Lisa O'Neill's Cheltenham 2026 Preview & Insights Brighterdaysahead…

Published on March 5th, 2026

Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , Lisa O'Neill has reflected on Gordon Elliott's disappointing Cheltenham last year, jockey Jack Kennedy who she describes as "phenomenal" and despite the battle for supremacy between Mullins and Eliott the respect between both remains.

O'Neill has also stressed that Majborough must prove class at Cheltenham , earmarks Brighterdaysahead as the horse she'd love to ride at the festival and calls El Cairos the standout horse in their stables.

Elsewhere, she provides a deep analysis of this years Gold Cup, saying Britain will be stronger, but says the withdrawal of Constitution Hill was no surprise, she concludes with some of her best players to watch ahead of Cheltenham 2026.

Cheltenham 2025 Disappointment

To be honest, that’s not a conversation I’ve ever had with Gordon ! I've obviously been associated with the yard when he's had seven or eight winners at the Festival , and they were great days. But last year, with just the one winner, it brings you back into reality and brings you back down to earth and makes you realise how difficult it is to win there and how competitive it is.

Everyone's sending their A team, everyone's sending their top horses, so it's tough. If you go get one on the board, then you can hopefully roll the dice a few more times and see what happens. Gordon has been a leading trainer at the Festival twice, and there's every chance he could do that again. But look, Willie goes there with a massive team of horses.

"Phenomenal" Jack Kennedy

I remember well the first day when Jack came into Gordon’s to ride out, and I’ve seen how he's grown and developed into the rider that he has over the years. What he’s gone through is unbelievable. Resilience is the biggest thing, mental resilience and physical resilience. Because the hardest thing with those broken legs is sitting down and watching those horses win that you should be on.

And Jack's desire has always been to be a Champion Jockey. He's achieved it once so far, and that'll never be good enough for Jack , because once he achieves something, once he wants to achieve it more. How he's bounced back is phenomenal. He’s a great support team and support network around him with his family and his friends. He has huge ambition, huge drive and huge hunger. And he's just a seriously naturally talented man.

Gordon Elliott Respects Willie Mullins

Very much mutual respect. Like everyone, we all admire and are in awe of Willie Mullins and his achievements, and Gordon is no different to that. What Willie has achieved in his career is where the standards are. He sets the standards, and he’s what drives everyone on, and I think Gordon is someone who has so much respect for that.

Trainers Championship

I think if you were to ask him [ Gordon ] that question directly, he'd just totally avoid it! All of us hope you always have to have hope, but realistically, we know how tough it is. You have to admire Willie Mullins and be in awe of his achievements and what he's achieved in his career.

It is going to be tough, but look, there's plenty of horses there, and hopefully the season continues the way that it has been so far. The reason anyone does what they do is to try to achieve the best that they can. Gordon would not be training horses unless he had the ambition to be champion trainer in Ireland .

He says it himself, it's something he dreams about every night and thinks about it all the time. It would be unbelievable. I can't imagine how he'd feel if he achieved what he wanted to achieve. But hopefully, if it's not this year or next year, hopefully it won't be too far away.

Majborough Must Prove Class At Cheltenham

Without doubt. We all know the engine that he has and the raw ability that he has, but it's probably been extremely frustrating that he hasn't been able to put it all together, and no more frustrating than for the man who's on his back as well. But the cheek pieces and the aggressive front running rides which left no stone unturned. It was a phenomenal performance.

Is he a banker for Cheltenham ? I don't know! He was very good at Leopardstown . I can't take that away from him, but obviously, Cheltenham is a different track. Cheek pieces on a second time? He still has to prove he can go and do that again. His jumping was very good at Leopardstown , but he didn't have to shorten once, and if he has to shorten at Cheltenham , I think I'd be one siding with Marine Nationale.

He's just more rock solid. Probably a bit disappointing at Leopardstown at the DRF , but I put that down to the ground. I think he's a better horse on better ground. He's more reliable for me.

The Ride I'd Want

Brighterdaysahead in the Champion Hurdle ! I'm going to stick with her.

Gordon's Standout Horse

Can I go with El Cairos ? I'll be slightly biased now. I might have to eat my words now, but he's a ball of speed. Before he came down at Leopardstown , when he began to pick up, I just thought, ‘Wow.’ He's wowed me a few times when I've seen him at home, and he's wowed me on the race track, and I hope he can continue to do that.

Britain Is Stronger This Year

They have a stronger hand, a much stronger hand this year. Jango Baie is probably the one that caught my eye back in Kempton on Boxing Day .

I thought he was coming home strong and was probably the one I picked out of that race, the King George , that caught my eye for the Gold Cup because of the way he was coming home. I think he'll come up that hill really well. He's a horse that I think could bring a big surprise for the English contingent.

Galopin Des Champs

It will be very interesting to see if Fact To File is supplemented, possibly if Gaelic Warrior maybe heads for the Ryanair . It'll be interesting to see, closer to the time, how people play their cards.

I do happen to think that the likes of Galopin Des Champs , who I know is getting on in years, is extremely good around there at his peak. We probably haven't seen him at his peak just yet. I think he has more to offer, and I think he'll peak on Gold Cup day. Whether that's good enough or not to beat the young pretenders is hard to know. I was very impressed with what Fact To File did at the DRF . That was really impressive. I'd be surprised if they don't supplement him for the Gold Cup .

Constitution Hill Withdrawal "No Surprise"

I'm actually not surprised at all. I sat down and watched him in Southwell , and I thought he was phenomenal. I know it was only a Novice Stakes , but I thought he was exceptional. What we've seen suggests that he could be a high-class platformer on the Flat. So, I think they've made the right decision, I think they've made the right call. I’m looking forward to seeing him on the Flat with some big targets ahead.

They've big dreams now, and why not, because he's such a talented horse, and it's been disappointing and frustrating, and I'm sure connections have been pulling their hair out with him over the last couple of years in what happened. But I hope now that they can look forward to something exciting with him and something that's much easier to watch than what they've had to watch the last few times.

The Next Big Trainer

Over the last while, Mark Fahey is a man who's caught my eye quite a bit. He's trained a good few winners over the last season or so. He hasn't had his license that long, but he's one that I think knows what he's doing. He's quite sharp, he's on the ball, and he's somebody that I think is going places in the training ranks.

Festival Double

I'm going to go Brighterdaysahead in the Champion Hurdle and Favori de Champdou in the Cross Country.

An Each-Way Treble

I think Prends Garde a Toi, wherever he shows up, either the National Hunt Chase or the Ultima , Western Fold in the Brown Advisory , I think he's each way value, and Broadway Ted in the Champion Bumper .