Cheltenham Festival 2026 Ante-Post Tips - Take 16/1 about this Stayers' Hurdle contender

Jon Vine

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Last updated: Thu 12 Feb 2026 15:16

Jon Vine 12 Feb 2026

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Ante-Post Tips for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival
Honesty Policy looks set to remain over hurdles this season
We're backing Gordon Elliott's star at 16/1 for the 2026 Stayers' Hurdle

Honesty Policy ridden by jockey Mark Walsh (L) wins the Turners Mersey Novices’ Hurdle race ahead of Regents Stroll ridden by jockey Harry Cobden (R) during Grand National Day. (Getty)

Our first ante-post selection for the Cheltenham Festival is an intriguing contender for the 2026 Stayers' Hurdle, who is about to make his seasonal reappearance.

Here's my first ante-post selection for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.

2026 Stayers' Hurdle Tips - Honesty Policy

When I covered the Championship races for the Cheltenham Festival at the start of the season, I put up HONESTY POLICY (16/1) at 25/1, but wanted to know for sure that he was staying hurdling before making the selection official.

Gordon Elliott's youngster made impressive progress during his novice campaign. Honesty Policy won maiden hurdles at Navan and Leopardstown, before claiming a cosy victory in the Mersey Novices' Hurdle on Grand National day. Mark Walsh's mount then gave Jasmin De Vaux a fright in the three-mile Grade One at Punchestown, where he jumped the last better than Willie Mullins' Albert Bartlett winner before eventually succumbing to defeat.

Elliott will again have Teahupoo ready for his fourth Stayers' Hurdle, but the 2024 winner is by no means unbeatable in this contest - especially on decent ground. Ballyburn proved himself to be fallible last term. Defending champion Bob Olinger will be 11 come March, and there isn't much depth in the rest of the betting.

Jasmin De Vaux was favourite for the 2026 Stayers' Hurdle before he was ruled out for the season, so I was shocked to see that Honesty Policy was available at such a price in October. Elliott decided against a run in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury, so we'll probably have to wait until Christmas before we see Honesty Policy jump a hurdle in public. If he does manage to win either the Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown, or the Long Walk at Ascot on his first start of the season, then odds of 16/1 will become a distant memory.

Verdict

Honesty Policy is our ante-post selection for the 2026 Stayers' Hurdle.

Honesty Policy

2026 Stayers' Hurdle Ante-Post Tips

@16/1 - 5 Units

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