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Gemma Collins banks mega win at Cheltenham Festival before offer to 'buy track'

Former The Only Way Is Essex star and TV personality Gemma Collins won big on a shock-filled day at Cheltenham Festival, before she went on to reveal what she has planned for her winnings

[Gemma Collins won 5,000 on the 9/1 winner Meetmebythesea at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.]

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Gemma Collins won 5,000 on the 9/1 winner Meetmebythesea at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.(Image: ITV/X)

Gemma Collins has joked she will buy Cheltenham Racecourse after her 5,000 win on day three of the Festival. The Only Way is Essex star won big on St Patrick's Thursday in Gloucestershire after putting 500 on a single.

Meetmebythesea was the winner at 9/1 in the second race of the afternoon for Ben Jones, beating Gold Dancer and Regent's Stroll for the 64,300 prize money over two miles and four furlongs. Collins couldn't contain her excitement speaking to ITV Racing after her four-figure win.

The 45-year-old was in attendance to present the winner of the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle, which was won by 33/1 shot Home By The Lee. After backing her racing hunch and securing the lucrative win, she admitted her confidence grows with each year that she attends Cheltenham.

She said: "It has just ignited a fire in me. Every year I come [to Cheltenham Festival] I get more confident with the bets. This is why I'd urge anyone to come! Because last year I didn't win...

"This year, I've won 5000! I just put 500 straight down to win on Meetmebythesea!

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"I just had a hunch, everyone was saying no don't do it, but my intuition's telling me different 'this horse is going to win!'.

"Next thing you know. 5000!"

She even added: "I am going to buy the track!"

The 9/1 winner wasn't the only shock of the afternoon on day three as Jonbon finished second once again losing out to the Henry de Bromhead-trained Heart Wood.

The runaway favourite Fact To File was a non-runner less than an hour before the race was set to run. Trainer Willie Mullins felt compelled to pull his horse out of the Ryanair Chase Grade One race.

He said speaking to Racing TV: "We walked the track - JP [McManus] walked the track and I happened to walk it coming across the track from exercising horses and looking at Bambino Fever - and I thought wow, this ground will be too good for her.

"And sure enough, in the first race she wasn't able to act on it.

[Gemma Collins was one of the big winners at the Cheltenham Festival on day three. ]

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Gemma Collins was one of the big winners at the Cheltenham Festival on day three. (Image: PA)

"Talking to JP, these horses are too difficult to acquire and get as youll see at the sales after racing and when you have them, you mind them.

"We waited and waited all day for the rain that was half-promised, it hasn't come so we made the decision not to run.

"These horses are too hard to find, too hard to get. In jump racing we want to have soft in the description of the ground. Good ground we think is not good enough for the type of individual we are buying and trying to race and have the top horses at the best festival.

"If the ground is going to be like this then we are not going to bring them.

"We were promised watering and I am not sure the watering we were promised was done, so I'm a little bit annoyed at that. I know the weather forecast hasn't been kind but very few people complain about too much rain and a bit of watering, but this isn't good for the type of horse we are bringing over here.

"I know it suits some horses but for the majority of the good, big, National Hunt horses, we would like it a little softer anyway."

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