Cheltenham isn’t just about finding the best horse — it’s about identifying the trainers who target the Festival properly.

Every year punters make the same mistake: following hype horses instead of understanding trainer patterns.

Certain yards arrive at Cheltenham with a plan months in advance. Others simply run horses because it’s Cheltenham.

Here are six trainers punters should always keep onside, backed by Festival statistics rather than opinion.

🇮🇪 Willie Mullins — The Cheltenham Benchmark

Willie Mullins is quite simply the most successful trainer in Cheltenham Festival history.

Cheltenham Record

• 113 Festival winners
• First winner: Tourist Attraction — Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (1995)

While Mullins has plenty of handicap success, his real focus lies in the elite Grade 1 contests.

Key Festival Targets

• Supreme Novices’ Hurdle — 8 winners
• Mares’ Hurdle — 11 winners
  Including Quevega’s remarkable six-timer (2009–2014)
• Champion Bumper — 14 winners

However, blindly backing Mullins runners isn’t profitable.

A key edge lies in jockey bookings.

👉 36 of his 113 winners were ridden by Paul Townend.

Serious punters should monitor the 48-hour declarations — the Townend booking often signals the stable’s primary chance.

🇬🇧 Nicky Henderson — Britain’s Grade 1 Master

With 75 Cheltenham winners, Nicky Henderson remains the most successful UK-based trainer at the Festival.

Like Mullins, Henderson builds his season around the championship races rather than handicaps.

Major Festival Success

• Champion Hurdle — 9 winners
• Arkle Challenge Trophy — 9 winners
• Triumph Hurdle — 8 winners

Another strong indicator comes in the saddle.

👉 Nico De Boinville has ridden 16 Festival winners for Henderson.

When Henderson targets a top race and De Boinville keeps the ride, it’s usually significant.

🇮🇪 Henry De Bromhead — Modern Festival Specialist

Henry De Bromhead’s Cheltenham rise has been remarkable.

Although his first Festival runner came in 2005 and his breakthrough arrived with Sizing Europe, his real dominance is a more recent phenomenon.

Cheltenham Record

• 25 Festival winners overall
• 22 winners in the last nine years
• 20 of those 22 victories came in non-handicap races

The pattern is clear:

De Bromhead excels when bringing top-class horses to championship events rather than handicap contests.

When his runners appear in Grade races at Cheltenham, they demand serious respect.

🇬🇧 Dan Skelton — Britain’s Festival Value Trainer

Dan Skelton only sent his first Cheltenham runners in 2015, yet he has already compiled an impressive record.

Cheltenham Record

• 11 Festival winners since 2015
• Success across hurdles, chases, handicaps and graded races — no strong bias
• Two huge-priced shocks:
  Mohaayed (33/1) — County Hurdle 2018
  Faivoir (33/1) — County Hurdle 2023

Skelton runners are rarely overhyped, which makes them particularly interesting from a betting perspective.

The County Hurdle, in particular, looks a race the yard targets cleverly — worth remembering when final declarations appear.

🇮🇪 Joseph O’Brien — Handicap Hurdle Specialist

Joseph O’Brien has quickly established himself as one of the shrewdest operators at the Festival.

Despite having runners across multiple seasons, his Cheltenham record reveals a very clear betting angle.

Cheltenham Record

• 5 winners from 58 hurdlers
• 0 winners from 33 chasers
• All five winners came in handicap hurdles
• 5 wins from 34 handicap hurdlers (17% strike rate)

The message is simple:

👉 Ignore the chasers.
👉 Focus on handicap hurdlers.

When O’Brien sends a handicap hurdler to Cheltenham, it’s usually deliberate rather than hopeful.

🇮🇪 Gavin Cromwell — The Rising Festival Force

Gavin Cromwell’s Festival presence has grown dramatically since 2017.

Last season in particular showed just how much confidence the yard now has at Cheltenham.

Cheltenham Record

• 8 winners from 62 runners
• Sent 28 runners last year, more than triple any previous campaign
• 2 winners last year alone
• 6 of his 8 winners came in non-handicap races
• Winners split evenly: 4 chasers / 4 hurdlers

Cromwell has moved from clever placer to genuine Festival contender, and his expanding runner numbers suggest the best may still be ahead.