The Prestbury Cup is the Cheltenham Festival competition that puts Great Britain against Ireland, and while I’ve never looked at it from a betting point of view, I do think it gives a steer as to how the racing landscape is at the moment.
For many years now, it has been dominated by the Irish. They’ve won the last six in a row, before a tie, and Britain haven’t had their hands on the trophy since 2015, a 14-13 win.
Is this the year we finally make this trophy competitive? It might not last forever, but I think there’s plenty in our favour to give this a shot and get a bit of credibility back in British racing.
Recent Prestbury Cup Results
As you’ll see from the results below, not only have Ireland won the last five renewals of the Prestbury Cup, but they’ve completely dominated proceedings.
- 2025 – Ireland win 20-8
- 2024 – Ireland win 18-9
- 2023 – Ireland win 18-10
- 2022 – Ireland win 18-10
- 2021 – Ireland win 23-5
In two of the last five years, Great Britain has scraped to double figures with 10 wins, and that has to be the bare minimum they go for this time around, but I do think we’ll fare better.
If you were to ask me to try and guess the scoreline now, I’d say Ireland win 16-12, but at least that is a much more competitive look for the British.
A Lack of Novice Stars for Team Mullins
Ireland relies on Willie Mullins to deliver. He’s a big part of their success, and he’s going to provide them with winners next week.
But is his team as strong and deep as it usually is? I’m inclined to say no, and the big reason for that is I don’t think his team of novice runners is quite as strong as it normally is.
He doesn’t have a standout candidate for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle or the Turners Novices’ Hurdle, and while he has chances in a couple of the novice chase races, they look wide open on paper.
In betting terms, last year’s Supreme winner Kopek Des Brodes is the best novice for Mullins in the Arkle, and he’s got plenty to answer, having only had one run over fences so far in his career.
According to the betting markets, this is a festival that’s as competitive as it has been for a few years, with just two odds-on favourites right now, and I think the lack of stars from Team Mullins is a big part of that.
High Hopes for Henderson, Skelton and Nicholls
While you can see the negatives from Team Mullins, I think you also have to highlight the positives that some of the bigger British yards have this season.
Nicky Henderson leads the way like he has for the past few years, and even without Constitution Hill, he’s got an excellent Cheltenham Festival team. He’s got two very strong chances in the first two races, Old Park Star in the Supreme and Lulamba in the Arkle Chase. They could set the tone for what could be a very strong week for Team Henderson.
Dan Skelton continues to push hard, and as we’ve said for the past three or four years now, I think he comes into this year’s festival with his best ever team. The New Lion has finally given him the star attraction and big race hope that he’s dreamt about for many years as he bids to win the Champion Hurdle.
Throw in a couple of nice novice horses, and no doubt some well handicapped players in the various handicaps over the week, and you could see Skelton leaving Cheltenham with a few winners.
Finally, I must mention Paul Nicholls, who hasn’t had the firepower for Cheltenham over the past few years now, but looks to be finally getting back on his feet. I think No Drama This End might be the best horse he’s sent to the festival for a few years, and he carries plenty of hope.
He’s another who’s likely to have a couple of well-handicapped runners in smaller races, too.
Prestbury Cup Verdict: Close Ireland Victory
As already said, if you’re asking me for a scoreline, I’ll go with a 16-12 win for Ireland, which is a win, but much more competitive than we’ve seen in recent years.
I don’t take any interest in the cup as a competition, but it is a sign of where racing is heading in the future. I do think things look better for Britain. We’re in a stronger position than where we’ve been over the past few years, and it’s not just down to Willie Mullins not being as strong.
The British trainers mentioned have some serious talent within their racing yards, and I hope this isn’t just a one-off. I hope it’s a sign of things to come in racing. One day, sometime soon, let’s hope we can regain our dominance, win the Prestbury Cup, and have a real level playing field between Britain and Ireland overall in both flat and jumps racing.