Fifth time lucky for Home By The Lee in shock Stayers' Hurdle success

Home By The Lee (33/1) wins Stayers' Hurdle at the fifth attempt for Joseph O'Brien; Ballyburn comes home in second ahead of Bob Olinger; Wodhooh takes Mares' Hurdle for Gordon Elliott

Thursday 12 March 2026 16:47, UK

Home By The Lee made it fifth time lucky as Joseph O’Brien’s star finally won the Stayers' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Partnered by JJ Slevin, the 11-year-old was always prominent and kept finding as he went on to score by a length and a quarter from Ballyburn.

Dan Skelton's Kabral Du Mathan had travelled powerfully, but stamina doubts proved true as he struggled up the Cheltenham hill.

Last year's winner Bob Olinger stayed on to take third.

O'Brien said: "We were just hoping for a good run. It was a fantastic ride by JJ and I'm so delighted for Sean O'Driscoll and his family as they bred him and he's an 11-year-old and they've been with him all the way. He's as tough as nails. It was a huge team effort by everyone at home.

"We've raced him a bit more often than we usually do. We thought we'd get him running but we normally keep him very fresh.

"He's all stamina and JJ gave him a fantastic ride. He made all the right moves at every stage. Of all the horses I've ever trained he's the winningmost in number of wins.

Cheltenham racecards

Cheltenham results

"We've had him since maybe he just turned four, so he's been there a long time. He trains every day with enthusiasm and when he's off he gets bored. He loves his work, loves his job, loves his racing and has never had a lame step in his life. He's a superstar."

Heart Wood eased to victory to take the Ryanair Chase in convincing style at the Cheltenham Festival.

Trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Darragh O'Keeffe, Heart Wood went off a 9-2 chance after Fact To File was withdrawn and was bidding to go one better than his second-placed finish behind that horse last year.

The eight-year-old always looked comfortable and drew level with JPR One, who made the running, at the turn for home before pulling clear up the hill to register a 10-length victory over the 2-1 favourite Jonbon.

Gordon Elliott got off the mark at the Cheltenham Festival when Wodhooh justified favouritism with a game display in the Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle.

The six-year-old won the last race of the meeting, the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle, 12 months ago and proved a welcome tonic for her handler once again after some disappointing reversals in the opening two days of the meeting.

Sent off the 5/6 market leader in the hands of Jack Kennedy after two impressive victories this term, she demonstrated her class to hold off last year's runner-up Jade de Grugy up the run-in and strike at the highest level for the first time.

Meetmebythesea provided Ben Pauling and Ben Jones with the perfect Cheltenham Gold Cup appetiser when storming to victory in the Jack Richards Novices' Limited Handicap Chase.

The King George-winning trainer and jockey will go for gold with The Jukebox Man on Friday, but Meetmebythesea had long been talked of as one of their leading chances of the Festival and delivered in style at odds of 9/1.

As has been the theme of the week, Jones had the six-year-old up with the pace throughout and having entered the home straight locked in battle with runner-up Gold Dancer, a tremendous jump at the last enabled Meetmebythesea to surge four and three-quarter lengths clear.

Tom Bellamy tasted success at the Festival for the first time as White Noise regained the winning thread in the Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle.

A three-time winner earlier in the season, she was then defeated in Grade Two company at Warwick last month, but roared back to form with a brilliant performance from the front end as a 40/1 chance.