From the opening Supreme Novices’ Hurdle on Day 1 to the concluding Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle on Day 4, the Cheltenham Festival presents 28 closely fought battles between British and Irish trainers. Or at least it is supposed to. In recent times, this fight has become increasingly one-sided. Try as they might, the British trainers just can’t withstand the overwhelming tide of Irish talent.
The 2025 festival marked the 10th consecutive year that Ireland made off with the Prestbury Cup – the trophy awarded to the nation with the most winners at the meeting. The modern version of the Cheltenham Festival undoubtedly belongs to the Irish and the thousands of supporters who make the annual trip across the Irish Sea. But has it always been this way? Or was there a time when the British trainers at least managed to hold their own on home soil?
The Early Years: British Domination
The Cheltenham Festival, in something resembling its current form, first took place in 1911, with the inaugural edition of the Stayers’ Hurdle appearing in 1912. The other signature events came later, with the Cheltenham Gold Cup making its debut in 1924, the Champion Hurdle run for the first time in 1927, and the Queen Mother Champion Chase joining the Cheltenham party in 1959.
Over the first three decades of the meeting, British trainers dominated, both in terms of runners and winners. Between 1912 and 1945, Fred Morgan’s 1925 Gold Cup winner, Ballinode, was the only Irish-trained horse to win one of the flagship events.
1950s-1970s: An Improvement in Irish Fortunes
Led initially by the great Vincent O’Brien and later by Tom Dreaper, the Irish began to strike more regularly from the late 1940s onwards. O’Brien saddled the great Cottage Rake to claim three successive editions of the Cheltenham Gold Cup between 1948 and 1950, while Dreaper peppered the winner’s enclosure with stars such as Fortria, Flyingbolt, and, of course, the mighty Arkle during the 1960s and 1970s. The 1970s, in particular, can be regarded as the first Irish boom, with 18 of the signature contests falling to an Irish-trained runner during that period.
Major Irish Cheltenham Festival Winners 1970-79
| Year | Race | Horse | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Champion Chase | Straight Fort | Tom Dreaper | Pat Taaffe |
| 1970 | Gold Cup | L’Escargot | Dan Moore | Tommy Carberry |
| 1971 | Gold Cup | L’Escargot | Dan Moore | Tommy Carberry |
| 1972 | Gold Cup | Glencaraig Lady | Francis Flood | Frank Berry |
| 1973 | Champion Chase | Inkslinger | Dan Moore | Tommy Carberry |
| 1974 | Gold Cup | Captain Christy | Pat Taaffe | Bobby Beasley |
| 1975 | Champion Chase | Lough Inagh | Jim Dreaper | Sean Barker |
| 1975 | Stayers’ Hurdle | Brown Lad | Jim Dreaper | Tommy Carberry |
| 1975 | Gold Cup | Ten Up | Jim Dreaper | Tommy Carberry |
| 1976 | Champion Chase | Skymas | Brian Lusk | Mouse Morris |
| 1976 | Stayers’ Hurdle | Bit of a Jig | Mick O’Toole | Dessie Hughes |
| 1977 | Champion Chase | Skymas | Brian Lusk | Mouse Morris |
| 1977 | Gold Cup | Davy Lad | Mick O’Toole | Dessie Hughes |
| 1978 | Champion Hurdle | Monksfield | Des McDonogh | Tommy Kinane |
| 1978 | Champion Chase | Hilly Way | Peter McCreery | Tommy Carmody |
| 1978 | Stayers’ Hurdle | Flame Gun | Edward O’Grady | Niall Madden |
| 1979 | Champion Hurdle | Monksfield | Des McDonogh | Dessie Hughes |
| 1979 | Champion Chase | Hilly Way | Peter McCreery | Ted Walsh |
1980s – 1990s: Britain Reasserts
Despite the efforts of O’Brien, Dreaper and co. in individual races, British trainers were rarely in any danger of being upstaged over the meeting as a whole. The 1980s and 1990s then saw the hosts assert their dominance more emphatically. Irish-trained winners, particularly in the Grade 1 events, became an increasingly rare sight. With the home team boasting trainers of the calibre of Michael Dickinson, Peter Easterby, Fulke Walwyn, Nicky Henderson, Toby Balding, and Martin Pipe, the Irish frequently found themselves outnumbered and outgunned.
