Cheltenham 2026 Arkle Opinion
Cheltenham 2026 Arkle Opinion On The Betfair Betting Market
I great chase race over 2 miles or there abouts and at a fast pace and I have been lucky enough to see many of these races at the Cheltenham race track.
The renewal this year is a tricky affair in my opinion and many of you will be saying well we disagree with this statement as the hotpot Lulamba cruising in its last race at Newbury is the potential winner of the Arkle.
Mark Horrocks BSc (Hons) Computer Science
+44 07973-786657
Email: vanderwheil6@gmail.com
Please feel free to email me or ring me.
Mark Horrocks
+44 07973-786657
But we will look at the first 5 horses in the betting starting with which will probably be the punters favourite Lulamba on the day.
Now I am writing this on the 9th February 2026 sat in Gibraltar which is warmer than the UK.
Lulamba
I have noticed it has mainly run on right handed courses and has now run two races left handed! The last race Newbury it ran close to the rails which was a left handed course so make of it what you think. In this race it had to be shaken up 4 furlongs out and whether the horse was dossing I do not know.
Fair enough Lulamba took command of the race, but of what and that is not to disrespect the other horses in the race?
With respect to the other horses in the race it was hardly a test. In the Arkle it will be up against possibly 3 horses which will test it all the way. If Lulamba comes off the bridle early in the race then will it have to find the extra gears to stay in the race.
Now let us look at how I think this horse will run in the Arkle. In my opinion and I will probably be proved wrong here. Lulamba will hog the inside rail just off the pace and lie probably 4th or 5th. It will step on the gas in other words accelerate about 1f to 1 and half furlongs out. But here lies the problems it will face,
1. Jockeys on other horses will hog the rail as well only those horses that need daylight for the fences will avoid the bunch near the rail. Some will hog the rail to save ground and I expect this will upset some horses.
Now I do not like horses falling but that is the nature of the beast. But the following horses if they run will cause this Lulamba some headaches. I think this will happen just a bit quicker than Lulamba is used to.
Kargese
Now a personal favourite of mine and I personally hope it wins but it will not get the trip in my opinion based on its last run against Romeo Coolio. Kargese will force the pace, and I have a funny feeling their will be some casualties in terms of fallers here and I have seen it before. Kargese has a high cruising speed, and I think this horse will put too much daylight between the rest of the field early in the race and Lulamba will not make up the ground up the hill in time. One other thing that the last fence is a tricky affair with rising ground at the other side. The horses are at full speed and make mistakes, and these are neck breakers!
Kopek Des Bordes
Now I liked this horse but have gone against it as the line through William Munny has not in my opinion done the form of this horse any favours. I appreciate the owners wanting the horse to run and the horse seems to show little alarm signals in its past races. But ask yourself the question was the jockey hiding the gas levels on the horse in its previous races and yet again this is my opinion. Ok maybe the horse is improving and has not been asked anything yet, but would you put £1000 on this horse to win?
I personally would not!
Just one other thing we have a sandwich here not in the true sense but with Kargese probably trying to steal a march here on the rivals and this unknown quantity Kopek Des Bordes lying 2nd or 3rd these two will dominate the race and it could be a slugging match with Lulamba playing catch up. Now these two horses will force any errors in Lulamba so we will see.
Now onto the next one.
Romeo Coolio
A 2m 4f horse to me like the horse Irish Panther yes and the pair have met in the past and it was a tussle to the line. Stamina is needed at 2m 1f in this Arkle race but the horse is probably lacking the tactical speed here. A place beckons for this one and will be staying on at the end. The horse is big and I like the ground it covers but I think it does not have the speed up the hill at the business end.
So, who would I go for?
It must be,
Romeo Coolio for a Betfair place and that is it you will probably get decimal odds off 2.4 on the Betfair 3 place market or roughly 6/4 in old money.
Conclusion
I am fascinated by this race by the jockey tactics that will be adopted on the day.
A very hard race and some fallers on the way and has long as they are unscathed that’s the main thing!
Now I want to throw a couple of other horses in the mix here so you could have small bets here as I have a funny feeling some outsider will come through the pack at the end.
July Flower
Irish Panther
This is one of my favourite races of the 2026 festival and I do not normally like this race but the top 5 in the market are like a magnet to me and a great puzzle to work out!
Please feel free to email me abuse if Lulamba wins and I am only joking!
My Other Bets For The Festival
If you want my bets for the Cheltenham 2026 March Festival email me at
Email: vanderwheil6@gmail.com