The Close Brothers Mares Hurdle has quietly become one of the Cheltenham Festival’s most watchable races, and the 2026 renewal looks more like a small but select dinner party than a big noisy ceilidh.
With just seven mares lining up at 2:40pm on Thursday, 12 March, there should be nowhere to hide over the 2m4½f trip on the New Course.
It is a Grade 1, it asks a proper question of stamina and jumping, and it has a habit of turning good mares into stars – or at least confirming what we suspected about them beforehand.
At first glance, this year’s race has a clear shape: Wodhooh is odds-on and already feels like the established class act, while a small group of credible challengers – headed by Jade De Grugy, Feet Of A Dancer and Take No Chances – try to knock her off her perch or at least chase her home for place money.
Punters who like short prices will find plenty to like in the favourite; each-way players will probably spend Thursday morning talking themselves into something a bit more adventurous.
Wodhooh: The Standard-setter
If you are going to back an odds-on shot at the Festival, you normally want a few key boxes ticked: course form, reliability, and a profile that suggests there might still be a little more to come.
Wodhooh offers all three. She has nine wins from 10 starts over hurdles, has a Cheltenham Festival win on her CV courtesy of last season’s Martin Pipe over a similar trip, and at just six years old has plenty more left in the tank.
The Leopardstown win at Christmas, in the Kerrymount Mares Hurdle, was particularly telling: she travelled like the best mare in the race, conceded weight all round, and still had enough in hand to see off Feet Of A Dancer by over two lengths.
The obvious caveat is simply that in a small field, she could be vulnerable if things get tactical and one of her rivals is gifted first run, but on balance, she sets a clear standard and merits her position at the head of the market.
*Odds from Betfred correct at time of publication
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wodhooh | Jack Kennedy | G Elliott | 10/11 |
| Jade De Grugy | Paul Townend | W P Mullins | 15/8 |
| Feet Of A Dancer | Sean O’Keeffe | P Nolan | 17/2 |
| Take No Chances | Harry Skelton | D Skelton | 14/1 |
| Dream On Baby | Donagh Meyler | E Mullins | 33/1 |
| Jetara | Sam Ewing | Mrs J Harrington | 33/1 |
| Sunset Marquesa | Brendan Powell | J Tizzard | 100/1 |
Main Challengers
Behind the favourite, there is a cluster of mares who make this more than just a one‑horse race.
Jade De Grugy is the most obvious threat on paper. She was a high‑class novice, winning three of her four starts over hurdles last season.
She advertised her quality again when landing the Quevega Mares Hurdle at Punchestown on her comeback, quickening clear in the straight for an easy success.
She has already shown she can handle Cheltenham, having run in the Mares Novices Hurdle, finishing second to Lossiemouth in 2025. If there is one mare in here who could improve enough to eyeball Wodhooh from the last, it might be her.
Feet Of A Dancer is better known to Wodhooh than she might like, having chased her home at Leopardstown over Christmas.
She is a tough, genuine mare who stays well and has solid form in good company, and the fact that she has already got close enough to get a good view of Wodhooh’s tail is at least interesting from a place perspective.
Take No Chances is another who could sneak into the frame. She has been plying her trade in competitive mares’ handicaps and stayed on strongly over a similar trip at Cheltenham in December, suggesting that a well‑run 2m4f on this track is just about ideal.
The likes of Dream On Baby, Jetara, and Sunset Marquesa have more to find on the figures, but are not without interest if you enjoy a long‑shot story.
Banker Or Each‑way Play?
From a betting perspective, the 2026 Mares Hurdle feels like one of those races where you have to decide early whether you are in the “take the short one” camp or the “find something solid each‑way” camp.
The shape is fairly simple: Wodhooh is the clear market leader, Jade De Grugy is the most likely to give her a race, and Feet Of A Dancer and Take No Chances head up the chasing pack.
If you are happy backing an odds‑on shot at the Festival, Wodhooh makes more sense than most. However, if you are looking for a mare who could run into the places – and possibly make things interesting late on – Take No Chances has a likeable profile as an each‑way alternative.
Jade De Grugy sits somewhere between the two approaches: not quite the solid “banker” profile of Wodhooh but with enough upside to be the one most likely to make the favourite work.
Before The Off
This is not the deepest Mares Hurdle we have seen, but it is an appealing little contest in its own right.
A proven Festival winner in Wodhooh, a classy Irish challenger in Jade De Grugy, several honest mares with place claims, and the always‑lively possibility that tactics in a seven‑runner field could spring a minor surprise.
However you approach it, the race should tell us a lot about where this group of mares sits in the broader staying‑hurdle picture.
If Wodhooh wins as the market expects, she will confirm herself as one of the most reliable mares in training; if she falters, there are several waiting to take advantage and grab a slice of Thursday glory.
Either way, it should be a race worth pausing your afternoon for – and, with only seven of them to keep track of, you might even manage to spot your fancy at halfway without needing the big screen.
BETFRED
