Founder & Editor · Last reviewed 2026-08-19
Result: Lossiemouth, 7/5 favourite — trained Willie Mullins, ridden Paul Townend. Won the 2026 Unibet Champion Hurdle.
The 2026 Champion Hurdle was Lossiemouth's to lose from the moment Constitution Hill switched to the Flat and Sir Gino's pelvis fractured. She was the best hurdler in the field by a clear margin, and she won like it.
Paul Townend made the running, controlled the pace from the front, and kicked on approaching the last two flights. Nobody got to her. She crossed the line to a reception that recognised both the quality of the performance and what the result meant — Rich Ricci had his first Champion Hurdle, and the story of the week was already taking shape.
By Friday afternoon, when Gaelic Warrior won the Gold Cup, Ricci had both championship races. For the full Festival picture, see our Cheltenham Festival 2026 review.
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How the race was run
Townend went to the front from the start, which is the right way to ride Lossiemouth. She's a fluent jumper who travels well at her own pace; asking her to settle behind others introduces variables that don't need to be there.
The pace was steady through the first half of the race, which suited her. Her jumping was accurate throughout — she met every flight on a good stride and didn't waste energy correcting errors. Over two miles at Cheltenham, where ground-lost at hurdles is hard to recover, that matters.
Turning in for home, Townend picked up his reins. Lossiemouth responded immediately, found two lengths from the second last to the last, and ran on strongly up the hill. None of her rivals got close enough to make it a race in the final stages.
The winning margin flattered the field slightly — Townend was hands and heels at the line. But any suggestion that she only won because of the absences of Constitution Hill and Sir Gino misses the point. She's a top-class hurdler who won a championship race at a short price. The form stands on its own merits.
Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth is Willie Mullins' best hurdler, and the Champion Hurdle confirmed it. She's quick, she jumps accurately, and she travels with the minimum of fuss — three qualities that make two-mile hurdling at this level look simpler than it is.
She's a mare, which counts for something. There's an allowance in most open-company races, and mares tend to come to hand earlier than geldings of similar ability. Mullins has managed her carefully: she's run selectively, been aimed at championship targets, and peaked at the right time.
The question now is what comes next. The Punchestown Champion Hurdle in late April is the obvious target — Mullins uses Punchestown to run his Cheltenham winners where he can, and the trip and conditions suit her. Whether she lines up there or is put away for the season, she enters next year's ante-post Champion Hurdle market as a leading contender.
One note: the Champion Hurdle is notoriously hard to win twice. The roll call of dual winners is short, and defending champions often face younger, improving horses with a fitness edge. That's not a reason to oppose her — she's clearly talented enough — but it's worth factoring in when her ante-post price is assessed.
Rich Ricci — a record that will stand for a long time
The Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup are run at different ends of the physical spectrum. The Champion is a speed test over two miles; the Gold Cup demands stamina over three miles two and a half furlongs. Horses who win one are almost never seen near the other.
Owning the best horse at both ends of that spectrum in the same season is, to put it plainly, almost unheard of. Rich Ricci did it in 2026. Lossiemouth on Tuesday, Gaelic Warrior on Friday. First owner in the race's history to win both in the same season.
Ricci has been a significant presence in National Hunt racing for over a decade, mostly through his partnership with Mullins. He's won Champion Hurdles before, and Gold Cups before — but never both in the same year. The record books now reflect that.
The contribution of Willie Mullins to this achievement should not be understated. Having the training operation capable of preparing two championship horses in the same season — across entirely different disciplines — is a feat in itself. Mullins now has, by some distance, the most decorated training record in the modern history of the Festival.
For more on Gaelic Warrior's Gold Cup performance, see our Gold Cup 2026 result article.
Betting lessons
The favourite delivered — as it usually does
Lossiemouth won at 7/5. The Champion Hurdle favourite has a strong record at Cheltenham, and this year was no exception. When a horse is a clear market leader at a short price, it's usually because the form makes a compelling case. Lossiemouth's form did.
The lesson isn't that short-priced favourites always win — they don't. It's that when the absences of key rivals significantly weaken a field, the remaining market leader's chance improves in proportion. Constitution Hill and Sir Gino were both out. That narrowed the Champion Hurdle to one serious candidate.
What about the each-way market?
At 7/5, there's no each-way value. The bet was win-only or leave it. For punters who backed early ante-post — Lossiemouth was available at 3/1 and 4/1 before the injury news — the return was much better.
Looking ahead
For each-way punters eyeing the 2027 Champion Hurdle ante-post market, the question is whether Lossiemouth defends and whether Constitution Hill returns. If both are in the field at similar prices, the race becomes genuinely open. If Lossiemouth is a short-priced favourite in a weakened field again, the ante-post value lies elsewhere.
FAQ
Who won the 2026 Champion Hurdle? Lossiemouth, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend, at 7/5 favourite.
Who owns Lossiemouth? Rich Ricci, who also owned Gold Cup winner Gaelic Warrior — making him the first owner to win the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup in the same season.
Why were Constitution Hill and Sir Gino absent? Constitution Hill switched to the Flat. Sir Gino suffered a fractured pelvis and missed the season.
Will Lossiemouth run at Punchestown? Punchestown in late April is the likely next target if she runs again this season. Mullins regularly campaigns his Cheltenham champions there.
Where can I read more about the full Festival? See the Cheltenham Festival 2026 review for all four days and the full winners list.
Where to bet on UK racing: see our bookmaker reviews and offers for the current welcome offers, Best Odds Guaranteed coverage, and each-way terms ahead of upcoming UK + Irish racing.
Sources & verification
Race details, dates, prize money and trends in this piece were cross-checked against:
- Racing Post — race archive + form database
- Sporting Life — race cards and results
- Wikipedia — long-run historical data
[Source: cross-referenced as of the lastUpdated date in this article's meta.yaml.]
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