The Classic Novices’ Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt race staged at Cheltenham on Festival Trials Day in January.
Run on the New Course over approximately two miles and four and a half furlongs, it gives developing novice hurdlers an important opportunity to race at Cheltenham before the Festival.
The race was first staged in 2005 and has produced several horses who subsequently became leading staying hurdlers and chasers.
Bobs Worth won the Classic Novices’ Hurdle before completing three consecutive Cheltenham Festival victories, culminating in the Gold Cup. Other notable winners include Wichita Lineman, At Fishers Cross, Yanworth, Santini, Gidleigh Park and Potters Charm.
The race remains an important test of stamina, jumping and a novice hurdler’s ability to handle Cheltenham.
Classic Novices’ Hurdle Race Overview
The Classic Novices’ Hurdle is a Grade 2 hurdle race for horses aged four and older.
It is run on Cheltenham’s New Course over two miles, four furlongs and 56 yards, generally described as approximately two miles and four and a half furlongs.
Ten hurdles are jumped.
| Race Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Race | Classic Novices’ Hurdle |
| Racecourse | Cheltenham |
| Course | New Course |
| Classification | Grade 2 |
| Discipline | National Hunt hurdle |
| Eligibility | Four-year-olds and older |
| Distance | 2m4f56yds, approximately 2m4½f |
| Hurdles | 10 |
| Time of year | January |
| Meeting | Festival Trials Day |
| First running | 2005 |
| 2026 winner | Kripticjim |
The race can carry a commercial title while remaining officially registered as the Classic Novices’ Hurdle.
That distinction is useful when looking through historical results because sponsor names can change while the registered race continues.
Classic Novices’ Hurdle 2027
The next Classic Novices’ Hurdle is scheduled to take place at Cheltenham on Saturday 30 January 2027 as part of Festival Trials Day.
Cheltenham’s early fixture information retains the Grade 2 Classic Novices’ Hurdle on the programme.
The racecourse has also made clear that its currently displayed race timings and detailed programme are based on the previous year’s card, with final 2027 information to follow.
For that reason, the exact 2027 race time and commercial race title should be checked closer to the meeting rather than treated as confirmed months in advance.
Festival Trials Day is the final Cheltenham meeting before the Cheltenham Festival and provides horses with an opportunity to gain experience of the course before returning in March.
Classic Novices’ Hurdle Course and Distance
The Classic Novices’ Hurdle is run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse.
The established distance is two miles, four furlongs and 56 yards.
Ten hurdles are jumped.
Cheltenham is a left-handed, undulating racecourse with an uphill finish.
The New Course places a significant emphasis on stamina, particularly when the ground is testing.
A novice can travel comfortably through much of the race and still struggle when the pressure increases towards the finish.
Jumping also matters.
Inexperienced hurdlers need to maintain their rhythm while negotiating a course that asks questions of balance and stamina.
The Classic therefore provides a useful test for horses being considered for longer-distance novice hurdles later in the season.
History of the Classic Novices’ Hurdle
The Classic Novices’ Hurdle was introduced in 2005.
Ambobo won the inaugural running for trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey Barry Geraghty.
The 2006 renewal was abandoned because of frost before Wichita Lineman won in 2007.
Despite its relatively short history compared with many established Cheltenham races, the Classic quickly developed an impressive roll of honour.
Its position in late January is significant.
Novice hurdlers have usually had enough time to gain experience during the first half of the National Hunt season, while the Cheltenham Festival remains sufficiently distant for trainers to use the race as a meaningful test.
That combination has helped the Classic produce horses capable of improving into high-class stayers.
Famous Classic Novices’ Hurdle Winners
Several Classic winners subsequently achieved considerably more than their Grade 2 victory.
Wichita Lineman
Wichita Lineman won the race in 2007 for Jonjo O’Neill and Tony McCoy.
He subsequently returned to Cheltenham and won the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival.
Wichita Lineman later produced one of the most memorable Cheltenham performances of Tony McCoy’s career when winning the William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase in 2009.
He looked beaten for much of the race before responding to a relentless McCoy ride to get up close to the finish.
Bobs Worth
Bobs Worth won the Classic Novices’ Hurdle in 2011 for Nicky Henderson and Barry Geraghty.
