With Irish trainers continuing to dominate the Cheltenham Festival headlines, it’s easy for British-trained runners to be overlooked in the ante-post markets. But scratch beneath the surface of the Cheltenham odds and there are still some compelling home-trained contenders lurking at decent prices. 

Here are three British-trained outsiders who could easily outperform expectations at the 2026 Festival.

Wendigo – Brown Advisory Novice Chase

The Brown Advisory Novice Chase currently revolves around Willie Mullins’ Final Demand, who heads the market and looks a worthy favourite. He’ll take plenty of beating, but Jamie Snowden’s Wendigo shouldn’t be dismissed lightly at each-way odds of around 12/1.

Wendigo has quietly put together a solid novice chase campaign. He landed a Grade 2 at Newbury over 2m4f in November, before running a perfectly respectable third in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. His most recent start saw him drop in class at Ayr, where he bolted up by 22 lengths.

That long trip north wasn’t accidental either; it was a deliberate move to get him jumping left-handed in race conditions. While the Brown Advisory represents a significant step back up in class, Wendigo is a tough, genuine type who keeps progressing and looks the sort to run his race. In a Festival novice chase, that often puts you closer than the market expects.

Golden Ace – Champion Hurdle

It’s not often you see a defending Champion Hurdle winner available at odds of around 9/1, but that’s exactly the position Golden Ace finds herself in this season.

Jeremy Scott’s star filly capitalised on dramatic falls from Constitution Hill and State Man to land the prize last year, but she’s done little wrong since. She picked up the pieces again in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle in November and was clearly the best of the rest behind Sir Gino in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton.

With Sir Gino subsequently sidelined through injury following Trials Day, the Champion Hurdle picture looks wide open once more, and Golden Ace has already proven she can thrive when chaos ensues. Scott is notably bullish too, saying:

“I’m going there with more confidence than I did last year. She’s been in better form this season compared to last season, and we’re going there with as good a chance as we could have.

She has nothing to prove. Whatever she does, hopefully she’ll cover herself in glory. I’m very optimistic she’ll be competitive.”

Given the uncertainty surrounding several of her rivals, Golden Ace looks a very solid British-trained alternative to the shorter-priced market leaders.

Grey Dawning – Gold Cup

The biggest-priced outsider on this list is Grey Dawning, who is trading at around 20/1 for the Gold Cup following a slightly underwhelming prep run in the Grade 2 Cotswold Chase.

Things didn’t fall kindly for Dan Skelton’s chaser that day. Soft ground was a concern beforehand; he was kicked by eventual winner Spillane’s Tower at the start, and he then made a costly mistake two out just as he was trying to close. From there, his chance was gone.

However, Skelton was far from despondent afterwards, pointing out that Grey Dawning had made a similar error at the same fence previously, before going on to win at the Festival later that spring. The trainer explained: “I thought he was moving into it very well, made the mistake two out, which isn’t the first time he’s made a mistake at that fence…

“We can’t win a Gold Cup on Trials Day but we can certainly lose one by having a hard race. That absolutely did not happen.”

In a division often dominated by Irish powerhouses, Grey Dawning remains an intriguing British-trained contender who could yet peak at exactly the right time.

Wendigo, Golden Ace and Grey Dawning all bring solid form, proven Festival credentials (or profiles), and crucially, prices that still allow punters to play without needing everything to go perfectly.

At a meeting where chaos often reigns, these three could be the home-trained runners who remind us that Britain can still land a Festival punch or two.