The Prestbury Cup is a fun addition to the Cheltenham Festival and it encourages a friendlier rivalry between Britain and Ireland than we’re used to. Here we quickly explain what the Prestbury Cup is and the reasons why Ireland will win it… again.

What is the Prestbury Cup

Established in 2014, the Prestbury Cup is a competition between the British and Irish trainers at the Cheltenham Festival. Britain started off strong, winning the first couple of renewals, but things have been pretty bare for the home team since.

Ireland have been the sole victors in each of the last seven years and their best performance came in 2021, when they landed 23 of the 28 races across the four days. Willie Mullins is usually the decisive factor and could probably win the Prestbury Cup on his own in many years.

Things could be a little different this time, even if Ireland are still very likely to come out on top, but Britain might prove to be much more competitive on this occasion. There are more open races this year, which could pave the way for a few extra home team winners.

Prestbury Cup Winners By Year

LeoVegas British vs Irish Winners by Year

Ireland to win - just not as comfortably as usual

The pendulum may not be quite ready to swing in Britain's favour but it appears that significant strides have been made this season. Dan Skelton has been a force of nature this term and he should land plenty of winners at Cheltenham.

He’s always one to watch in the handicaps and has been particularly bullish about the chances of Kateira in the BetMGM Cup, a race which he won twice in a row with the renowned spring specialist Langer Dan.

Nicky Henderson has a particularly strong team to go to war with this year too, and he could get off to a flyer on Tuesday if Old Park Star and Lulamaba both do the business. Paul Nicholls and Ben Pauling are definitely worth looking out for too, as they both have solid chances.

Regent’s Stroll can go well for Nicholls in the Jack Richards Novices’ Handicap Chase, bidding to win the race for a second consecutive year for the yard. King George winner The Jukebox Man is a live contender in the Gold Cup for Ben Pauling, who also has some smart novices to run in the handicaps.

Willie Mullins will probably be near the 10-winner mark once again, which will give Ireland a big boost, and Gordon Elliott should land more winners than he did in 2025. The smaller Irish yards might find winners harder to come by this time around however.

Final verdict: Ireland 16 - 12 Britain

This would be a significant improvement from Britain, who managed to land just eight winners last year. They look more than capable of comfortably heading into double-figures on this occasion, but Ireland should prove too tough to beat.