Bristol Novices’ Hurdle
The Bristol Novices’ Hurdle is a Grade 2 race over three miles at Cheltenham in December.
It has been sponsored by Albert Bartlett since 2007 and is a recognised trial for the Grade 1 Novices’ Hurdle they sponsor at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Notable past winners include Remittance Man (1989), Bindaree (1999), Iris’s Gift (2002), Comply Or Die (2003) and Coneygree (2012).
Find out more about the Bristol Novices Hurdle:
Contents
- 1 Race Overview – The Bristol Novices Hurdle
- 2 Bristol Novices’ Hurdle 2023 Odds
- 3 Bristol Novices’ Hurdle 2023 Tips
- 4 Bristol Novices’ Hurdle Previous Winners
- 5 Famous Bristol Novices’ Hurdle Winners
- 6 Key Bristol Novices’ Hurdle Trials
- 7 Bristol Novices’ Hurdle Betting Trends
- 8 Bristol Novice Hurdle – Top Trainers and Jockeys
- 9 Betting on the Bristol Novices’ Hurdle
- 10 Popular Questions
- 11 Summary of the Bristol Novices Hurdle
- 12 Related December Articles
- 13 Resources
Race Overview – The Bristol Novices Hurdle
Horses four years old and older may compete in the Bristol Novices’ Hurdle, a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race.
There are twelve hurdles to clear throughout the race, which is run over a distance of around 3 miles (2 miles 7 furlongs and 213 yards, or 4,822 metres), on the New Course at Cheltenham. The novice hurdlers’ race takes place in December each year.
Bristol Novices’ Hurdle 2023 Odds
The Bristol Novices’ Hurdle odds are listed below:
These odds have not yet been released.
Bristol Novices’ Hurdle 2023 Tips
The Bristol Novices’ Hurdle tips are below:
- 2 points to win for TBC at odds of TBC
- 1 point each way for TBC at odds of TBC
Many Bristol 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.
Bristol Novices’ Hurdle Previous Winners
Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer |
---|---|---|---|---|
1988 | Hawthorn Hill Lad | 4 | Mark Pitman | Jenny Pitman |
1989 | Remittance Man | 5 | Richard Dunwoody | Nicky Henderson |
1990 | Bignor Hill | 5 | Carl Llewellyn | Josh Gifford |
1991 | no race 1991–92 | |||
1993 | Book of Music | 5 | Declan Murphy | Josh Gifford |
1994 | Billygoat Gruff | 5 | Warren Marston | David Nicholson |
1996 | Tarrs Bridge | 5 | Jamie Magee | Charlie Mann |
1997 | Lord Jim | 5 | Mick Fitzgerald | Jim Old |
1998 | Bosuns Mate | 5 | Carl Llewellyn | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
1999 | Bindaree | 5 | Carl Llewellyn | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
2000 | Garruth | 6 | Tony Dobbin | Tim Easterby |
2001 | Ballycassidy [a] | 6 | Robert Thornton | Alan King |
2002 | Iris's Gift | 5 | Tony McCoy | Jonjo O'Neill |
2003 | Comply or Die | 4 | Tony McCoy | Martin Pipe |
2004 | Brewster | 7 | David Dennis | Ian Williams |
2005 | Black Jack Ketchum | 6 | Tony McCoy | Jonjo O'Neill |
2006 | Flight Leader | 6 | Joe Tizzard | Colin Tizzard |
2007 | Nenuphar Collonges | 6 | Robert Thornton | Alan King |
2008 | no race 2008 [b] | |||
2009 | Tell Massini | 5 | Paddy Brennan | Tom George |
2010 | Mossley | 4 | Barry Geraghty | Nicky Henderson |
2011 | Deireadh Re | 5 | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls |
2012 | Coneygree | 5 | Mattie Batchelor | Mark Bradstock |
2013 | Kings Palace | 5 | Tom Scudamore | David Pipe |
2014 | Blaklion | 5 | Ryan Hatch | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
2015 | Unowhatimeanharry | 7 | Noel Fehily | Harry Fry |
2016 | Wholestone | 5 | Daryl Jacob | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
2017 | Kilbricken Storm | 6 | Harry Cobden | Colin Tizzard |
2018 | Rockpoint | 5 | Tom Scudamore | Colin Tizzard |
2019 | Redford Road | 5 | Jamie Bargary | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
2020 | Make Good | 5 | Richard Johnson | John McConnell |
2021 | Blazing Khal | 5 | Donal McInerney | Charles Byrnes |
2022 | no race 2022 [c] |
Famous Bristol Novices’ Hurdle Winners
Nicky Henderson’s Remittance Man (1989) went on to win the Arkle Challenge Trophy in 1991 and the Queen Mother Champion Chase the following season. Remittance Man was also famous for his stable companion, Nobby the sheep. The sheep helped to settle the otherwise nervous racehorse and the two animals became inseparable.
