Mares’ Hurdle Tips: Wodhooh looks an unstoppable force

The Mares' Hurdle is one of the most-anticipated races on Day 3 (Thursday) at the Cheltenham Festival. The favourite has prevailed on the past two renewals with Lossiemouth going back-to-back for Willie Mullins and Paul Townend.

Following her success in Tuesday's feature race, the Mares' Hurdle crown is there for the taking. Read on for my Mares' Hurdle Tips.

Our in-house Horse Racing tipster Owen McMahon has gone through the card for Thursday's Races and made a selection for every race. Read who he's backing and why with our Cheltenham Day 3 Tips. 

Added to that, former jockey Katie Walsh runs through her Cheltenham Thursday Tips for Betfred.

Mares' Hurdle Odds

Wodhooh @ 8/11

With nine wins from 10 over hurdles, it looks like it is going to take something special to deny WODHOOH on Thursday. The six-year-old is a two-time C&D winner, including the Martin Piper at last year's Festival. She was four-and-a-half lengths clear of Act Of Authority in second.

Gordon Elliott has saddled just one winner in the Mares' Hurdle since its inaugural edition in 2008. Apple's Jade was his champion in 2017 and Wodhooh will look to follow in her footsteps.

The daughter of Le Havre won a Grade 2 at Ascot and a Grade 3 at Leopardstown on her two most recent outings. The latter saw her defeat Feet Of A Dancer, who is third in the betting for the Mares' Hurdle. This only bolsters Wodhooh's claim in my eyes.

Each-way - Jade De Grugy @ 3/1

It's a tough task, but I think the horse who looks the best-equipped to challenge Wodhooh is JADE DE GRUGY for Mullins' camp. She returns to the Mares' Hurdle for the second successive year, looking to go one step further.

The seven-year-old finished second in 2025 but she was still comfortably beaten by stablemate Lossiemouth. This will be used as a marker to measure her progress over the past 12 months.

Jade De Grugy is 5-7 over hurdles which includes two victories at the top level. One of them came at the Punchestown Festival in comfortable fashion (six-and-a-half lengths) back in May. The daughter of Doctor Dino has impressed over fences in recent months and looks primed for another crack at the Mares'.

Mullins has saddled 11 of the 18 winners since 2008, including the previous two with the superstar Lossiemouth. The three-time Festival top jockey  Townend steered her to glory in 2024 and 2025, so he is once again charged with Mullins' top prospect.

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