His subsequent Cheltenham record was exceptional.
He won the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the 2011 Festival before returning a year later to win the RSA Chase.
In 2013, Bobs Worth completed a sequence of three consecutive Festival victories by winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
His career makes him the outstanding winner in the history of the Classic Novices’ Hurdle.
At Fishers Cross
At Fishers Cross won in 2013 for Rebecca Curtis and Tony McCoy.
He subsequently won the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, reinforcing the Classic’s connection with staying novice hurdles.
His Festival victory also underlined an important characteristic of this race.
Despite being staged over an intermediate distance, the Classic can favour horses with enough stamina to develop into effective three-mile hurdlers.
Yanworth
Yanworth won the Classic in 2016 for Alan King and Barry Geraghty.
He subsequently finished second at the Cheltenham Festival before developing into one of Britain’s leading hurdlers.
His later victories included the Ascot Hurdle, Christmas Hurdle and Aintree Hurdle.
Yanworth demonstrated that a Classic winner does not need to develop into a staying chaser to establish itself at the highest level.
Santini
Santini won the 2018 Classic Novices’ Hurdle for Nicky Henderson.
He developed into a leading staying chaser and came particularly close to winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2020.
Santini finished second to Al Boum Photo after a sustained battle up the Cheltenham hill.
His career provides another example of the Classic producing horses whose long-term future ultimately lay over fences and longer distances.
Gidleigh Park
Gidleigh Park won the 2024 renewal for Harry Fry and Jonathan Burke.
His victory added another promising staying prospect to the race’s roll of honour.
Modern renewals remain useful because they provide much more relevant evidence about the current race than statistics built largely around the earliest editions.
Potters Charm
Potters Charm is the official winner of the 2025 Classic Novices’ Hurdle.
Sixmilebridge originally crossed the line first, with Potters Charm finishing second, but Sixmilebridge was subsequently disqualified.
That means historical tables should now record Potters Charm as the winner of the 2025 renewal rather than simply reproducing the original race-day result.
Kripticjim
Kripticjim won the 2026 Classic Novices’ Hurdle for Joe Tizzard and Brendan Powell.
Sent off at 14/1, he defeated Taurus Bay by a short head after a sustained battle through the closing stages.
The result demonstrated one of the risks of relying too heavily on historic favourite statistics in novice races.
Developing horses can improve quickly and established market expectations do not always capture that progression.
Recent Classic Novices’ Hurdle Winners
| Year | Winner | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Kripticjim | Joe Tizzard | Brendan Powell |
| 2025 | Potters Charm | Nigel Twiston-Davies | Sam Twiston-Davies |
| 2024 | Gidleigh Park | Harry Fry | Jonathan Burke |
| 2023 | Rock My Way | Syd Hosie | Tom Scudamore |
| 2022 | North Lodge | Alan King | Adrian Heskin |
| 2021 | No race | — | — |
| 2020 | Harry Senior | Colin Tizzard | Robbie Power |
| 2019 | Birchdale | Nicky Henderson | Barry Geraghty |
| 2018 | Santini | Nicky Henderson | Nico de Boinville |
| 2017 | Wholestone | Nigel Twiston-Davies | Daryl Jacob |
| 2016 | Yanworth | Alan King | Barry Geraghty |
| 2015 | Ordo Ab Chao | Alan King | Wayne Hutchinson |
| 2014 | Red Sherlock | David Pipe | Tom Scudamore |
| 2013 | At Fishers Cross | Rebecca Curtis | Tony McCoy |
The 2021 Festival Trials Day meeting was abandoned.
Potters Charm is listed as the official 2025 winner following the subsequent disqualification of Sixmilebridge.
What Does the Classic Novices’ Hurdle Tell Us About a Horse?
The Classic is useful because it asks developing hurdlers several questions at once.
A horse needs enough speed to remain competitive over an intermediate distance but enough stamina to finish strongly on Cheltenham’s New Course.
It must also jump efficiently while racing against stronger opposition than it may have encountered in ordinary novice company.
That combination can expose weaknesses that were not apparent in easier races.
Stamina
Stamina has historically been one of the most important characteristics.
Wichita Lineman, Bobs Worth and At Fishers Cross all progressed from the Classic to win staying novice hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival.
