Ireland Claims Five Cheltenham Day Two Wins, Il Etait Temps Seals Champion Chase

Willie Mullins and Paul Townend turned Ladies Day at Cheltenham into an Irish procession, combining for multiple winners as Ireland's "Green Team" claimed five of the seven races on day two of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.

The centrepiece came at 4.00pm when Il Etait Temps blew the field away in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, routing odds-on stablemate Majborough in what ESPN described as "a massive win for Mullins and Townend." The victory was all the sweeter given that Il Etait Temps had arrived at Prestbury Park needing to put a fall in the Clarence House Chase behind him, and with Marine Nationale's absence having already reshaped the race's complexion. Ross Doyle, speaking before the race, had backed the horse's credentials unequivocally. "He's a different horse nowadays compared to other years he's gone to Cheltenham, he can switch off and go a good pace, so hopefully the race suits him," Doyle said. The win also edged Townend closer to Barry Geraghty's all-time Festival record of 43 winners.

Townend had already reached a personal milestone earlier in the afternoon. The Grade 1 Turners Novices' Hurdle at 1.20pm produced the first winner of the day when King Rasko Grey, trained by Mullins and sent off at 8-1, gave Townend his 40th Festival winner. Mullins made it two from two an hour later in the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase, where the 11-1 shot Kitzbuhel, ridden by H. Cobden, led from the start to beat Final Demand and Salver. The heavily backed 9-4 favourite Romeo Coolio could finish no better than out of the frame, with Oscars Brother fourth at 18-1 in a field of 14.

Jingko Blue, sent off favourite in a field of 24 for the BetMGM Cup Handicap Hurdle at 2.40pm, pulled away to claim the competitive handicap. Then came the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase, where trainer Gavin Cromwell's Final Orders defied expectations by making all the running, with the anticipated winner Stumptown failing to deliver.

The day's most dramatic finish arrived in the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual, where 66-1 outsider Martator beat reigning champion Jazzy Matty by a nose on the line. The Champion Bumper at 5.20pm brought the curtain down, with Irish champion flat jockey Colin Keane riding The Mourne Rambler to victory for trainer Noel Meade in the Festival's only flat race.

Doyle had spoken of Il Etait Temps with quiet confidence before the Champion Chase. "He's a lovely horse and looks like a very nice chaser long-term when you look at him. It's great to be going to Cheltenham with a live chance hopefully and there's a chance his form could get a very nice boost in the Grade Ones early next week," he said. That boost arrived emphatically. With the Green Team holding a commanding lead in the Prestbury Cup standings after two days, attention turns to whether Mullins and Ireland can extend their dominance through the remaining two days of the Festival.