'May have been overlooked' - Gold Cup day each-way plays

The fourth and final day of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival takes place on Friday afternoon with another stellar seven-race card.

The Gold Cup is the Blue Riband event of the meeting and this year’s renewal looks like a cracker.

We have picked out several each-way selections for day one including a previous course winner that looks capable of another big run.

Cheltenham 1.20 - North Shore

Gavin Cromwell’s horses have been running well at the Festival all week at some juicy prices and one that appears to have been overlooked in this year’s Triumph is North Shore.

This son of The Grey Gatsby finished third behind Narciso Has on his debut over timber at Leopardstown on Boxing Day, a rival that was the long-term short-priced favourite for this contest before suffering a setback at home.

He then went on to finish a similar distance behind Narciso Has at last month’s Dublin Racing Festival. Those two runs are worth marking up given that the yard had been out of form for much of the campaign but there have been definite signs of a revival this week, including a 1-3-4 for the trainer in this year’s Cross Country on Wednesday.

A return to quicker ground could also suit and he doesn’t deserve to be a 40-1 shot in this field with bookmakers paying four places.

Cheltenham 2.00 - Ooh Betty

Another horse that may have been overlooked on Friday is Ooh Betty for the County Hurdle. She’s the rank outsider of the field on Friday, despite beating a small but quality field in a Grade 2 at Ascot last time out.

A 2lb rise for that success looks on the lenient side and she ran a cracker on her sole previous visit to Cheltenham when runner-up to former Champion Hurdler Golden Ace on good ground in 2024.

Having finished a close third off this mark in last year’s Scottish Champion Hurdle, we know she can be competitive off this sort of mark and if the ground stays better than soft, she can outrun her odds from an each-way perspective.

Cheltenham 3.20 - The Passing Wife

The aforementioned Gavin Cromwell also has an interesting runner in this year’s Albert Bartlett.

The Passing Wife was a really promising sort in bumpers a couple of seasons ago and has looked as good as ever after a lengthy absence this campaign.

Those efforts include a third to Thedeviluno at Gowran in November who is near the top of the betting for this contest and another narrow defeat when stepped up in class to Grade 2 company at Fairyhouse.

He bounced back from a lesser effort to win a maiden hurdle in good style last time with a useful rival in behind and this longer trip ought to suit this point-to-point winner.

Cheltenham 4.40 - Stattler

Patrick Mullins is an eyecatching booking on board Stattler in the Hunters’ Chase.

Mullins must have had the option of some of the Irish raiders but has chosen to ride the former Closutton inmate after his wide margin success last time out.

This test should really suit the former Cheltenham Festival winner and he could outclass his rivals in the penultimate race of the meeting.