as Gold Cup Friday, features thrilling races, with the highlight being the prestigious Gold Cup at 16:00 (GMT). Alongside this, bettors can look forward to several other exciting events throughout the day, including the JCB Triumph Hurdle and the William Hill Country Handicap Hurdle. Don't forget to check out betting offers to maximise your experience!
Cheltenham Festival features some of the biggest races of the year, some of which are reserved for Day 4, the last day of the festival! With distance races, hurdle races and the prestigious Gold Cup, the last day of the Cheltenham Festival comes with some of the best and most exhilarating races of the year. Here at OddsMonkey, we are going to look through all of the different races that are due to take place on the fourth day of the Cheltenham Festival. For each race, we will review the favourites and other strong picks, the race time, the past winner, and other key factors such as the number of obstacles in each event.
Cheltenham Festival Day 4 Overview
With this being the last day of the event, the fourth day of the Cheltenham Festival is set to take place on Friday, the 13th of March. The focus throughout the day will be on the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which is not only the premier race of the day but also of the entire festival. With this race as the main focus, the entire day is named Gold Cup Friday. Just like all of the other days throughout the Cheltenham Festival, there are seven races that take place across the course of the day, with the most important event taking place at 16:00 (GMT), which is the Gold Cup. Here, you can find all of the different races which are set to take place on the Friday of the Cheltenham Festival:
- JCB Triumph Hurdle
- William Hill Country Handicap Hurdle Race
- Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Steeple Chase
- Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle Race
- Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase
- St. James’s Place Festival Hunters Chase
- Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle
With all these different races taking place across the last day, bettors will already be placing and planning their bets for the festival. If you have not placed yours yet, make sure to check out our Cheltenham Festival betting offers guide to find the very best promotions!
Cheltenham Festival Day 4 Races
Looking at the races throughout the Gold Cup on Friday, there are plenty of events which are already creating excitement throughout the horse racing community! If you are interested in learning more about horse racing, check out our horse racing betting guide!
13:20 – JCB Triumph Hurdle (Hurdle)
The opening race on the final day, the JCB Triumph Hurdle, is a 2m1f long race, which is a Grade 1 contest restricted to four-year-old juvenile hurdlers. With 8 hurdles in the race, this year’s edition has one clear favourite, with Narciso Has being placed at 6/4 to win. In the past 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 Country Handicap Hurdle Race (Hurdle)
Known for its ferocious competitiveness, this William Hill Country Handicap Hurdle Race is the second race of the day and takes place across a 2m1f distance. With 8 hurdles, this was another race which was won by trainer Willie Mullins last year, with Kargese winning from odds of 3/1! This year, there are no clear stand-out favourites, with Murcia being set at 8/1, Let It Rain being set at 10/1, and Khrisma also being placed with odds at 10/1.
14:40 – Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Steeple Chase (Chase)
Being one of the most recent events throughout the Cheltenham Festival, the first iteration of the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Steeple Chase was in 2021, with Colreevy winning at odds of 16/1. In 2026, Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Steeple Chase will be looking at Dinoblue, which is the clear favourite at 15/8 and looking to win the race two years on the bounce. Spindleberry and Panic Attack both sit as the closest challengers at 7/2 and 7/1, respectively.
15:20 – Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle Race (Hurdle)
Being one of the biggest tests for the best long-distance novice hurdlers, this race is a Grade 1 race and was first run in 2005. With 12 hurdles in total, 2025 saw Jasmin De Vaux winning with odds of 6/1. This year, Doctor Steinberg stands out with odds of 10/3, whilst tipsters are looking at outside shots such as Espresso Milan, which sits at 14/1.
16:00 – Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase (Chase)
Known to be the most prestigious steeple chase race found anywhere in the world, the Gold Cup is the main event throughout the four-day festival. After winning two Gold Cups, Galopin Des Champs looked favourite to win in 2025, but it was Inothewayurthinkin who came away victorious with odds of 15/2. With 3 miles and 2 furlongs in distance, the Gold Cup features 22 hurdles, making it an extremely challenging race, and in the 2026 edition, we look towards horses such as Fact To File and Jango Baie as the standouts.
16:40 – The Place Festival Challenge Hunters Chase (Chase)
Often referred to as the amateur riders’ Gold Cup, the St. James’s Place Festival Hunters Chase was won last year by Wonderwall with odds of 28/1, whilst this year, Wonderwall looks like the favourite to win two in a row, with Its On The Line being the closest challenger at 7/1. These odds can change as horses might pull out or be injured, which can activate the Rule 4 deduction!
17:20 – Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (Hurdle)
Being the last race of the entire festival, this race was established in 2009 and honours Martin Pipe, who was a 15-time champion trainer who retired in 2006 with 34 victories at the festival. With 10 hurdles across 2 miles and 4 furlongs, we are looking at selections such as Storm Heart and Son of Anarchy with odds of 12/1 and 14/1, respectively. Last year, Wodhooh won at odds of 9/2, with Danny Gilligan being the jockey to win the last race of the 2025 festival.
With all the different races throughout the Cheltenham Festival being covered, users can check out OddsMonkey’s own Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup guide, which goes into further detail about the prestigious event. Bettors can also check out our other Cheltenham Festival guides, such as our Cheltenham Festival matched betting guide.
