2026 Cheltenham Festival: Lossiemouth wins Hurdle for Willie Mullins

In the opening race of the Festival, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Old Park Star cruised to victory in impressive fashion for trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey Nico de Boinville.

The favorite turned the final corner in third place, but recovered well after Sober Glory and Mydaddypaddy forced the festival’s top-rated horse to work hard for success.

A delighted de Boinville told ITV the horse was “incredibly brave”.

“I thought he was going to stay healthy and eat the mound and that’s what he did,” he said. “We even missed the final and still managed to win.”

Owner Gordon Hall told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra: “We are absolutely delighted that he has come home safe and sound and that he has won.

“It wasn’t great for the nerves, but he’s a lovely horse. He did a lot of good work at home.

“Everything went well, but you know, on the way to these things, you have to keep the horses safe and sound.”

Perhaps in today’s match, Mullins’s Koubek de Bord and Henderson’s Lollamba went head-to-head in the Arkle Chase.

But a costly error at the penultimate and final fence by the two favorites gave the 7-1 shot – also trained by Mullins – success.

Owner Kenny Alexander told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra: “I’ve been lucky to win a few trophies here, but this one is here.

“She’s a proper, proper horse. She got the job done and won fair and square. She’s top class, certainly second best now by a country mile.” [behind Honeysuckle]”.

Jockey Danny Mullins described trainer and uncle Willie as a “master” after the win.

“To be part of this team is incredible,” he told ITV. “To have days like this – they’re not something you take for granted – I’m lucky to have raced at Cheltenham winning races and I hope to have many more.”

Meanwhile, Hansard was a 100-1 outsider after being injured while running on the flat near the end of the race and not during a fall.