Richard Johnson: my Cheltenham Festival bankers and other tips
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Sun 15 Feb 2026
Richard Johnson reveals his Cheltenham Festival bankers, and a Lucky 15 for the week, plus much more! Johnson was speaking to BOYLE Sports, who offer the latest Cheltenham odds.
"I'd want to ride Fact To File in the Gold Cup," says Richard Johnson
Willie Mullins’ Fact To File is the most solid horse in the Gold Cup - if he runs in it
It’s wide open.
At the start of the season, if you'd put that betting there now, people would not have believed it with two British horses at the top of the betting.
I think it shows it's a really open race.
The Jukebox Man and Jango Baie are both very good horses but I would still have Fact To File. He’s proven at a very high level already.
I think he is great value and he’s a Cheltenham winner already. I think the other two probably have to prove that they're going to do it at Cheltenham over the Gold Cup trip.
For me Fact to File is a more solid horse than perhaps the British ones.
Majborough will likely go where Jonbon doesn’t
I almost feel that riding him forward in the Champion Chase would be the right place for him. Jonbon runs at Ascot on Saturday. He's obviously in the Ryanair as well.
Maybe if he was to really see out the trip well on Saturday at Ascot, the Ryanair would be the right race for him. Nicky Henderson probably is playing his cards close to his chest.
You could easily see Majborough going one way and Jonbon the other.
Write off Galopin Des Champs at your peril for a tilt at a third Cheltenham Gold Cup
You can't rule him out - you do that definitely at your own peril. Maybe he's in the twilight rather than the prime of his career.
Willie Mullins' horses, obviously he still has loads of winners and he's still been winning the grade ones, but some of them might not have just shone at the Dublin Racing Festival where another month on, they will.
Willie trains his good horses with March and April in mind.
Some people in Britain are getting very quick to think that we're going to turn the tables on the Irish and that's not guaranteed by any means.
I think we're in a much better position than we have been for a long time. We've got some really nice young horses coming through all through the ranks; novice hurdlers, novice chasers, and the likes of Gold Cup hopefuls.
But you wouldn't want to underestimate any of Willie's horses coming into March. He's definitely a trainer who for me has an eye on the main prize with those good horses.
Very often his horses seem to me to improve as the season goes on and peak at the right time.
Everyone felt for Dan Skelton when Wilie Mullins beat him to the British Trainers’ title last year
I'm guessing they’ll make more of a plan on that with regard to England after Cheltenham. They’ll know where they [Mullins] are.
Dan Skelton is quite a bit further clear than he was this time last year and has built himself up quite a nice cushion with regard to prize money as well.
I would like Dan to get over the line. I think what he's achieved over the last two or three years with their quality and quantity has been incredible.
Everybody had to feel for him last year when Willie pipped him at the post. You have got to remember that Willie had the most amazing spring last year. He didn't just win the Grand National. He did have an unbelievable spring, not just a good one.
To reproduce that is going to be hard and he needs Dan to have a really moderate spring.
Gordon Elliott is making a big comeback - Willie Mullins’ string might not be as strong this year
Yes, definitely. He'd been playing it down with the Irish Trainers’ Championship, but he’s half million euros in front and he will throw everything at it to try and do it.
I rode a lot of winners for Gordon and he's a very good man. He really knows what he is doing.
He's very competitive and he'll be giving it everything. But both he and Willie are both ultra- competitive people. They haven't got to where they are without being so.
It's good for racing, whether it's in England or Ireland, see a close-run battle. Both have got lots of good horses to go to war with.
Gordon's going to bring a very good team over to Cheltenham and I think because the English are stronger as well, it’s probably harder for Willie to be as dominant as he has been, I hope!
So, then it makes it more wide open for everybody, especially if Gordon suddenly has six winners. Obviously in the past few years Willie has had nine, ten or eleven winners. It’s been unbelievable.
This year might not be quite as strong for him. In the novice hurdle section at the moment for instance, it doesn't look quite as a whitewash as it has been when Willie seemed to have the first three in the betting in nearly every Novice Hurdle for the last two or three years.
This year we seem to have or other trainers have proper big chances.
