The Cheltenham Festival hosts some of the biggest competitions of the year, some of which are reserved for day four, the final day of the festival! The final day of the Cheltenham Festival features some of the best and most exciting racing of the year with long distance races, hurdle races and the famous Gold Cup. Here at OddsMonkey we’ll be looking through all the different races taking place on day four of the Cheltenham Festival. For each race, we review favorites and other strong picks, race times, past winners, and other key factors such as the number of handicaps in each race.

Cheltenham Festival day four overview

As this is the last day of the event, day four of the Cheltenham Festival will take place on Friday 13th March. The focus throughout the day will be the Cheltenham Gold Cup, not only the premier race of the day but of the entire festival. With this match as the main focus, the day was named Gold Cup Friday. Like the other days of the Cheltenham Festival, seven races will be held throughout the day, with the most important event taking place at 16:00 (GMT), the Gold Cup. Here you can find all the different races taking place on Friday at the Cheltenham Festival:

• JCB Triumph Bar
• William Hill Country Handicap Hurdle
• Mrs. Paddy Power’s Obstacle Course
• albert bartlett novices’ hurdles
• Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Handicap
• St James Square Festival Hunter Chase
• Martin Pipe Conditions Jockey’s Handicap Hurdle

With all these different races taking place on the final day, punters are already betting and planning for the festival. If you haven’t placed your bet yet, be sure to check out our guide to Cheltenham Festival betting offers to find the best promotions available!

Cheltenham Festival day 4 competition

Looking at Friday’s Gold Cup action, there’s plenty going on that’s already generating excitement throughout the horse racing community! If you’re interested in learning more about horse racing, check out our guide to horse racing betting!

13:20 – JCB Triumph Hurdle (Hurdle)

The opening event of the last day, the “JCB Triumph Hurdle”, is a long-distance competition of 2 meters 1F. This is a first-level competition limited to four-year-old juvenile hurdlers. This year’s event features eight hurdles and there is one clear favourite, Narciso Has, who is priced at 6/4 to win. Willie Mullins has been the trainer for the past four editions of the JCB Triumph Hurdle, winning the race with three different horses!

14:00 – William Hill Country Handicap Hurdle (Hurdle)

The William Hill Country Handicap Hurdle, known for its fierce competition, is the second race of the day and is contested over a distance of 2m1ft. This race has eight hurdles and is another race won by trainer Willie Mullins last year, with Kargese winning at odds of 3/1! This year, there are no clear favorites, with Murcia at 8/1, Let It Rain at 10/1 and Jerisma at 10/1.

14:40 – Lady Paddy Power Mares’ Steeplechase (Chase)

One of the latest events during the Cheltenham Festival, the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Handicap was held for the first time in 2021, with Colreevy winning at odds of 16/1. In 2026, the Mrs Paddy Power Mares Steeple Chase will look to Dinoblue, who is the clear favorite at odds of 15/8 and will look to win the race on the bounce two years from now. Spindleberry and Panic Attack are both the closest challengers, at 7/2 and 7/1 respectively.

15:20 – Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Hurdle)

One of the biggest tests for the best novice long distance hurdlers, this race is a Grade 1 event and was first held in 2005. There are 12 hurdles in total and the 2025 winner is Jasmin De Vaux at odds of 6/1. This year, Dr. Steinberg stands out at odds of 10/3, while insiders are focusing on outside shots like Espresso Milan, which has odds of 14/1.

16:00 – Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Handicap (Chase)

Known as the world’s most prestigious steeplechase, the Gold Cup is the main event of the entire four-day festival. After winning two Gold Cups, Galopin Des Champs looked favored to win the title in 2025, but it was Inothewayurthinkin who ended up winning at odds of 15/2. The Gold Cup is a distance of 3 miles, 2 furlongs and features 22 hurdles, making it a very challenging race and in the 2026 edition we expect horses such as Fact To File and Jango Baie to be at the top.

16:40 – Local Festival Challenge Hunter Chase (Chase)

The St. James’s Place Festival Hunters Chase, often known as the Amateur Riders’ Gold Cup, was won by Wonderwall last year at odds of 28/1 and this year Wonderwall looks the favorite to win it twice in a row, with Its On The Line the closest challenger at 7/1. These odds are subject to change as horses may withdraw or be injured which may activate Rule 4 deductions!

17:20 – Martins Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (Hurdle)

The final race of the entire festival, this race was instituted in 2009 in memory of Martin Pipe, the 15-time champion trainer who retired in 2006 with 34 wins at the festival. There are 10 hurdles in total, spanning 2 miles and 4 furlongs, and we’re looking at options such as Heart of the Storm and Sons of Anarchy, which offer odds of 12/1 and 14/1 respectively. Last year, Wodhooh was 9/2 to win with jockey Danny Gilligan the winner of the final race of the 2025 festival.

With all the different competitions at the Cheltenham Festival covered, users can check out OddsMonkey’s own Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup guide which details this prestigious event. Punters can also check out our other Cheltenham Festival guides, such as our Cheltenham Festival Matched Betting Guide .