Dinoblue Claims Back-to-Back Mares' Chase Titles at Cheltenham Festival

Dinoblue had unfinished business at Cheltenham after finishing runner-up to Limerick Lace in 2024, and the nine-year-old has since made the Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase her personal property. On March 13, the Willie Mullins-trained mare backed up her 2025 victory with an authoritative Grade 2 repeat, beating Only By Night by a length and three-quarters as the 11-8 favourite to complete back-to-back titles.

Sir AP McCoy, racing manager for owner JP McManus, had flagged Dinoblue as "the best bet of the week from the owner's powerful squad" before a hoofbeat was struck. The race played out exactly as advertised. Dinoblue settled into a prominent position early, with Telepathique setting the tempo until making a costly error at the fourth-last. That mistake handed Dinoblue the lead and, despite sustained pressure from market rival Panic Attack turning for home, she never wavered. Mark Walsh had her through her gears at precisely the right moment, and she sealed the win with what her jockey described as a particularly impressive leap at the last.

"That was probably a career-best performance," Walsh said afterward. "She never missed a beat and she jumped brilliantly."

Only By Night, ridden by Keith O'Donoghue, kept finding at 11-1 but could not close the gap, finishing a length and three-quarters adrift in second.

The victory extended a pattern that has become almost a structural feature of the Cheltenham programme. Irish-trained horses have now won all six runnings of the Mares' Chase, with Mullins responsible for four of those six winners. This one was his seventh winner of the meeting, a total that underlines the scale of Irish dominance at the Festival. Gaelic Warrior added an eighth for the visiting contingent when landing the Gold Cup an hour and 20 minutes later.

For Dinoblue specifically, the trajectory is striking: runner-up in 2024, winner in 2025, winner again in 2026. Three consecutive Cheltenham Festivals, three podium finishes, two of them at the top. The Racing Post has already noted she could be back for a hat-trick attempt in 2027, which, given what she has shown over the past two years, would make her the most formidable mares' chaser in training heading into next season.