First Cheltenham Festival NAP for 2026 – Arkle Novices’ Chase Betting Tip

With most bookmakers now offering Non Runner No Bet for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival and the Dublin Racing Festival safely in the rear-view mirror, this feels like the perfect time to strike with my first Cheltenham Festival NAP of the week.

I landed a nice early blow twelve months ago when Fact To File delivered in the Ryanair Chase and I’m hoping to make it back-to-back Festival winners by nailing my colours to the mast once again.

For 2026, I’m heading straight to the opening day and one of the most informative races of the entire Cheltenham Festival – the Arkle Novices’ Chase.

My quick pick for the Arkle Chase

• Lulamba- 15/8 with Sky Bet

This is a race with absolutely no hiding place. Raw speed, slick jumping and the ability to handle pressure at championship pace are essential. If you’re not the real deal, the Arkle will expose you. Year after year it produces future stars and it’s a contest that consistently rewards genuine class rather than hype.

There is one novice chaser who looks tailor-made for the demands of this race. A horse who has already shown the pace and accuracy required and if he turns up in the same form, I’ll be amazed to see him beaten.

• Trainer: Nicky Henderson
• Jockey: Nico de Boinville
• Form: 1-121-11
• Age: 5yo
• Weight: 11-7

Cheltenham (Tuesday) 14:00 Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase – Key Trends

Price

• 18 of the last 20 winners were in the top 3 in the betting, making this one of the most market-reliable races of the week

Form

• 15 of the last 17 winners had already won a Grade 1 over fences before arriving at Cheltenham
• 16 of the last 20 winners were unbeaten or had just one defeat over fences, showing how rarely this race rewards exposed types
• 14 of the last 16 winners had already won at 2 miles, underlining the importance of raw pace and slick jumping

Arkle Novices’ Chase Race preview

The Arkle is rarely forgiving and it takes an exceptional novice to win it at a young age. However, when a five-year-old is good enough, they tend to announce themselves as something out of the ordinary rather than simply a horse ahead of schedule.

This is exactly how LULAMBA shapes up. This is a natural two-mile chaser with pace to burn, a slick and economical jumping style and the temperament required for a race that is often run at breakneck speed from flagfall.

He has already shown he can travel strongly in a well-run race, quicken when asked, and crucially maintain his accuracy when the pressure is turned up. Those are key attributes for any Arkle winner.

While his age will inevitably be raised as a concern by some it is worth remembering that the Arkle does not reward grinders or late developers. It rewards class, speed and fluency, with minimal mileage and with the profile of a horse who is still improving rather than one who has already shown his hand.

I loved how he did it last time at Sandown, particularly how quickly he managed to organise his feet when getting in tight to a fence. He ran right through the line still firmly on the bridle and it is genuinely hard to find many negatives off the back of that performance.

The most obvious danger appears to be Kopek Des Bordes from the yard of Willie Mullins but missing his intended prep run at the Dublin Racing Festival would be a major negative for me.

He looks a much keener, fresher type who would have benefitted far more from a race and he is not even guaranteed to line up after reportedly missing some work. That only strengthens the case for Nicky Henderson’s exciting five-year-old.

For a race that so often crowns the best novice chaser of the season, Lulamba looks ready to buck the age trend and prove that pure class is still the most important factor of all.

My pick:

1. LULAMBA

• Trainer: Nicky Henderson
• Form: 1-121-11
• Age: 5
• Weight: 11-7

Bet on Lulamba to win the Arkle Chase at 15/8 with Sky Bet

Last 12 winners of the Arkle Chase

Our Cheltenham 2026 tips and guides

• Cheltenham free bets
• Cheltenham 2026 ante-post tips
• Cheltenham 2026 horses to watch
• Cheltenham 2026 betting trends & stats
• How to bet on Cheltenham

About the author

Joe Norris

I’m Joe Norris, co-founder and Director of GetYourTipsOut (GYTO), which I launched in 2009 to provide daily sports betting tips, with the main focus on horse racing. Over the years, I’ve earned a reputation for offering reliable and profitable tips, which led to being named “Best Sports Betting Tipster” in 2023. Alongside my work at GYTO, I also contribute predictions to platforms like Oddschecker, allowing me to share my insights with a wide community of sports enthusiasts and bettors.

Find Joe on X: @JoeNorrisGYTO

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