Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices’ Hurdle

The Anniversary 4-y-o Novices Hurdle is a Grade 1 race over an extended two miles at the Aintree Grand National Festival in April.

The Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices’ Hurdle takes place on the 11th of April 2024.

It is traditionally the target of the Triumph Hurdle winner but only Pentland Hills (2019) has managed to win both races in the past ten renewals.

Other notable winners include subsequent Champion Hurdle winners Hors La Loi III (1999), Katchit (2007) and Binocular (2008).

Find out more about the Anniversary Novices Hurdle:

Race Overview

Horses under four years old can compete in the Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race, the Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices’ Hurdle.

There are nine hurdles to clear throughout the race, which is raced at Aintree over a distance of around 2 miles and 1 furlong (2 miles and 209 yards, or 3,410 metres).

The novice hurdlers’ event is planned to take place each year in the first week of April during the Grand National meeting.

Many Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices’ Hurdle horses will race in more races throughout the years. Stay updated on the horses and place ante-post bets if you want to wager on them.

If you are looking for more racing tips for events taking place at Aintree then check out our Aintree Racecourse betting tips page.

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Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices’ Hurdle Previous Winners

Check out the previous winners for this race:

Anniversary 4-y-o Novices Hurdle 2023 Result

Famous Anniversary 4-y-o Novices Hurdle Winners

The race was formerly known as the Lancashire Hurdle and was not promoted to Grade 1 level until 2005.

As the featured juvenile event of the Aintree Festival, it has always attracted horses which ran in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Early winners included the top-class Pollardstown (1979) and Broadsword (1981). Both went on to finish runner-up in a Champion Hurdle.

Pollardstown, a tough dual-purpose performer, finished second to Sea Pigeon in 1981. Broadsword had finished runner-up in the Triumph Hurdle in 1981 and would fill the same spot in the 1982 Champion Hurdle, beaten by 40-1 outsider For Auction.

Hors La Loi III won the 1999 Champion Hurdle, trained by James Fanshawe and ridden by Dean Gallagher. He had previously been trained by Martin Pipe and in 2000 he chased home Aidan O’Brien’s three-time winner Istabraq at Cheltenham.

2007 winner Katchit won the 2008 Champion Hurdle, the most recent horse to progress from winning the Triumph to win the Champion. 2008 winner Binocular won the 2010 Champion Hurdle for Nicky Henderson and Tony McCoy.

More recent winners include Zarkandar (2011) and Apple’s Jade (2016).

Key Anniversary 4-y-o Novices Hurdle Trials

The Triumph Hurdle has produced seven of the last eleven winners of the Anniversary. Zarkandar (2011), Defi Du Seuil (2017) and Pentland Hills (2019) won both races while three other horses were placed in the Triumph.

Two of the last eleven winners ran in the Champion 4-y-o Hurdle at Punchestown next time, Apple’s Jade winning both races in 2016.

Anniversary 4-y-o Novices Hurdle Betting Trends

Only two of the last nine favourites have won the Anniversary; Defi Du Seuil (2017) returned at 4-11 and Monmiral (2021) at 10-11.

The Aintree course is much flatter than Cheltenham and the Triumph Hurdle form can often be reversed.

Five of the last nine winners were in the first three in the betting but there have been some surprise results. L’Unique returned at 10-1 in 2013, All Yours was a 16-1 chance in 2015 and Knight Salute (2022) returned at 14-1.

Anniversary 4-y-o Novices Hurdle – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Alan King and Paul Nicholls have each trained the winner of this race on four occasions.

King struck with Katchit (2007), Walkon (2009), Grumeti (2012) and L’Unique (2013). Nicholls was successful with Le Duc (2003), Zarkandar (2011), All Yours (2015) and Monmiral (2021).

Tony McCoy and Robert Thornton currently share the leading rider honours with three victories apiece.

Betting on the Anniversary 4-y-o Novices Hurdle

The Anniversary 4-y-o Hurdle invariably sees the Triumph Hurdle form put to the test.

Horses that have disappointed at Cheltenham often perform much better at Liverpool so it is far from a certainty that the Triumph form will be upheld.

Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices’ Hurdle Facts

• The race is open to four-year-old horses only.
• It is run over a distance of 2 miles and 1 furlong.
• There are nine hurdles to be jumped during the race.
• The race is run on the New Course at Aintree Racecourse.
• The race was first run in 1976.
• The race was won by Cooch Behar in 1976.

Summary of the Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices’ Hurdle

Thank you for reading this Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices’ Hurdle guide.

We have looked at betting, tips, stats and more, so you have all the information you need whether placing a bet or simply enjoying the race.

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