What Is The Prestbury Cup at The Cheltenham Festival? Winners and Results Since 2014

With another Cheltenham Festival on the horizon this also means the annual battle between the Irish and GB runners, which is honoured each year in the form of the Prestbury Cup.

What Is The Prestbury Cup at the Cheltenham Festival?

If you fancy a longer term wager on the 2025 Cheltenham Festival with the best horse racing betting sites in the UK, then look no further than the Prestbury Cup.

However, the only drawback is this event has been a bit one-sided in recent Cheltenham Festivals – with the Irish dominating the meeting since 2016.

So, exactly what is the Prestbury Cup at the Cheltenham Festival?

In short, it’s a competition between the Irish and English-trained Cheltenham runners and who will win the most winners from the 28 races over the four days. The event first started back in 2014.

Therefore, with 28 races, it will be the first country to get to 15 winners at the meeting who is declared the winner – which, in theory, could be done by Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, which is the opening race on day three (and race 15 at the meeting).

However, it will be a huge shock if one country can win ALL the opening day one and two races – especially as the Irish don’t actually have a great record in Tuesday’s Ultima Handicap Chase. Winning the prize only twice since 1967.

But, with there being an even number of Cheltenham Festival races (28), this means the Prestbury Cup competition could be a tie with 14 wins each. This is exactly what happened in 2019.

Cheltenham Festival Prestbury Cup Results and History Since 2014

See below the full Prestbury Cup results since the competition started in 2014.

The Irish lead GB – 8-2, with there being one tie in 2019.

Ireland have won the Prestbury Cup for the last three years with exactly 18 winners, while their most came in 2021 with a staggering 23 (of the 28) races going to Ireland. This means they won 82% of the Cheltenham Festival races that year.

Last year (2024) Ireland won again – 18-9, with their only being 27 races due to the Cross Country Chase on the Wednesday being called off due to a waterlogged track.

The only tie came in 2019 when the Joseph O’Brien-trained Early Doors on the final race (Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle) for Ireland.

While the last time GB won the Prestbury Cup was in 2015, having also won the first year in 2014 – this was when the Festival had 27 races.

Who Won The Prestbury Cup In 2024?

With Ireland having won the Prestbury Cup eight times since it started in 2014, plus having many of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival bankers – then it’s no surprise to see the Irish long odds-on with the best betting sites in the UK to win the competition again.

ALL The 18 Irish-Trained Winners at The Cheltenham Festival In 2024