Lossiemouth will line up in the Champion Hurdle at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, and her switch from the Mares’ Hurdle throws fresh intrigue into the opening day’s feature race.
It is a decision that places one of Willie Mullins’ most reliable Festival performers on a collision course with The New Lion, with the pair now sharing top billing in many betting markets.
A New Challenge For A Proven Star
For the last two seasons, Lossiemouth has been the banker for many punters in the Mares’ Hurdle, turning that race into something close to her personal fiefdom.
Stepping into the Champion Hurdle changes the stakes: instead of facing her own sex over a slightly longer trip, she is now taking on the very best two‑mile hurdlers around, in the most prestigious race of its kind in Britain and Ireland.
Mullins has confirmed that the mare will run in the Champion Hurdle, ending months of speculation over whether connections would chase a third Mares’ crown or roll the dice at championship level.
It is a bold call, but one that reflects both her consistency and the sense that there is little more for her to prove in mares-only company.
Why The Champion Hurdle?
The decision to go for the Champion Hurdle looks rooted in two simple ideas: timing and legacy.
At seven, Lossiemouth is in her prime, and her record suggests this is the right moment to find out if she can add the sport’s defining two‑mile hurdle to an already impressive CV.
Connections also know that another Mares’ Hurdle win would be admired but not transformative.
Analysts in Ireland had been arguing for some time that a return to the Mares’ race would add little to her reputation after back‑to‑back victories and an Aintree Grade 1 win against open company.
The Champion Hurdle, by contrast, is the race that settles debates about where a hurdler stands within their generation, and Mullins has rarely been shy about aiming his best at the top table once they have proved themselves.
There is also the shape of the current division to consider. Constitution Hill, who loomed over the race for several seasons, is no longer the fixed point in the market he once was, and the championship picture looks more open than in recent years.
In that context, a top-class mare with Festival form, tactical speed, and proven stamina suddenly looks like a very plausible Champion Hurdle winner rather than an ambitious outsider.
Joint Favourite Alongside The New Lion
Bookmakers have reacted quickly to Mullins’ confirmation, and Lossiemouth now sits at or near the head of the Champion Hurdle betting.
Several firms have her trading as joint favourite with The New Lion, Dan Skelton’s rising star, whose own profile has been boosted by high‑class wins at Cheltenham this season and the reshaping of the division.
Typical lists now show the pair locked together at around 2/1, with Brighterdaysahead and other emerging names sitting a point or two further back.
The New Lion brings a progressive British profile and has already proven effective around this track, while Lossiemouth offers rock‑solid Grade 1 form, a sharp turn of foot, and a body of work that punters know they can trust under pressure.
That clash of profiles – the improving younger horse against the battle‑hardened mare – gives the 2026 Champion Hurdle a compelling narrative even before declarations are published.
For British fans, The New Lion represents a serious home hope; for Irish backers, Lossiemouth is the established Closutton standard‑bearer stepping into the role that State Man and others have held in recent seasons.
Past Cheltenham Glories
Whatever happens this year, Lossiemouth already has a Festival record that many owners would envy.
She first announced herself at Cheltenham in the Triumph Hurdle of 2023, producing a decisive performance that marked her out as a future star in the staying and intermediate‑distance hurdles division.
From there, she transitioned seamlessly into open company and became the dominant force in the Mares’ Hurdle, winning the race in both 2024 and 2025.
Those victories showcased her key assets: slick, economical jumping, the ability to travel strongly off a solid pace, and the finishing kick to put races to bed after the last.
Her wider record backs up the impression created at Cheltenham. Between Ireland and Britain, she has turned in a string of high‑class efforts at Grade 1 and Grade 2 level, with only a handful of defeats and several of those coming in races where conditions or tactics were not quite in her favour.
That profile, not flashy but relentlessly effective, is often exactly what is needed to win a Champion Hurdle in a truly run race on the opening day.
What It Means For Cheltenham 2026
Lossiemouth’s move into the Champion Hurdle reshapes not just one race but the shape of the entire Tuesday card.
Her absence from the Mares’ Hurdle opens that contest up for a new star to emerge, while her presence in the championship race deepens a field that already contained a strong British contender in The New Lion and several unexposed types waiting to be tested at this level.
Tactically, her running style should add an extra layer to the race. She tends to travel kindly and can sit just behind the pace, which gives Paul Townend options depending on how aggressively The New Lion and the other principals are ridden.
If the gallop is strong, her proven stamina at slightly further than two miles could come into play up the hill; if it is steadier, her turn of foot, honed in those Mares’ Hurdle wins, may be the decisive weapon.
Whatever the outcome, the decision to let her take her chance in the Champion Hurdle feels in keeping with her career so far.
For racing fans, it sets up one of the most intriguing match‑ups of the week; for Lossiemouth, it offers the chance to convert a record of Festival excellence into something even more significant – a place among the modern greats of the two‑mile hurdle division.
BETFRED