I'm sure it would mean everything for Gordon to win the title.
He's done it the hard way. Willie's whole family were involved in racing for generations. Gordon has done it all himself and built a huge yard and team of horses to go to war with.
For me what he's already achieved is incredible. I'm hoping it's only a matter of time before he becomes champion trainer and it will be well deserved when he gets there.
My Cheltenham Festival Lucky 15
Golden Ace, the mare in the Champion Hurdle who won last year. So Golden Ace at a huge price to the Champion Hurdle. She comes into herself in the spring, and she's won at the Festival the last two years. She shouldn't be as big a price as she is.
Then I’d put in Romeo Coolio, each way. Haiti Couleurs if it's soft ground in the Gold Cup, is a horse that will definitely run well. And Ma Shantou, Emma Lavelle’s in the Stayers'. He's a handicapper but he's an improving horse. The Stayers' is quite an open race, Teahupoo will be the favourite but I don't think he's unbeatable.
There's plenty of horses at short prices I would want to ride, but there's also horses at good prices that will definitely be in the frame.
My three bankers at this year' Cheltenham Festival
Lulamba in the Arkle, No Drama This End, I'm not sure which race he's going to run in but I think he's very good. He seems to tick all the boxes, and I'd want to ride Fact To File in the Gold Cup, so I’d go with him.
It's a really open Gold Cup this year. You don't want loads of odds on favourites because actually you want everyone to have different opinions before the race.
I think this year looks much more open in a lot of races.
It’s easier for a jockey to start out in England than it is in Ireland
I almost think it is slightly easier for a jockey to get going over here than it is in Ireland. It's so competitive. It's definitely a very difficult place to start.
The trouble is in Ireland with them only racing three, maybe four days a week and with the main two big yards so dominant, if you're not attached to one of those it's very difficult.
English and Irish riders now are actually at a very level sort of playing field. There's not as many of the Irish come over here like they used to.
I find it frustrating when I hear the Irish are better - things have come full circle and the Brits are fighting back
Definitely. We’re definitely at a point now where we feel like we're looking at all these races in a month’s time, and we've got not just one horse that is going into one of those Novice races, but three or four.
That’s great. It has been hard work, and it's been a bit unpleasant watching for the last few years.
I find it personally as a British racing person, slightly frustrating when you hear people go, ‘Well the Irish do better and the Irish breed them better.’
For a trainer, you're only as good as the horses you have. We can all go to sales and see the nice expensive horses but having the owners to buy them is the key. And racing and sport goes in cycles.
Twenty years ago, Paul Nicholls was winning everything. The Irish were struggling to get involved.
It’s gone full circle and now, hopefully, we're pushing it around again.
The one horse I’d love to ride at the Festival, another exciting British horse to watch and who is a bad price in the Arkle
I think Lulamba in the Arkle. He just looks a very seriously talented horse and as a young horse, he's got a huge future ahead of him.
He’s got to stay in one piece now, but he really looks like a horse who is very unexposed but also has already proven he's top, top class.
I was at Haydock when Old Park Star won. He’s quite, not unassuming, that is the wrong word, but he just seems very laid back. He seems to go through his races really easily.
Haydock is quite a sharp track and you'd have thought if he was going to find it hard, it would be there. But he just seemed to sail around. He made it look very, very easy.
That's a sign of a very good horse. They do it without even looking like they're putting any effort in.
He’s a horse at home who I don't think had shown Nicky Henderson an awful lot before he ran the first day and I think that's a nice thing that they almost go through the motions at home, but when they hit the track, that's when they really shine.
He looks like a very exciting horse and I'm sure it's hard for Paul Nicholls because obviously he used to have him.
That's again the ups and downs of trade. Horses can move around. He looks like a horse who is going to give owners an awful lot of fun.
El Cairos was bought from the David Maxwell dispersal sale. He's obviously a very talented horse but he hung quite badly in his bumpers when he was trained by Gary Moore and I don't think he's done enough to warrant being third favourite for the race. He made another bad mistake when he won the other day. I feel he's a very bad price for what he's achieved so far.
