Everyone in racing, whether a trainer, jockey or owner, wants to have a winner at the Cheltenham Festival. Finding winners is increasingly a case of focusing on the big yards and riders, who seem particularly adept at targeting Cheltenham Festival races. Here are some of the names to watch.

Willie Mullins

You cannot start anywhere else these days. Mullins holds all the cards in National Hunt racing these days and is 1-7 with Boylesports to be the top trainer at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival.

Because Mullins has such strength, the biggest question is often how he will choose to spread around his runners to maximise his winners on the week. The novice hurdles this year give the strongest example. Ballyburn is widely seen to be Mullins’ number one, but next-best Tullyhill does not have a Baring Bingham entry while Ballyburn does.

Mullins’ number one jockey is Paul Townend, who has stepped out of the shadow cast by the great Ruby Walsh to become the go-to jockey at the Cheltenham Festival. Like many of the leading jockeys, Townend’s great strength is in rarely making mistakes rather than any pulling off strokes of genius.

Gordon Elliott

For a spell, Elliott rivalled Mullins and he is the only trainer to deprive Mullins of the top trainer title at the Cheltenham Festival since 2012. His 2018 haul of eight winners is a total that even Mullins has only bettered once.

Elliott is expected to have a stronger second half of the week. He often runs slow-developing novices in the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle, the last race of the Cheltenham Festival, and he has the strongest hand in Thursday’s Stayers’ Hurdle, which he won last year with Sire Du Berlais.

Elliott’s primary jockey is Jack Kennedy. The pair have recorded many Cheltenham Festival successes together, although Kennedy’s Gold Cup win came for Henry De Bromhead.

Henry De Bromhead

The golden period for De Bromhead is in its twilight years, if it has not passed already, but he remains a major force at the Cheltenham Festival. The mare Honeysuckle aside, De Bromhead is most famous for his exploits with chasers, as his horses tend to jump particularly well.

Some major hopes for the yard this year include Ryanair defending champion Envoi Allen, and former Gold Cup winner Minella Indo in the Cross-Country Chase. Stable jockey Rachael Blackmore is expected to partner both.

Nicky Henderson

Until the recent news that cast doubt on Constitution Hill’s participation at the Cheltenham Festival, Henderson could lay claim to the banker of the whole meeting. If that horse misses out, Henderson is still expected to be among the winners.

Two-mile races have always been Henderson’s forte. His best chances, Constitution Hill aside, are Triumph Hurdle favourite Sir Gino, County Hurdle favourite Iberico Lord and Champion Chase second-favourite Jonbon.

Paul Nicholls

The perennial champion trainer in Britain is well known to be choosier than others when it comes to Cheltenham. That makes sense, as the championship is decided on prize money and Cheltenham Festival races punch much harder on prestige than prize money. Nicholls’ stable jockey Harry Cobden, perhaps the best jump jockey in Britain at the moment, is also on the hunt for his own title this season.

Nicholls has a selection of Cheltenham claims, mostly over fences this year. Stay Away Fay and Ginny’s Destiny would make a memorable double in the Turners and Brown Advisory, while last year’s Turners winner Stage Star has good claims in the Ryanair.

Others

Dan Skelton, formerly Nicholls’ assistant, has a strong record in the handicap hurdles. Langer Dan won last year’s Coral Cup and has been campaigned at that race again this year. He has also won the County Hurdle in four of the last eight years, each time with a different horse. That is a stronger record than Willie Mullins.

Also look out for Ben Pauling, who comes into the meeting in red-hot form. He fires a couple of his strongest bullets on Tuesday, with Tellherthename likely to run in the Supreme and Bowtogreatness in the Ultima and National Hunt Chase.