The Cheltenham Festival not only pits the best horses, trainers, and jockeys, against each other but also re-ignites the huge rivalry between Britain and Ireland. Horses are not only running in an attempt to add their names to the prestigious list of festival winners but to form a squad that will carry a nation's hopes on their backs.

At the Cheltenham Festival, the two nations have been battling it out for many years to get the bragging rights that go with defeating their near neighbours.

The Prestbury Cup

The Cheltenham contest was so competitive between horses trained in Britain and those coming across the Irish Sea, that the Prestbury Cup was created to reward the nation that achieved the most winners across the week with a trophy to acknowledge their win.

In 2023, the Prestbury Cup odds are again led by the all-conquering Irish raiding team, who are the current 1/18 favourites. The away team has dominated Cheltenham in recent years and has won in six of the past seven years. The 2019 Prestbury Cup ended in a tie, with both nations winning 14 races.

Far fans and those with strong native pride, betting on Cheltenham races is now not only about backing your favourite horses, but you also get to support those horses that are representing your countries, such as Ireland's 6/4 Gold Cup favourite, Galopin Des Champs, or Britain's 1/3 Champion Hurdle favourite, Constitution Hill.

In 2021, Ireland recorded the biggest winning margin in the competition's history, winning 23 of the 28 races on offer across the four days. 

The Trainers


A lot of the potential success in the Prestbury Cup comes down to the strength of a trainer's team of horses that will represent their country. The unyielding dominance of the Irish in recent years has been mainly down to one man, Willie Mullins.

The leading Cheltenham Festival trainer of all time has been the protagonist for his nation's successes in the past few years, and 12 months ago he matched the total of winners from British trainers on his own with a record 10 wins.

Mullins may have a backup from the likes of fellow countrymen, Gordon Elliott and Henry de Bromhead, a good week at the festival for Mullins usually means that his country is going to come out on top.

British trainers have struggled to keep up with the sheer number of top-class horses coming over from Ireland, with Nicky Henderson being the only UK trainer that has consistently provided some good competition.

Henderson will again lead the line for the home nation at Cheltenham in 2023, and he will have the assistance of Britain's Champion Trainer, Paul Nicholls, as well as Jonjo O'Neill, David Pipe, and in particular, Dan Skelton.

It's another tough task for the British if they hope to win their first Prestbury Cup since 2015, as Willie Mullins and his Irish counterparts are responsible for the majority of the favourites across the week.

It looks like being another long week for Henderson and co in 2023, with the Irish raiders again strongly favoured to continue their stranglehold on the Prestbury Cup.