Wohdooh (5/6 favourite) and Jack Kennedy finally got Gordon Elliott off the mark at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival this afternoon.
Last year’s Martin Pipe winner over course and distance stepped up in grade to win the Grade 1 Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle at the expense of 2025 runner-up Jade De Grugy (2/1) and Paul Townend.
🗣️ “She’s the horse of a lifetime. She gets me out of trouble all the time.”@gelliott_racing on the scoresheet at the 2026 Festival & a really honest interview about the week so far 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/nzUTRisnNG
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 12, 2026
Prominent throughout the 2 mile 4 furlong and 56 yards contest, the six-year-old daughter of Le Havre took command approaching the final flight of hurdles.
For a moment, it looked as though the Willie Mullins-trained Jade De Grugy might pose a serious challenge, but it was not to be, as The Sundowners Partnership-owned mare held the runner-up off by a comfortable length.
Paul Nolan’s Feet Of A Dancer (8/1), under Seán O’Keeffe, was third, a further five lengths back, and ensured an Irish trifecta in the first Grade 1 contest of St Patrick’s Thursday.
Relieved winning trainer Gordon Elliott admitted:
“I don’t think I was ever quite in the wilderness – it’s hard to get winners here and we just weren’t bouncing, but we’re on the board now. The race worked out great; Jack gave her a peach [of a ride]. She idled a bit halfway up the straight but picked up again – she’s something else. It’s hard to know just how good she is, because to be fair to her she doesn’t do anything fancy at home, but we’re lucky to have her.”
It was a 16th success in 19 editions of the race for Irish handlers following victories for Quevega (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014), Glen’s Melody (2015), Vroum Vroum Mag (2016), Apple’s Jade (2017), Benie Des Dieux (2018), Honeysuckle (2020 & 2023), Black Tears (2021) and Lossiemouth (2024 and 2025).