The Bristol Novices Hurdle has produced two subsequent Grand National winners in Bindaree (1999) and Comply Or Die (2003). They won the 2003 and 2008 Grand Nationals for Nigel Twiston-Davies and David Pipe respectively. 2002 winner Iris’s Gift won the Stayers’ Hurdle at the 2004 Cheltenham Festival and won the Liverpool Hurdle in the same season.
2012 winner Coneygree famously went on to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup as a novice chaser in 2015. He was the first novice to win the race since Captain Christy in 1974.
Other notable Bristol Hurdle winners include Blaklion (2014) and Unowhatimeanharry (2015).
Key Bristol Novices’ Hurdle Trials
The key trial for the Bristol Novices’ Hurdle is the Hyde Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham. Four of the last twelve winners ran in that race, two of them had won the Hyde and two were placed.
Five of the twelve were previous course winners.
Wholestone (2016) returned to Cheltenham to win the Classic Novices’ Hurdle next time out.
Other popular choices are the Challow Novices Hurdle at Newbury and the Leamington Novices Hurdle at Warwick.
Eight of the last eleven winners ran in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival meeting. Unowhatimeanharry (2015-16) and Kilbricken Storm (2017-18) won both races.
Bristol Novices’ Hurdle Betting Trends
Favourites have a good record in this race with five outright market leaders and two joint-favourites winning in the past twelve years. Mossley (2010) and Deireadh Re (2011) both started joint-favourite.
The shortest-priced winner during this period was Kings Palace (2013) at 10-11 for David Pipe and Tom Scudamore.
Only two of the twelve winners did not feature in the first three in the betting. Redford Road (2019) won at 14-1 and Make Good (2020) won at 12-1.
Five-year-olds have the best recent record with nine winners in twelve seasons.
The oldest winner during that time was seven-year-old Unowhatimeanharry in 2015.
Bristol Novice Hurdle – Top Trainers and Jockeys
The leading Trainer in the history of the Bristol Novices’ Hurdle is Nigel Twiston-Davies with five winners; Bosuns Mate (1998), Bindaree (1999), Blaklion (2014), Wholestone (2016) and Redford Road (2019).
Colin Tizzard has trained the winner on three occasions; Flight Leader (2006), Kilbricken Storm (2017) and Rockpoint (2018).
Two jockeys have ridden the winner of the Bristol Novices’ Hurdle three times. Carl Llewellyn won it on Bignor Hill (1990), Bosuns Mate (1998) and Bindaree (1999).
Tony McCoy won it three times within four years aboard Iris’s Gift (2002), Comply Or Die (2003) and Black Jack Ketchum (2005).
Betting on the Bristol Novices’ Hurdle
The Bristol Novices’ Hurdle usually has an impact on the ante-post Cheltenham betting for the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.
Popular Questions
What are important facts about Bristol Novices' Hurdle?
Here are some important facts about Bristol Novices’ Hurdle:
- The Bristol Novices’ Hurdle is run at Cheltenham Racecourse, Great Britain
- The Bristol Novices’ Hurdle is for horses aged 4 and over
- The Bristol Novices’ Hurdle is a National Hunt Hurdle race in Great Britain
- The Bristol Novices’ Hurdle distance is around 3 miles
Summary of the Bristol Novices Hurdle
Thank you for reading our Bristol Novices’ Hurdle guide.
A high-class novice hurdle it has gone on to produce two Grand National winners and a Gold Cup winner.
In our guide, we have looked at history, betting, odds, tips and more, so you can make an informed decision when either placing a bet or just watching the race.
- Becher Chase
- Betfair Exchange Trophy Handicap Hurdle
- Bristol Novices' Hurdle
- Challow Novices' Hurdle
- Christmas Hurdle
- Coral Gold Cup
- December Gold Cup
- December Novices' Chase
- Fighting Fifth Hurdle
- Finale Juvenile Hurdle
- Henry VIII Novices' Chase
- Horse Racing In December
- International Hurdle
- Kauto Star Novices' Chase
- Kennel Gate Novices' Hurdle
- King George VI Chase
- Long Distance Hurdle
- Long Walk Hurdle
- Many Clouds Chase
- Noel Novices' Chase
- Peterborough Chase
- Quebec Stakes
- Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase
- Summit Juvenile Hurdle
- Tingle Creek Chase
- Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase
- Welsh Grand National
- Wild Flower Stakes
- Winter Novices' Hurdle