Romeo Coolio is a lovely horse - he’s a great value bet in the Arkle
If the two and a half mile Novice Hurdle was still available, I am sure that is where they would be going with him.
It'll be interesting to see if Gordon decides to run over here. He’s entered in the Ryanair as well, which I thought was an interesting entry. I think two and a half is probably more his trip, but, at the same time, a lot of horses have won the Arkle who go on to further.
The ground again is going to be really important. We've had so much rain in Ireland and England with meetings being abandoned. Things can change a lot in these next four weeks and I would just be cautious, we're all expecting soft ground.
But it could well be very different. It suddenly can dry and if there's any place in the world that dries quickly, it’s Cheltenham.
But that said, Romeo Coolio is a lovely horse. I know Gordon thinks the world of him and again he's a hardy streetwise horse that's run well at the festival before as well. Again, I wouldn't put anybody off him at 10-1. Again, if you've got no runner, no bet, he's great value because he shouldn't be 10-1.
Nicky Henderson is doing the right thing by sending Constitution Hill for a run on the Flat at Southwell
I actually think it's the right thing to do because I think the horse needs a bit of confidence and the most important thing is he goes and has a nice time.
Some people won't agree but horses they're like humans you know. If something's going wrong all the time, you have no confidence and things aren't going to get any better.
If he can go racing, have a nice time and relax then great.
When he's been falling over hurdles, it's because he's because he's not relaxed, he's just throwing himself. He's panicking, he's not relaxed.
We all know he can jump, that's not a problem, but whatever happens when he gets to the race course, he panics and just throws himself at his hurdles.
So, a run on the Flat will, whether he wins or loses, give him a nice day out and then it's up to the Henderson team whether they feel the Champion Hurdle is the right thing to do.
If Constitution Hill runs in the Champion Hurdle and he jumps, he wins!
He is the best horse. I don't think anyone can be confident he's going to do that after what he's done. But it's not the lack of ability.
It's trying to get him to relax and not do something silly.
Nicky Henderson has had horses for longer than I've been alive and he's brilliant. When you ride for him, honestly his horses jump amazingly. They're very well prepared. He has great help from other people coming in to help.
There's not really a right answer or wrong answer because if he runs and falls you know they'll all say. ‘Oh, he shouldn't have done it.’ And if he runs and wins, they'll say he's a genius.
So, I feel sorry for Nicky. He's in a very awkward position but I hope that horse has a nice time at Southwell.
He is one of the best hurdlers I've ever seen and we all like to see a horse coming back after an injury or setback and proving people wrong.
When Sprinter Sacre won that second championship, I don't think any of us could believe it. Sport loves a story like that.
It was right for Haiti Couleurs to run at Newbury - he will finish in the top four in the Gold Cup
If it’s soft ground, he’d definitely be in the reckoning. I wouldn't put anybody off him. The one thing he'll do is stay and jump and in a Gold Cup, that's the most important part. He's a very good horse.
I do think they were right to go to Newbury the other day because he had had quite a nice time. He didn't have to completely give it all and it was a perfect prep for Cheltenham if that's where he goes. If it's generally soft ground, I would struggle to see him not being in the first four.
Retained jockey for JP McManus is the best job in racing - for Harry Cobden and an Englishman to get that job is huge
Without doubt, I would say it's the best job in racing. They're a really professional team to work for.
JP, it goes without saying, has been and is a fantastic owner for so long and he's very, very loyal and he invests hugely in very nice horses.
I think it's going to be a great job for Harry and I think there's also a lot of pressure that goes with that sort of job. You're riding very good horses and on the big occasions.
But Harry has shown, especially in the last two or three years with Paul Nicholls, he takes each race as it comes. He's got a very cool head and he doesn't get flustered.It's a brilliant opportunity for him.
For an Englishman to get that job is a huge accolade to him. I don't think many people would have ever thought an English jockey would get JP's job, purely because there're so many good jockeys in Ireland.
So that says a lot about Harry and how he rides. AP has been very keen on the way Harry rides and thinks that it will suit JP very well. They must have felt it was just the right time to bring a new jockey.