Santini later developed into a high-class staying chaser.
Those examples do not mean every Classic runner requires three-mile stamina.
They do show why a horse’s ability to finish strongly deserves close attention.
Jumping
Novice hurdlers are still developing their technique.
A horse can overcome minor mistakes against weaker opposition but find the same errors costly in Grade 2 company.
Assess whether the horse:
- Meets its hurdles accurately.
- Maintains momentum after landing.
- Jumps efficiently when under pressure.
- Loses ground by drifting at obstacles.
- Remains fluent when the pace increases.
Repeated small errors can be more informative than one obvious mistake.
Cheltenham Experience
Previous Cheltenham experience can help, but it should not be treated as a mechanical betting trend.
A horse that has already handled the track provides evidence that the gradients and configuration are unlikely to present an entirely new challenge.
The quality of that previous performance matters more than the simple fact that the horse has run there.
Ground
Festival Trials Day takes place in midwinter and conditions can be testing.
Soft ground increases the stamina requirement.
A horse that looks particularly impressive on a faster surface may not reproduce the same performance when asked to race through testing ground over two and a half miles.
Our horse racing going guide explains how different surfaces can influence performance.
Pace
A steadily run Classic can develop into a test of acceleration.
A strongly run renewal places greater emphasis on stamina and efficient jumping.
Understanding where the early pace is likely to come from can therefore change how the race should be analysed.
Our horse racing pace bias guide explains why the shape of a race can matter as much as the bare distance.
Classic Novices’ Hurdle and the Cheltenham Festival
The Classic is staged only weeks before the Cheltenham Festival, so the winner naturally attracts attention for March.
Historically, the race has had a particularly interesting relationship with the longer novice hurdle divisions.
Wichita Lineman, Bobs Worth and At Fishers Cross all progressed to Festival success over three miles.
Yanworth took a different route and finished second over an intermediate distance.
The lesson is that the Classic should be viewed as a source of evidence rather than a fixed Festival trial for one specific race.
Connections need to assess how the horse actually performed.
A runner that travels strongly but only just sees out the Classic distance may remain at an intermediate trip.
A horse that stays powerfully through the line can look increasingly suited to a longer Festival test.
The Albert Bartlett Connection
The historic link with the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle is particularly strong.
Wichita Lineman, Bobs Worth and At Fishers Cross all won the Classic before subsequently winning the three-mile Festival novice hurdle.
That is significant because the Classic itself is staged over considerably shorter.
Cheltenham’s New Course and uphill finish can still reveal whether a novice possesses the stamina needed for a longer test.
However, the historical record should not be turned into an automatic system.
The modern novice hurdle programme has changed, individual horses develop differently and connections have more than one Festival option.
Classic Novices’ Hurdle Trials
Older versions of this page attempted to identify fixed trials by counting the previous races used by a relatively small number of winners.
That approach becomes less useful as the programme changes.
A better method is to assess the standard of form a horse brings to Cheltenham.
Relevant evidence can come from:
- Graded novice hurdles.
- Strong ordinary novice hurdles.
- Previous Cheltenham races.
- Races around two and a half miles.
- High-quality form over shorter distances.
- Point-to-point and bumper form when the horse remains lightly raced.
The Formby Novices’ Hurdle can provide useful evidence about horses competing at a high level earlier in the winter, although its shorter distance presents a different test.
The Challow Novices’ Hurdle can also produce runners with relevant intermediate-distance Grade 1 form.
No single route should automatically outweigh the quality of the performance itself.
Classic Novices’ Hurdle Betting
Novice hurdles require a slightly different approach from established championship races.
The horses are still improving.
That means ratings and previous results can become outdated quickly.
A horse might improve substantially when:
- Stepping up in distance.
- Encountering softer ground.
- Gaining more jumping experience.
- Moving into a stronger race.
- Running at Cheltenham for the first time.
The market also tends to react strongly to impressive winning margins.
A horse winning an ordinary novice hurdle by 15 lengths can look visually outstanding without necessarily producing stronger form than a horse that won a much better race by two lengths.
Assess the opposition and circumstances before concentrating on the margin.
Should You Follow Classic Novices’ Hurdle Betting Trends?
Historical trends can provide context, but they should not drive the analysis.