2000-2010: Nicholls on Top
Kicking off with a three-winner haul at the 1999 Cheltenham Festival, the Ditcheat yard of Paul Nicholls became a conveyor belt of phenomenal talent throughout the first decade of the 21st century. That era will be best remembered for the Gold Cup winners Kauto Star and Denman, but there were numerous other stars in the mix, including dual Champion Chase winner Master Minded and Big Buck’s, who won four Stayers’ Hurdles. Crowned top trainer at the Cheltenham Festival six times between 1999 and 2009, Nicholls helped ensure that the decade belonged to the Brits.
The Prestbury Cup Era
| Year | British Winners | Irish Winners | Prestbury Cup Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 15 | 12 | Britain |
| 2015 | 14 | 13 | Britain |
| 2016 | 13 | 15 | Ireland |
| 2017 | 9 | 19 | Ireland |
| 2018 | 11 | 17 | Ireland |
| 2019 | 14 | 14 | Tie |
| 2020 | 10 | 17 | Ireland |
| 2021 | 5 | 23 | Ireland |
| 2022 | 10 | 18 | Ireland |
| 2023 | 10 | 18 | Ireland |
| 2024 | 9 | 18 | Ireland |
| 2025 | 8 | 20 | Ireland |
The Britain vs Ireland element had always provided an intriguing subplot to the Cheltenham Festival. However, it was not until 2014 that Cheltenham officially recognised the rivalry with the introduction of the Prestbury Cup.
The first battles for the trophy were tight, with Britain edging it in 2014 and 2015 and Ireland bouncing back with a narrow win in 2016. Since then, the pendulum has swung emphatically towards the Irish. Routing the Brits 19-9 in 2017, Ireland only slightly loosened their grip when allowing Britain to earn a tie in 2019.
Irish dominance has now become a seemingly permanent feature of the Cheltenham Festival. While Britain rebounded slightly following the 23-5 humiliation of 2021, they couldn’t prevent Ireland winning the four subsequent editions in a canter.
The Mullins Effect
Having won only three races at the 2000 Cheltenham Festival and watched Paul Nicholls and his British compatriots dominate much of the next decade, what has changed to elevate Ireland to such a dominant position? There are many contributing factors, but the most influential resides in County Carlow and goes by the name of Willie Mullins.
Mullins achieved a dream when claiming his first Cheltenham Festival success with Tourist Attraction in the 1995 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and continued to hit the target throughout the late 90s and early 00s.
In 2011, he recorded three festival winners for the first time and claimed his first championship event with Hurricane Fly in the Champion Hurdle. Since then, the Mullins snowball has continued to roll, gathering an ever-increasing number of winners. At the end of the 2025 edition, Mullins’ tally of 113 saw him well clear at the top of the all-time trainer’s table – 40 ahead of second-placed Nicky Henderson.
At the end of the 2024/25 season, Mullins was showing no signs of slowing down. His total of 10 Cheltenham Festival winners equalled his best ever tally, he claimed the British Trainers’ Championship for the second time in as many years, and saddled the 1-2-3 in the Aintree Grand National for good measure.
Mullins is the ringleader, but he has an able supporting cast of Irish trainers, including Gordon Elliott, Henry De Bromhead, and Gavin Cromwell, who all have multiple Cheltenham Festival wins, including the crown jewel of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Any Hope for the British?
The current pattern makes for grim reading for British trainers. Nine Prestbury Cup wins between 2016 and 2025 suggest that more than a random trend is at play. But why are the winners flowing so freely for Ireland?
One likely reason is the higher average prize money on offer in Ireland, particularly in the better-quality races, i.e. those rated at Listed level and above. Proponents of Irish racing suggest that the partially government-funded model is ideally set up to produce a higher standard of horse. The British system, in contrast, is handicapped by an overload of lower quality fixtures, which spreads the prize money too thinly.
And of course, success breeds success. Any owner considering where to send an expensive purchase will naturally be drawn to Ireland. The more Cheltenham winners Irish trainers have, the more likely they are to receive the most promising recruits from the sales and point-to-point scene. In turn, these runners have a higher-than-average chance of developing into a Cheltenham Festival winner, and so the cycle continues.
The likes of Michael O’Leary of Gigginstown House Stud, JP McManus, and US owner, Rich Ricci have always supported the Irish yards. However, even British-based Cheveley Park Stud and Robcour are now increasingly sending their runners across the Irish Sea.
British trainers haven’t suddenly become significantly worse than those in Ireland but are only as good as the horses at their disposal. Unless the pattern of the best horses heading to Ireland changes, the Irish trend at the Cheltenham Festival is likely to continue.