Cheltenham Festival 2026 Ante-Post Tips - Can Henry's star challenge Final Demand in the Brown Advisory?

Jon Vine

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Last updated: Thu 12 Feb 2026 15:17

Jon Vine 12 Feb 2026

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Ante-Post Tips for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival
Koktail Divin impressed with a runaway victory at Leopardstown's Christmas Festival
We're backing Henry de Bromhead's novice at 16/1 for the 2026 Brown Advisory

Koktail Divin runs in the same colours as former Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Minella Indo. (Getty)

Our fourth ante-post selection for the Cheltenham Festival is a lively contender for the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase, who ran out an emphatic winner at Leopardstown over Christmas.

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

2026 Brown Advisory Novices' Chase Tips - Koktail Divin

I need very little encouragement to back a Henry de Bromhead horse at the Cheltenham Festival, and I was hugely impressed with KOKTAIL DIVIN'S (16/1) performance at Leopardstown over Christmas.

Lightly raced but highly tried over hurdles, Koktail Divin jumped erratically when second to Romeo Coolio on his chasing debut at Down Royal. Darragh O'Keeffe's mount then repeated that placing in the Florida Pearl at Punchestown, where he might have really challenged Oscars Brother but for a telling mistake at the final flight.

O'Keeffe took the Rising Stars Beginners Chase at Leopardstown by the scruff of the neck, allowing Koktail Divin to bowl out in front. De Bromhead's six-year-old put in his best round of jumping yet, and kicked clear after the last to record a 21-length success over some decent rivals.

Having shown a clear liking for Leopardstown, I wouldn't be surprised to see Koktail Divin turn up at the Dublin Racing Festival and run in the old Flogas Novice Chase. However, after that victory at Leopardstown, De Bromhead said that his owners were keen to head to the Cheltenham Festival, where the Brown Advisory looks the most suitable target.

Standing in his way there will be Final Demand, who made it two wins from two over fences at Limerick over Christmas. Willie Mullins' star didn't have to be wildly impressive to win that Grade One comfortably, but I still would have liked to have seen more from the 1/4 favourite. Final Demand looked a little sluggish on his sole previous start around Cheltenham in the Turners Novices' Hurdle, and good spring ground at the Festival might not be to his advantage.

Koktail Divin has shown throughout his career that he's a high-calibre operator with bags of potential. De Bromhead's six-year-old has improved with each of his three starts over fences, and the time he set at Leopardstown was pretty much the same as what Galopin Des Champs recorded in the same contest five years previous. 16/1 is far too big, considering there's very little depth in the Brown Advisory beyond Final Demand.

2026 Cheltenham Festival Ante-Post Bets Book

Name	Race	Price Taken	Price Now
Honesty Policy	2026 Stayers' Hurdle	16/1	5/1
Le Divin Enfant	2026 Supreme Novices' Hurdle	25/1	50/1
Love Me Tender	2026 Turners Novices' Hurdle	16/1	50/1
Koktail Divin	2026 Brown Advisory Novices' Chase	16/1