The top four trainers with the most wins at Cheltenham

The Cheltenham Festival is the highlight of the National Hunt season, and every trainer dreams of winning there. A handful of names have dominated the meeting and racing odds over the years, writing themselves into racing history. The list of trainers with the most wins features the sport’s greatest figures, combining era-defining talent with years of sustained excellence.

Willie Mullins

At the top stands Willie Mullins, the Irish trainer whose Cheltenham Festival record is unmatched. Mullins has racked up 113 winners at the Festival, miles ahead of any other trainer. He broke through the 100-winner milestone in 2024 and has been the leading trainer at the meeting more times than anyone else, cementing his status as the dominant force in jump racing.

His record includes victories in many of the Festival’s premier contests. The Gold Cup eluded him for years, but he has now secured four wins: Al Boum Photo in 2019 and 2020, and Galopin Des Champs in 2023 and 2024. 

These wins confirmed his position at the pinnacle of National Hunt training and made him the standard by which all others are judged. His ability to target specific races and deliver year after year has set him apart, with wins spread across every type of contest from championship events to competitive handicaps.

Nicky Henderson

Britain’s most successful Festival trainer is Nicky Henderson, with 73 wins. Over a career spanning decades, Henderson has trained numerous Festival winners and consistently challenged at the highest level. His horses have won everything from championship two-mile contests to staying chases and major handicaps, showcasing his versatility and skill across different types of racing.

Henderson’s notable Festival winners include the brilliant two-milers Sprinter Sacre and Altior, but his biggest triumphs came with Gold Cup winners Long Run in 2011 and Bobs Worth in 2013. These victories underlined his ability to train staying chasers capable of handling Cheltenham’s ultimate test.

Paul Nicholls

Paul Nicholls has left a huge mark on Cheltenham, with 49 Festival wins to his name. He has trained some of the sport’s greatest horses, including Kauto Star, Big Buck’s and Master Minded, all of whom won multiple times at the Festival and became household names in the process.

Kauto Star’s two Gold Cup victories in 2007 and 2009 stand as career-defining moments for Nicholls. The horse became one of the most celebrated chasers in racing history, and those Gold Cup wins cemented Nicholls’s reputation for producing top-class horses capable of winning the sport’s biggest prizes. Big Buck’s dominated the World Hurdle with four consecutive wins, while Master Minded delivered brilliance in the two-mile division.

Gordon Elliott

Gordon Elliott has become one of the leading Festival trainers in recent years, building a record of 41 wins. The Irish trainer has conquered the meeting’s three biggest races: the Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and Champion Chase, proving his ability to prepare horses for any challenge the Festival throws up.

His most famous moment came with Don Cossack, who won the 2016 Gold Cup and gave Elliott his breakthrough win in the race. Since then, he has consistently challenged Mullins and Henderson, with his win tally placing him among the modern greats. Tiger Roll’s back-to-back Cross Country Chase wins added to his Festival legacy, while recent winners have kept him firmly in contention at the top of the training ranks.

The common thread

Success at Cheltenham requires long-term planning, meticulous attention to detail, and the ability to peak horses for the toughest tests in jump racing. The trainers with the most wins have combined talent with patience, building their records over years of Festival campaigns and proving themselves against the best in the sport.