It is a setback for Mark Walsh but he will have known it was coming
It's never nice to have this happen. But Mark is getting older. Mark's a very professional person and he's not going to say an awful lot in public, but I'm sure JP would have discussed this with Mark before it was announced. JP always does things the right way.
If you speak to anybody in racing who's ever had anything to do with JP and his team, they're very professional and it would always be done by the book.
I'm sure Mark will have known about it. But it will be disappointing for him and he will be gutted to think that some of those horses he rode at the Dublin Racing Festival, come next season, he might not be first choice to ride which is going to be disappointing for him as well.
Harry Cobden moving on doesn’t mean anything for Paul Nicholls’ yard - he won’t struggle to find someone else
No, I don't think it really does. By his own high standards and his admission, he's not got the horses at the moment that he obviously would like to have and has been used to having.
At the same time, the horse he has in the Novice Hurdle, No Drama This End, looks like a champion of the future.
I've no doubt that Paul will bounce back and he's obviously still training a lot of winners anyway.
JP’s job is one that would be very hard to turn down. AP left Martin Pipe where he was champion jockey and winning everything all those years ago to ride for JP. Things just move on.
I would have thought Paul will still use Harry quite a lot and I think there's lots of great jockeys in Britain riding at the moment; the likes of Sam Twiston-Davies who has already ridden for Paul quite a lot will, I'm sure, be involved in the future and obviously Freddie Gingell is there as well.
The standard of riding at the moment in Britain is very high, so I don't think Paul will be struggling for people to want to ride for him or for good lads that he wants to use.
Majborough was the standout performer of the Dublin Racing Festival
Majborough really put it together actually. I've always thought he can be a bit hit and miss - sometimes he looks like a superstar and then sometimes he doesn't always quite go through with it. At the DRF I thought he really looked like the finished article.
Fact To File is always a horse I have loved. He’s awesome. For me, he ticks all the right boxes.
I assume now the Gold Cup will be his route. I think he's just matured into that staying chaser who is made for the Gold Cup.
The two mile five furlongs of the Ryanair is too short for him now but I'm not sure he was really a Gold Cup horse until this year. He's really grown up. We probably still haven't seen him at his absolute peak.
Harry Redknapp has been fantastic for racing and has a great chance in the Gold Cup with The Jukebox Man
He has been for a long time. I'm sure a lot of people only saw the King George and everything else, but he's had horses for a long time. He's put plenty of money behind his enthusiasm as well and it's great to see people get a reward and enjoyment out of it.
Again, I think for racing, any publicity like that is brilliant because Harry's such a well-known man. Every person on the street knows Harry Redknapp, whether you're a 60-year-old housewife wife or an 18-year-old, everybody knows Harry Redknapp. He's a fantastic man.
You know, we want to embrace all these people and hopefully we've got to make sure we make the most of all the publicity we get.
The trainers who have impressed me so far this season
I think Ben Pauling’s had an amazing season. He's just growing each year, same as Harry Derham, a very good young trainer, going the right way.
But the one trainer that I think is doing well is Anthony Honeyball. He's a very good trainer. He wouldn't have huge budgets to spend on horses, but has had a really, really good season.
These are the sort of trainers that are our future as well. In all aspects, he's got a long future ahead of him training. Anthony rode as a jockey, he’s seen it all and with his wife Rachel, who rode as well, they do a great job.
He’s one of several very good young trainers coming through the ranks. Up north you've got Harvey and Sue Smith’s grandson, Joel Parkinson.
For northern racing, we need a few more trainers up north to do well. Again, it's gone in cycles, but at the moment, the north probably hasn't got the number of jump horses. It's more dominated by the Flat area. It would be nice to see some more good horses up north.
The return of Ladies’ Day at the Festival is good with my former partner at the font and centre - racing has done a terrible job of publicising itself
Definitely, very important. Zara [Phillips] is obviously very involved with Cheltenham itself anyway. It's like having Harry Redknapp heading up a Gent’s Day if there was such a thing!
They want to support racing and get us out to the wider audience really. I think we've been very bad at publicising our great sport for so long. We need to be a bit more on the front foot.
We should always talk about the positive things. Too many people focus on the negative.
People love coming racing and with people like Zara and Harry Redknapp, we should be embracing them.
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