Coral's jockeys to watch at Cheltenham Festival 2026
Ahead of Cheltenham Festival 2026, Coral shines a light on five jockeys we think punters should be keeping an eye out for.
Ben Macey and Harry Cobden are highlighted as two of the jockeys to consider at the horse racing spectacle.
Also mentioned is Coral ambassador Sean Bowen who rides in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Coral shares its jockeys to keep an eye on over the Cheltenham Festival, including our very own ambassador Sean Bowen.
Cheltenham betting isn't always the easiest, but Coral has aimed to simplify the process for punters by highlighting six of the jockeys to look out for at the festival this year.
Coral’s Jockeys to Watch for Cheltenham Festival
Harry Cobden
Currently Paul Nicholls’ first jockey, Harry Cobden has been snapped up as JP McManus’ retained rider for next season and is a jockey at the top of his game. He is a stylish tactician who is highly well thought of by retired legends of the saddle, such as Ruby Walsh, and any outside ride he picks up over the Festival is usually worth considering.
Ben Macey
Conditional Jockey to Jonjo and AJ O’Neill, Ben Macey is only at the very beginning of his career, claiming five pounds at the time of writing. He has maintained a healthy strike rate this season and has ridden 50% of his rides at Cheltenham so far to place, so it should only be a matter of time before he is in the winners’ enclosure.
Sean Bowen
The Champion Jockey-elect, Coral ambassador Sean Bowen could be the AP McCoy of our time. Having broken 200 victories this season, he has ridden over a century more winners than the next rider in the jockeys championship and is not slowing down at this point of the season. Hoping for his 30th winner at Cheltenham, Bowen is bristling with riding ability and anything he is booked to ride is worth a look, particularly young and inexperienced horses in bumpers.
Keep an eye out for Bowen on the likes of Resplendent Grey and Booster Bob at Cheltenham Festival this year, as well as Haiti Couleurs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Harry Skelton
Team Skelton tend to save the best of their equine ability for the spring Festivals, and last year was no exception. Harry Skelton is the top rider at Cheltenham so far this season, having won on 11 of his 42 rides here so far this term, giving an excellent course strike rate of 26%. The stable jockey for Champion Trainer-elect brother Dan Skelton, Harry is a big threat to the other top jockeys lining up at the Festival.
Ryan Mania
Likely to ride Triumph Hurdle contender Minella Study, Ryan Mania doesn’t often ride at Cheltenham being based in the north, but when he does, he rides well. Mania has an 18% strike rate at Prestbury Park and could bring that percentage up even higher this term, potentially bringing a rare Cheltenham winner in for a northern yard.
Brendan Powell
The stable jockey for Coral ambassador Joe Tizzard, Brendan Powell has been the key to success with many of the yard’s winners this term. With 14 previous winners at this track to his name, Powell is well schooled on riding Cheltenham winners and looks to have every chance of being back in the winners’ enclosure this March on at least one of Tizzard’s Festival hopes.
Keep an eye out for this rider on board the likes of Alexei, Kripticjim and Ambion View at the Cheltenham Festival this year.
More Cheltenham betting
As well as a rundown of our longshot tips, Coral has more specific information on Cheltenham Festival, including a rundown of each day, so bettors can stay informed.
Cheltenham Festival betting hub page
Cheltenham Festival Wednesday betting page
Cheltenham Festival Thursday betting page
Cheltenham Festival Friday betting page
View the latest Cheltenham Festival 2026 betting odds
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication.
