The four-day, 28-race Festival, which begins on Tuesday, showcases the best Jumps racing and most of the best Jumps horses in the world. Thousands from this area will either be making their annual pilgrimage to the iconic track or they will be glued to their big screens, laptops or mobiles, watching the action unfold on ITV or Racing TV.
So we have grasped the opportunity to highlight 21 horses capable of stealing the show and making the headlines during Cheltenham week. Strongly fancied favourites and form horses, yes, but also lovable veterans and Festival mainstays. They are NOT tips but stars of the sport admired for their achievements, reputation or potential.
The main focus of this year’s meeting is on the 100th running of the Gold Cup, the blue riband event, with GALOPIN DES CHAMPS gunning for back-to-back victories. But another century could also fall under the spotlight because Galopin’s genius of a handler, Willie Mullins, is just six short of becoming the first trainer to saddle 100 Festival winners.
Astonishingly, Mullins is responsible for 23 per cent of all winners at the meeting in the last ten years. And even more astonishingly, he is responsible for the current favourites in 14 of this week's races – a tally boosted by the shock late defections of hotpots Constitution Hill and Marine Nationale.
Mullins spearheads a typically strong party of Irish raiders this year. Indeed, for the first time in Festival history, there have been more entries from across the Irish Sea than within the UK.
That, of course, reflects the fact that most of the best horses are trained in Ireland, where most of the deep-pocket owners choose to place their charges. But it also reflects the ongoing decline of Jumps racing in the UK and the fact that many trainers and owners, in the face of such powerful opposition, appear to have thrown in the towel.
It has been so depressing to hear a stream of comments this winter along the lines of “we’re going to give Cheltenham a miss” or “we’ll look for something at Aintree instead”. Attitudes in stark contrast, for example, to that of Irish ace Gordon Elliott who, quite rightly, relishes the standard-setting challenge posed by Mullins and hails the Festival as “the best week of the year” and the “be-all and end-all” of the Jumps code.
How refreshing then to hear a rallying-cry from one of the UK’s more up-and-coming and ambitious trainers, Ben Pauling. He recently told the ‘Racing Post’: “There are owners and trainers who think: let’s avoid the Irish. No! This is our festival and we’re going to compete, throw our best darts at it and serve it up to whoever turns up. Otherwise, what’s the point? Whether you like it or not, Cheltenham is the pinnacle of Jumps racing. Everyone should want to be there.”
And so say all of us. Let the games begin!

1. Gold Cup hero spearheads the Mullins juggernaut
The juggernaut of the Festival's winningmost trainer, Willie Mullins, is spearheaded by GALOPIN DES CHAMPS, who is gunning for his second successive Boodles Gold Cup on Friday (3.30). He's been beaten twice since last year's success and his jumping is far from flawless, but he has looked good in his last two wins at Leopardstown and is probably a stronger horse than 2023 when he was given a cautious, but perfect, waiting ride by jockey Paul Townend. It's rare for horses to land back-to-back Gold Cups but this 8yo could still be improving and make Mullins the first trainer to achieve the feat with two different horses after Al Boum Photo. Photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

2. Set to take advantage of champion hurdler's defection
Now that the reigning title-holder Constitution Hill has defected after an infection left him below-par, the new long odds-on favourite for Tuesday's Unibet Champion Hurdle (3.30) is Willie Mullins's brilliant STATE MAN. The 7yo has won ten of his last 11 races, including eight at the highest Grade One level, with his only defeat coming when he was runner-up in last year's Champion. In a poor edition this time, it's hard to find fault with the classy recruit from France, who hasn't put a foot wrong since falling on his first start for Mullins on Boxing Day 2021. He's the banker of the meeting for many, to give jockey Paul Townend his first win in the race. Photo: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

3. Fab chaser bids for Champion crown
The Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, the blockbuster race of the second day of the Festival on Wednesday (3.30), rarely lets spectators down. And this year's clash sets up another heavyweight duel between Willie Mullins's hot favourite, EL FABIOLO, and Nicky Henderson's Jonbon. The former is a strapping specimen who has won his last seven starts, including the Arkle Chase for novices at last season's Festival when the latter trailed in second. El Fab has not tasted defeat since he was pipped by Jonbon over hurdles at Aintree in 2022. Photo: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

4. Victory for veteran would raise the roof
Only one thing is guaranteed at Cheltenham this week -- and that is that the roof will come off if 12yo warrior PAISLEY PARK wins another Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle on Thursday (3.30), fully five years after his first. Emma Lavelle's veteran of 30 races, owned by blind enthusiast Andrew Gemmell, has tasted defeat in each of the last four renewals, but he has remained remarkably sound and is still performing consistently well at the highest level. He is joined in the race by two other former winners in Flooring Porter and another 12yo, Sire Du Berlais. Photo: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images