Four decades after training his first Cheltenham Festival winner, Nicky Henderson returns to Prestbury Park to lead the English charge.Henderson, 75, is the second most successful trainer in Cheltenham Festival history having saddled 75 winners – second only to Willie Mullins (113) in total victories.The Seven Barrows handler is synonymous with Cheltenham, first entering the winner’s enclosure in 1985 when See You Then landed the Champion Hurdle.Since then, he has trained more than his fair share of icons, including the mighty Sprinter Sacre – a two-time Queen Mother Champion Chase hero – as well as Buveur d’Air, Altior and Constitution Hill.Henderson has been crowned Cheltenham Festival Leading Trainer on three occasions, the most recent coming in 2012 when he sent out seven winners – a tally surpassed only by Gordon Elliott and Mullins.He hasn’t hit those heights in recent years and returned from the 2024 Festival empty-handed, albeit with stars such as Constitution Hill, Jonbon and Sir Gino ruled out.But he bounced back in style last year, thanks to Arkle Chase winner Jango Baie and Pertemps champion Doddiethegreat. And though priced at a sizeable 16/1 to claim the Leading Trainer title, he has more than a few live chances next month.Spearheading his challenge is Lulamba, who heads the market at 13/8 for the Arkle Novices’ Chase. Tuesday could prove particularly fruitful if Old Park Star justifies 2/1 favouritism in the Festival opener, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.Henderson himself believes Jango Baie represents his best Gold Cup prospect for several years, while Khrisma is another to note in Friday’s County Hurdle.“I think he’s my best chance in the Gold Cup for a while, I think you can give him a realistic chance,” Henderson said of Jango Baie.“Everything has gone well. We were going to run in the Denman but on that ground, having watched the Irish horses have hard races in very bad ground the week before slightly put me off and I thought we’d be better coming in fresh.”However, the name on everybody’s lips is Constitution Hill – the brilliant 2023 Champion Hurdle winner – will sadly not feature after Henderson ruled his stable star out of a jumps return.Nicky Henderson predicted Cheltenham winners for 2026Champion Day (Tuesday, March 10)Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (13:20) – OLD PARK STAR at 27/10 with SBKGold Cup Day (Friday, March 13)County Hurdle (14:00) – KHRISMA at 7/1 with BoyleSportsGold Cup (16:00) – JANGO BAIE at 9/2 with 247BetAs outlined above, I’m tipping Nicky Henderson to enjoy his strongest Cheltenham Festival since 2020, with three winners from the 28 races on offer.It’s a significant blow that Constitution Hill – one of the most popular horses of the modern era – won’t line up, but the most successful British trainer in Festival history still looks in a good position to bolster his record. He could make a flying start on Tuesday, with ante-post favourite Old Park Star fancied to take the opener before Lulamba locks horns with Kopek Des Bordes in the Arkle.Could this be a first Gold Cup triumph since Bobs Worth in 2013? As Henderson himself has suggested, last year’s Arkle hero Jango Baie – a close fourth in the King George – represents his best opportunity for several years. I won’t argue with that.Previous Nicky Henderson Cheltenham Festival winnersYearRaceHorse1985Champion HurdleSee You Then1985Triumph HurdleFirst Bout1985Plate Handicap ChaseThe Tsarevich1986Champion HurdleSee You Then1986Supreme Novices’ HurdleRiver Ceiriog1986Plate Handicap ChaseThe Tsarevich1987Champion HurdleSee You Then1987Triumph HurdleAlone Success1989Stayers’ HurdleRustle1990Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge CupMaster Bob1990Cathcart Challenge CupBrown Windsor1991Arkle ChaseRemittance Man1992Queen Mother Champion ChaseRemittance Man1992Supreme Novices’ HurdleFlown1993Arkle ChaseTravado1993County Handicap HurdleThumbs Up1994Cathcart Challenge CupRaymylette1997County Handicap HurdleBarna Boy1999Triumph HurdleKatarino1999Cathcart Challenge CupStormyfairweather2000Stayers’ HurdleBacchanal2000Arkle ChaseTiutchev2000Festival Trophy Handicap ChaseMarlborough2000Cathcart Challenge CupStormyfairweather2002Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge CupThe Bushkeeper2005RSA Insurance Novices’ ChaseTrabolgan2005Plate Handicap ChaseLiberthine2005Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge CupJuveigneur2006Ryanair ChaseFondmort2006Plate Handicap ChaseNon So2006Johnny Henderson Grand Annual ChaseGreenhope2009Champion HurdlePunjabi2009Triumph HurdleZaynar2009Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap HurdleAndytown2010Champion HurdleBinocular2010Triumph HurdleSoldatino2010Coral CupSpirit River2011Cheltenham Gold CupLong Run2011Spa Novices’ HurdleBobs Worth2012Queen Mother Champion ChaseFinian’s Rainbow2012Baring Bingham Novices’ HurdleSimonsig2012Arkle ChaseSprinter Sacre2012RSA Insurance Novices’ ChaseBobs Worth2012Ryanair ChaseRiverside Theatre2012Fred Winter Juvenile Novices’ Handicap HurdleUne Artiste2012Johnny Henderson Grand Annual ChaseBellvano2013Cheltenham Gold CupBobs Worth2013Queen Mother Champion ChaseSprinter Sacre2013Arkle ChaseSimonsig2013Centenary Novices’ Handicap ChaseRajdhani Express2014Coral CupWhisper2015Triumph HurdlePeace And Co2015Pertemps FinalCall The Cops2016Queen Mother Champion ChaseSprinter Sacre2016Supreme Novices’ HurdleAltior2017Champion HurdleBuveur d’Air2017Arkle ChaseAltior2017RSA Insurance Novices’ ChaseMight Bite2018Champion HurdleBuveur d’Air2018Queen Mother Champion ChaseAltior2019Queen Mother Champion ChaseAltior2019Triumph HurdlePentland Hills2019Festival Trophy Handicap ChaseBeware The Bear2019Coral CupWilliam Henry2020Champion HurdleEpatante2020Supreme Novices’ HurdleAltior2020RSA Insurance Novices’ ChaseChamp2020Coral CupDame De Compagnie2021Arkle ChaseShishkin2021Golden Miller Novices’ ChaseChantry House2022Supreme Novices’ HurdleConstitution Hill2022David Nicholson Mares’ HurdleMarie’s Rock2023Champion HurdleConstitution Hill2025Arkle ChaseJango Baie2025Pertemps FinalDoddiethegreatOur Cheltenham 2026 tips and guidesCheltenham free betsCheltenham 2026 ante-post tipsCheltenham 2026 horses to watchCheltenham 2026 betting trends & statsWillie Mullins Cheltenham winnersHow to bet on CheltenhamAbout the authorNick SeddonA sports journalist with more than a decade of experience, Nick has covered some of the biggest events in sport, from the Grand National and the Epsom Derby in horse racing to Walsall against Wigan Athletic in League One.Follow Nick on X: @nickseddon_Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to talkSPORT. 18+. 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