Henry De Bromhead’s Air Of Entitlement settled it at Cheltenham. In the final race of the 2026 meeting, the horse’s win nudged Ireland past Great Britain, 15-13, and delivered the prestbury cup by the slimmest margin possible. That single result closed a week measured race by race, with one tally deciding which nation’s trainers sent more winners back to the barns.
Air Of Entitlement and Henry De Bromhead decide Ireland v Britain in 2026
The last contest of the meeting carried the whole number. Ireland stood at 14, Great Britain at 13. Had the British side taken that finale, the competition would have finished level. Air Of Entitlement’s victory made sure it did not, pinning the final count at 15-13 and keeping the trophy in Irish hands.
Margins can be merciless. Just a year earlier, the gap looked very different. In 2025, Ireland won 20-8 and swept the final day 8-0, a run that also featured a Gold Cup victory. By contrast, 2026 came down to one trainer, one horse, and one race at Cheltenham.
Prestbury Cup rules at Cheltenham: 28 races, 15 to win
Named after the Gloucestershire village of Prestbury, the prestbury cup is a simple count. Across the Cheltenham Festival’s 28 races each year, the side with 15 winners secures the prize. It is not about owners or jockeys alone; it is framed as a tally of winners trained in Great Britain versus those trained in the Republic of Ireland.
The contest began in 2014. Britain owned the early chapters, lifting the trophy in each edition from 2014 through 2018. In 2019, the ledger read 14-14. No tie-breakers. No add-ons. The number stood as it fell.
Willie Mullins and seven straight Irish wins since 2019 draw
Since that 2019 stalemate, Irish wins have stacked up for seven straight years. The run owes much to Willie Mullins, a 12-time leading trainer at the Cheltenham Festival whose record has tilted the argument. The most lopsided year came in 2021, when Ireland won 23-5. In 2025, the margin was 20-8, capped by that 8-0 clean sweep on the final day.
The sequence lays out the shape of the rivalry: 2020 ended 17-10 to Ireland; 2021 finished 23-5; 2022 was 18-10; 2023 mirrored that at 18-10; 2024 saw Ireland win 18-9 from a reduced 27-race slate; 2025 widened to 20-8; and 2026 tightened again at 15-13.
The roots run deeper than a single week in March. A remembered call from 1964 still captures the feeling that frames this fixture: “Mill House for England, Arkle for Ireland. ” The numbers change. The contest remains.
Back at the line where it was decided, Air Of Entitlement turned an even fight into Ireland’s 15th winner, and with it, the 2026 prestbury cup. That closing moment handed De Bromhead’s team the final word of this year’s meeting and left the rivalry reset for the next edition, when Cheltenham returns to the Cotswolds in 2027.
