Richard Johnson has spoken exclusively with BOYLE Sports with his cracking Lucky 15 for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, headlined by mare Golden Ace who he calls a proven Festival winner who peaks in spring at what he sees as underrated odds in the Champion Hurdle
The former Champion Jockey also adds strong each-way value with Romeo Coolio in the Arkle and Haiti Couleurs for soft-ground Gold Cup claims, and improving handicapper Ma Shantou in the Stayers '. Bankers include Lulamba (Arkle) and Fact To File (Gold Cup) , as Johnson celebrates a more competitive British challenge against Irish dominance.
Cheltenham 2026 Tips
Cheltenham Festival Lucky 15
Golden Ace , the mare in the Champion Hurdle who won last year. So Golden Ace at a huge price for the Champion Hurdle . She comes into herself in the spring, and she's won at the Festival the last two years. She shouldn't be as big a price as she is.
Then I’d put in Romeo Coolio , each way. Haiti Couleurs, if it's soft ground in the Gold Cup , is a horse that will definitely run well. And Ma Shantou , Emma Lavell’s in the Stayers' . He's a handicapper, but he's an improving horse. The Stayers' is quite an open race. Teahupoo will be the favourite, but I don't think he's unbeatable. There are plenty of horses at short prices I would want to ride, but there are also horses at good prices that will definitely be in the frame.
Festival Bankers
Lulamba in the Arkle , No Drama This End , I'm not sure which race he's going to run in, but I think he's very good. He seems to tick all the boxes, and I'd want to ride Fact To File in the Gold Cup, so I’d go with him.
It's a really open Gold Cup this year. You don't want loads of odds-on favourites because, actually, you want everyone to have different opinions before the race. I think this year looks much more open in a lot of races.
Romeo Coolio "A Great Bet" For The Arkle
If the two and a half mile Novice Hurdle was still available, I am sure that is where they would be going with him. It'll be interesting to see if Gordon decides to run over here. He’s entered in the Ryanair as well, which I thought was an interesting entry. I think two and a half is probably more his trip, but, at the same time, a lot of horses have won the Arkle who go on to further.
The ground again is going to be really important. We've had so much rain in Ireland and England , with meetings being abandoned. Things can change a lot in these next four weeks, and I would just be cautious. We're all expecting soft ground. But it could well be very different. It suddenly can dry, and if there's any place in the world that dries quickly, it’s Cheltenham .
But that said, Romeo Coolio is a lovely horse. I know Gordon thinks the world of him, and again, he's a hardy streetwise horse that's run well at the festival before as well. Again, I wouldn't put anybody off him at 10-1. Again, if you've got no runner, no bet, he's great value because he shouldn't be 10-1.
Jockey
England Easier For Jockeys
I almost think it is slightly easier for a jockey to get going over here than it is in Ireland . It's so competitive. It's definitely a very difficult place to start. The trouble is in Ireland , with them only racing three, maybe four days a week, and with the main two big yards so dominant, if you're not attached to one of those, it's very difficult.
English and Irish riders now are actually at a very level sort of playing field. There's not as many of the Irish coming over here like they used to.
Britain vs Ireland
Brits Are Fighting Back From Irish Dominance
Definitely. We’re definitely at a point now where we feel like we're looking at all these races in a month’s time, and we've got not just one horse that is going into one of those Novice races, but three or four. That’s great. It has been hard work, and it's been a bit unpleasant watching for the last few years. I find it personally, as a British racing person, slightly frustrating when you hear people go, ‘Well, the Irish do better, and the Irish breed them better.’
For a trainer, you're only as good as the horses you have. We can all go to sales and see the nice expensive horses, but having the owners to buy them is the key. And racing and sport goes in cycles. Twenty years ago, Paul Nicholls was winning everything. The Irish were struggling to get involved. It’s gone full circle, and now, hopefully, we're pushing it around again.
Horses To Watch
Horses To Watch
I think Lulamba in the Arkle . He just looks like a very seriously talented horse, and as a young horse, he's got a huge future ahead of him. He’s got to stay in one piece now, but he really looks like a horse who is very unexposed but also has already proven he's top, top class. I was at Haydock when Old Park Star won. He’s quite, not unassuming, that is the wrong word, but he just seems very laid back. He seems to go through his races really easily.
Haydock is quite a sharp track, and you'd have thought if he was going to find it hard, it would be there. But he just seemed to sail around. He made it look very, very easy. That's a sign of a very good horse. They do it without even looking like they're putting any effort in. He’s a horse at home who I don't think had shown Nicky Henderson an awful lot before he ran the first day, and I think that's a nice thing that they almost go through the motions at home, but when they hit the track, that's when they really shine.
He looks like a very exciting horse, and I'm sure it's hard for Paul Nicholls because obviously he used to have him. That's again the ups and downs of trade. Horses can move around. He looks like a horse that is going to give its owners an awful lot of fun.
El Cairos was bought from the David Maxwell dispersal sale. He's obviously a very talented horse, but he hung quite badly in his bumpers when he was trained by Gary Moore , and I don't think he's done enough to warrant being the third favourite for the race. He made another bad mistake when he won the other day. I feel he's a very bad price for what he's achieved so far.
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