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Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle 2026: Cheltenham Festival Betting Preview
Race Details:
Date: 12 March 2026
Grade: 1
Open To: Four-years-old and up
Track: Turf
Length: 4,005 Metres
Location: United Kingdom
Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle 2026: Cheltenham Festival Betting Preview
Lossiemouth Has Chosen the Champion Hurdle Instead, and the Race She Dominated for Two Years is Suddenly Wide Open
Thursday, 12 March 2026 | 2:40 PM | Cheltenham Racecourse, Prestbury Park, Gloucestershire
Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle (David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle) | Grade 1 | 2 Miles 4 Furlongs (approx. 4,005 metres) | New Course | 10 Hurdles | Mares 4yo+ | Turf
For the last two years, the Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle has been the Lossiemouth show. Willie Mullins' brilliant grey mare won it in 2024 by five lengths and in 2025 by seven and a half lengths, each time doing just enough to confirm her status as the best hurdling mare in training without ever appearing to come off the bridle. She was heading for a hat-trick in 2026 until the conversations between Mullins and owners Rich and Susannah Ricci reached the conclusion that the time was right to test her against the open company in the Champion Hurdle instead. Lossiemouth will run at 4:00 PM on Tuesday with cheekpieces fitted for the first time, leaving the Mares' Hurdle without its queen and the betting market without its anchor.
The ripple effect is significant. Lossiemouth's departure has turned a race that was shaping up as a two-horse affair between her and Gordon Elliott's Wodhooh into an open Grade 1 with genuine uncertainty at the head of the market. Wodhooh, who was second to Lossiemouth at Aintree in 2025 and has won nine of her ten starts over hurdles, is now the clear favourite. But at around 4/5, the price reflects both her quality and the fact that she has never previously competed at the Cheltenham Festival - a significant unknown for any horse, however impressive their record elsewhere.
The race has also moved day for 2026. Previously run on Tuesday (Day 1) on the Old Course, the Mares' Hurdle has been shifted to Thursday (Day 3) and will now be contested on the New Course, the wider and less demanding of Cheltenham's two tracks. This is a significant change - ten of the last eleven Mares' Hurdle winners ran on the Old Course, and the New Course's different configuration and wider turns may favour a different type of horse. Whether the track change helps or hinders the principal contenders is another layer of uncertainty in a race that already has more questions than usual.
Race Details
Grade: Grade 1 (Class 1)
Distance: 2 Miles 4 Furlongs (approximately 4,005 metres)
Course: New Course, Cheltenham (moved from Old Course for 2026)
Surface: Turf
Hurdles: 10
Open to: Mares aged 4 years old and upwards
Prize Money: Approximately £120,000
The Ante-Post Market
Time Stamp: Saturday, March 8, 2026, 12:00 PM ET
Odds Subject to Change
Source: Oddschecker / Paddy Power
Wodhooh 1.80 (4/5) | Take No Chances 8.00 (7/1) | Jade De Grugy 10.00 (9/1) | Jetara 12.00 (11/1) | Sotchi 14.00 (12/1) | Feet Of A Dancer 16.00 (14/1) | Nurse Susan 20.00 (16/1) | Dream On Baby 25.00 (20/1)
Wodhooh: The Unbeaten Machine With No Cheltenham Form
Gordon Elliott's Wodhooh has done everything asked of her over hurdles. The mare bolted up in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Hurdle at last year's Festival, then returned this season to win three further races with the kind of authority that made her the original market leader for this race even when Lossiemouth was still in the picture. Her record of nine wins from ten over hurdles is exceptional, and she has the stamina credentials for two and a half miles, having won the Martin Pipe over a similar distance.
The concern is Cheltenham itself. Wodhooh's Martin Pipe victory came in a handicap on the final day of the 2025 Festival, a very different proposition to a Grade 1 Mares' Hurdle contested by the best mares in training. She was beaten by Lossiemouth at Aintree in 2025, which established the pecking order between them. With Lossiemouth out of the way, Wodhooh becomes the clear standard-bearer, but the step up from handicap winner to Grade 1 champion at the Festival is one that not every horse can make. Elliott is a master Festival trainer with a proven track record in this race, and at 4/5 the market is pricing Wodhooh as a strong favourite rather than a certainty. That feels about right.
Take No Chances: The Skelton Runner With Course Form
Dan Skelton's Take No Chances finished third in the 2025 Mares' Hurdle behind Lossiemouth and Jade De Grugy, and that Cheltenham experience is valuable in a race where course form matters. She is a probable runner again and Skelton could also be represented by course winner Nurse Susan, giving the yard two shots at the target. At 7/1, Take No Chances offers each-way value as a horse with proven Festival form and a trainer who targets Cheltenham with precision. The question is whether she has improved enough since last year to bridge the gap to the front.
Jade De Grugy: Second in 2025 But Switching Codes
Jade De Grugy finished second to Lossiemouth in the 2025 Mares' Hurdle, beaten seven and a half lengths. The Willie Mullins mare has been jumping fences this season rather than hurdles, which creates uncertainty about whether she will revert to timber for this race or continue her novice chasing campaign. If she does line up, her placed form from 2025 gives her an obvious chance, but the switch between codes mid-season is not ideal preparation for a Grade 1. At 9/1, the price reflects both her ability and the question mark over whether she will actually run.
