The 2026 Champion Hurdle looks a deep, competitive race on paper, but from a tipping point of view, it revolves around one horse: The New Lion.
With a progressive profile, rock‑solid Cheltenham credentials and a trainer in the form of his life, he makes a compelling case as the horse to side with in Tuesday’s 4.00pm showpiece.
Plenty of Champion Hurdles lend themselves to shortlists and each‑way angles; this one feels different because The New Lion has already answered more questions than most of his rivals.
He is a Festival winner over further, handles the Old Course, arrives off a confidence‑boosting success, and represents a yard riding the crest of a wave at the top of the trainers’ championship.
For punters, that combination matters because it reduces the “unknowns” you are paying for at the head of a market.
Backing a favourite is always about trusting proven ability and a clear preparation more than chasing a fancy price, and The New Lion ticks enough boxes to justify that approach.
Profile of a Champion Hurdle winner
The starting point for any Champion Hurdle tip has to be what The New Lion has done on the track.
Last season’s Turners Novices’ Hurdle win marked him down as a high‑class performer, and that race has a strong record of producing Champion Hurdle winners, with Istabraq, Hardy Eustace and Faugheen all following the same route in the past.
The way he quickened clear up the hill that day suggested he had the pace for two miles as well as the stamina for intermediate trips.
This season has not been completely straightforward, but even the bumps in the road tell you something about his character.
He fell in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle when still travelling with purpose, then returned from a patient campaign to land the International Hurdle at Cheltenham in January, a race Harry Skelton treated as a schooling session in public.
The priority there was a clear round and a rebuilt confidence; the fact that he still had the gears to quicken away late on only underlined his natural class.
Crucially for tipsters, he has already shown he is at home around Prestbury Park. Course form is a recurring theme in Champion Hurdle winners, and The New Lion has two big ticks in that box, having both won the Turners and then returned to take the International.
That takes away one of the major question marks many rivals still have to answer.
Skelton’s Rise and the JP Factor
A key part of the case for The New Lion is the team around him. Dan Skelton has been edging towards the very top tier for several seasons, but this campaign has seen his operation step up again, with a strong domestic title challenge and a growing number of Grade 1 contenders.
The New Lion feels like the flagship of that rise, the kind of horse Skelton once said he needed if he was to get to where Willie Mullins is now.
Then there is the owner. The New Lion runs in the famous green and gold of JP McManus, and the Champion Hurdle falls on his 75th birthday, adding an extra layer of narrative but also a sense that everything has been geared towards this day.
McManus and Skelton have been open about how smooth the horse’s preparation has been since that clear‑round confidence booster in January, stressing that his work at home has gone exactly to plan.
For tipsters, those comments matter because they support what the formbook already suggests: there are no excuses built into his preparation.
When one of the leading fancies arrives fit, proven on the track, and with connections clearly content, it strengthens the case for making him your main selection.
Tactics and Tempo
From a betting angle, it is important to consider how the Champion Hurdle is likely to be run. The presence of front‑end pace from the likes of Alexei and Tutti Quanti, along with the natural willingness of several rivals to race handily, points towards an honest gallop from flagfall.
That set‑up should play to The New Lion’s strengths. He has shown he can travel comfortably just behind the leaders and then use a decisive change of gear after the last, something we saw both in the Turners and the International.
In a true‑run championship race, being able to sit close enough without wasting energy, then quicken, is often more important than raw speed alone.
There is also the jumping angle. The International was deliberately used to make him more respectful at his hurdles after the Newcastle fall, with Harry Skelton getting him in tight and asking him to concentrate at every obstacle.
That kind of careful schooling under race conditions should pay off when the tempo rises on Tuesday, and a clean round at championship pace would go a long way towards justifying his position at the head of the market.
The Main Dangers
Any tipping piece has to weigh up the opposition, and there are obvious threats. Lossiemouth brings an outstanding Festival record and arrives off another strong season, finally being aimed at the Champion rather than being kept to mares’ company.
Brighterdaysahead comes here as an Irish Champion Hurdle winner, while Golden Ace is a previous Champion Hurdle heroine returning to defend her crown.
However, each of those rivals has at least one question still to answer. Lossiemouth, for all her class, is stepping fully into open company at two miles in a race where the pace and pressure will be relentless from the start.
Brighterdaysahead has not yet produced her best at Cheltenham, and Golden Ace must prove she can repeat last year’s heroics in what feels a more organised, less chaotic edition of the race.
That comparison is what ultimately tips the scales toward The New Lion as a bet. His profile is not flawless, but the blend of proven course form, an improving yard, tactical speed, and a clear, constructive campaign gives him fewer unknowns than his main rivals.
Champion Hurdle Tips: Backing The New Lion To Roar
Putting all of that together, The New Lion shapes as the most solid win bet in the 2026 Champion Hurdle.
Assuming he lines up close to the top of the market, he appeals as a straightforward win‑only selection rather than an each‑way play, with his chance built around a complete, all‑round Champion Hurdle profile rather than a single stand‑out figure or one‑off performance.
For those keen to build a staking plan, anchoring The New Lion in multiples with other solid Festival fancies makes sense, while keeping any savers small and selective.
If you want one to chase him home, Brighterdaysahead and Golden Ace look the most likely to capitalise should he falter, but the core advice remains simple: this is a race to be positive about the favourite rather than to look for ways to get him beaten.
In a Champion Hurdle reshaped by the absence of Constitution Hill, State Man, and Sir Gino, The New Lion has emerged as the right horse at the right time, for the right connections.
As tipping propositions go, few at this year’s Festival are clearer than siding with Skelton’s rising star to turn potential into a first Champion Hurdle crown.
BETFRED
