Three reasons why Britain could close the gap on the Irish at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival

(Stock ID: 2361786585)

While the Prestbury Cup is merely a minor prize as far as the biggest accolades go at the Cheltenham Festival, British trainers certainly wouldn’t see it that way. The likes of Nicky Henderson, Dan Skelton, and Paul Nicholls have been left in the wake of their Irish counterparts for five years now, and the visitors are the favourites to take home the silverware again this year in horse racing betting markets.

It’s incredibly unlikely that the hosts will topple Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott, Henry de Bromhead, and company at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival to win their first Prestbury Cup since their slender success in 2015, but there’s reason to believe that they could put up a better fight than in previous years—including the 18-9 defeat in March.

That said, here are three reasons why we believe that British trainers can push Ireland’s best to the line next spring.

Nicky Henderson’s revival

It was an incredibly difficult Cheltenham Festival for Nicky Henderson back in March, as a virus wiped out particularly his entire yard at Seven Barrows.

Henderson potentially missed out on at least three victories at Prestbury Park—with Constitution Hill and Sir Gino red-hot favourites while Jonbon had a solid chance in the Champion Chase.

What’s interesting is that the three races those horses were set to compete in all went to Irish trainers, so it could have been a very different story.

The veteran trainer boasts the second-most Cheltenham Festival winners behind Mullins, and he’ll certainly have his fair share of winners in 2025.

Up-and-coming trainers

In recent years, Britain have been so heavily reliant on a small crop of trainers, like Henderson and 14-time Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls—with others chipping in with an odd winner here and there.

However, the hosts now appear to have a wider range of trainers ready to contribute. Dan Skelton contributed to almost half (4) of Britain’s successes in a career-best Cheltenham last year.

Up-and-coming trainers like Harry Derham, James Owen, and Olly Murphy are all rapidly growing and could enjoy Festival success, while Fergal O’Brien will also be keen for his first winner at the meeting.

With more handlers with horses able to go hoof-to-hoof with Ireland’s elite, the better the chance the British have to close the gap.

Top jockeys

Of course, these trainers need world-class horsemen to ride their mounts, and Britain certainly isn’t short of top jockeys.

Harry Cobden, Harry Skelton, Nico de Boinville, Sean Bowen, and co. are more than capable of competing against Ireland’s best—like Paul Townend, Rachael Blackmore, and Jack Kennedy.

De Boinville is the most experienced with 16 Festival winners and will undoubtedly add to that on Henderson’s runners, while Cobden and Skelton will be eager to add to their tallies of five and nine.

Bowen’s stock has risen massively in the last couple of seasons, and a first Cheltenham Festival victory can’t be far away for the 27-year-old.