The Others
Jetara (11/1) represents Jessica Harrington and adds Irish depth to the field. Sotchi (12/1) is a French-trained runner who could benefit from the move to the New Course, with its wider turns better suited to Continental raiders. Feet Of A Dancer (14/1) finished fourth in the Pertemps Final last year and has won Listed honours this term. Dream On Baby (20/1) gives Emmet Mullins a runner at a bigger price. The field is unlikely to be deep, but the quality at the head of the market ensures this remains a genuine Grade 1 contest.
Trends and Statistics
Time Stamp: Saturday, March 8, 2026, 12:00 PM ET
Odds Subject to Change
Source: Oddschecker / Racing Post
Willie Mullins has dominated this race to an extraordinary degree, winning eleven of the eighteen runnings since the race was first held in 2008. His winners include the legendary Quevega (six consecutive wins, 2009-2014), Vroum Vroum Mag (2016), Benie Des Dieux (2018), and Lossiemouth (2024, 2025). With Lossiemouth now heading to the Champion Hurdle and no obvious Mullins runner declared for this race, the 2026 renewal could be the first since 2020 without a Mullins winner - though Jade De Grugy and other Closutton mares may yet appear in the final field.
Favourites have a strong record, winning in seven of the last ten renewals. Lossiemouth (2024, 2025), Honeysuckle (2023), and Apple's Jade (2017) were all winning favourites in the past decade. Only three winners have returned at double-figure odds, with Marie's Rock at 18/1 in 2022 the biggest upset. This suggests that backing the market leader is a profitable long-term strategy in the Mares' Hurdle.
The race has moved from the Old Course (where it had been run throughout its history) to the New Course for 2026 as part of the schedule reshuffle. This is a significant unknown and means all previous course data must be interpreted with caution. The New Course features wider turns and a slightly different jumping profile, which may favour mares with a more galloping style over those who relied on the tighter Old Course to conserve energy.
Irish-trained mares have won fourteen of the eighteen runnings, reflecting the strength of the Irish mares' programme and the dominance of Mullins and Elliott in particular. British-trained runners have struggled historically, with only Marie's Rock (2022) and Dawn Run (the race's namesake was, ironically, a pre-race era champion) representing significant home success.
Race History
The Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle was established in 2008, making it one of the newer races on the Cheltenham Festival programme. Named after the legendary David Nicholson, a successful jockey and trainer who rode five winners and trained seventeen at Cheltenham, it was introduced to provide a championship-level event for hurdling mares and was upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1 in 2015. Close Brothers currently hold the naming rights.
Run over two miles and four furlongs with ten hurdles, the race has been dominated by Quevega's extraordinary six consecutive victories (2009-2014) and more recently by Lossiemouth's back-to-back successes (2024-2025). Honeysuckle, the dual Champion Hurdle winner, won the race in 2020 and 2023, bookending her championship career with victories in this mares' division. Apple's Jade won it three times (2017-2019) for Gordon Elliott, demonstrating that the race has consistently attracted the very best mares in training.
Ruby Walsh remains the leading jockey in the race's history with eight wins, all partnering Mullins-trained runners. Willie Mullins' eleven victories make him the overwhelmingly dominant trainer. The 2026 renewal marks the first time the race will be run on the New Course and on Thursday rather than Tuesday, changes that add genuine novelty to a race with an established history.
Quick Reference: Key Odds
Time Stamp: Saturday, March 8, 2026, 12:00 PM ET
Odds Subject to Change
Source: Oddschecker / Paddy Power
Wodhooh 1.80 (4/5) | Trainer: Gordon Elliott | Jockey: Jack Kennedy
Take No Chances 8.00 (7/1) | Trainer: Dan Skelton | Jockey: Harry Skelton
Jade De Grugy 10.00 (9/1) | Trainer: Willie Mullins | Jockey: TBC (may not run)
Jetara 12.00 (11/1) | Trainer: Jessica Harrington | Jockey: TBC
Sotchi 14.00 (12/1) | Trainer: TBC (French-trained) | Jockey: TBC
Feet Of A Dancer 16.00 (14/1) | Trainer: TBC | Jockey: TBC
Nurse Susan 20.00 (16/1) | Trainer: Dan Skelton | Jockey: TBC
Dream On Baby 25.00 (20/1) | Trainer: Emmet Mullins | Jockey: TBC
2025 Mares' Hurdle Result
1st Lossiemouth (1.67, 4/6f) - Willie Mullins / Paul Townend
2nd Jade De Grugy - 7½L
3rd Take No Chances - Dan Skelton
Last 10 Winners
2025: Lossiemouth 1.67 (4/6f) - Willie Mullins
2024: Lossiemouth 2.10 (11/10) - Willie Mullins
2023: Honeysuckle 2.50 (6/4) - Henry de Bromhead
2022: Marie's Rock 19.00 (18/1) - Nicky Henderson
2021: Black Tears 8.00 (7/1) - Joseph O'Brien
2020: Honeysuckle 3.00 (2/1f) - Henry de Bromhead
2019: Roksana 11.00 (10/1) - Dan Skelton
2018: Benie Des Dieux 1.73 (8/13f) - Willie Mullins
2017: Apple's Jade 4.00 (3/1) - Gordon Elliott
2016: Vroum Vroum Mag 1.40 (2/5f) - Willie Mullins
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