Older versions of this page highlighted statistics such as six-year-old winners, favourite records, official ratings and previous Cheltenham victories.
Those figures inevitably change with every renewal.
More importantly, the sample remains relatively small because the race only began in 2005.
Statements such as “only two favourites have won the last eleven renewals” quickly become obsolete and can create a false impression of a permanent race characteristic.
The stronger approach is to examine:
- Current form.
- Quality of opposition.
- Jumping.
- Ground.
- Pace.
- Distance.
- Cheltenham suitability.
- Improvement.
- Market price.
Historic patterns can then provide secondary context.
Leading Classic Novices’ Hurdle Trainers
Nicky Henderson and Alan King have particularly strong records in the history of the race.
Henderson’s winners include Ambobo, Aigle d’Or, Bobs Worth, Santini and Birchdale.
Those victories include several horses who subsequently became major performers.
Alan King’s winners include Batonnier, Ordo Ab Chao, Yanworth and North Lodge.
Trainer records are useful because they can show which stables have historically targeted a particular race.
They should not override the evidence provided by the current runner.
Kripticjim’s victory for Joe Tizzard in 2026 is a useful reminder that the race is not confined to the historically dominant yards.
Leading Classic Novices’ Hurdle Jockeys
Barry Geraghty established an outstanding record in the race.
His victories included Ambobo, Bobs Worth, Yanworth and Birchdale.
Tony McCoy was also associated with important Classic winners, including Wichita Lineman and At Fishers Cross.
The jockey roll of honour reflects the quality of horses attracted to the race.
As with trainer statistics, historical jockey records provide context rather than a standalone betting strategy.
Why Festival Trials Day Matters
Festival Trials Day provides the final opportunity for horses to race at Cheltenham before the Festival.
That makes the meeting particularly valuable for connections of inexperienced horses.
A novice can gain experience of:
- Cheltenham’s undulations.
- The New Course.
- The uphill finish.
- Racing in a stronger field.
- Jumping under greater pressure.
A defeat is not necessarily a negative.
A novice that runs well despite making an inexperienced mistake can sometimes gain more useful Festival preparation than a horse winning an easier race elsewhere.
The way a horse performs can therefore matter as much as its finishing position.
How to Analyse the Classic Novices’ Hurdle
Start with the strength of each horse’s previous form.
Our guide to analysing a horse race explains the broader process.
For the Classic, concentrate particularly on five areas.
Class
Identify which horses have already faced strong novice opposition.
Do not assume an unbeaten runner has achieved more than a horse with a defeat in a much stronger race.
Distance
Look for evidence that the horse will stay approximately two and a half miles at Cheltenham.
Strong finishing efforts over shorter can be useful, as can previous form around the same trip.
Jumping
Review the horse’s previous hurdle races rather than relying solely on finishing positions.
Repeated jumping errors become increasingly difficult to overcome as the standard rises.
Conditions
Check the likely going against the horse’s previous performances.
Festival Trials Day can be demanding when conditions become soft.
Price
Finally, compare your assessment with the odds.
A horse can be the most likely winner without being an attractive bet if its price is too short relative to its chance.
Classic Novices’ Hurdle FAQs
When is the Classic Novices’ Hurdle?
The Classic Novices’ Hurdle is staged at Cheltenham during Festival Trials Day in January.
When is the 2027 Classic Novices’ Hurdle?
The 2027 race is scheduled for Saturday 30 January at Cheltenham. Final race times and commercial titles should be checked closer to the meeting.
Where is the Classic Novices’ Hurdle run?
The race is staged on Cheltenham’s New Course.
How far is the Classic Novices’ Hurdle?
The established distance is two miles, four furlongs and 56 yards, approximately two miles and four and a half furlongs.
How many hurdles are jumped?
The race features ten hurdles.
Is the Classic Novices’ Hurdle a Grade 2?
Yes. It is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race.
Which horses can run in the Classic Novices’ Hurdle?
The race is open to novice hurdlers aged four and older, subject to the conditions applying to the individual renewal.
When was the Classic Novices’ Hurdle first run?
The inaugural race was staged in 2005 and won by Ambobo.
Who won the Classic Novices’ Hurdle in 2026?
Kripticjim won the 2026 renewal for trainer Joe Tizzard and jockey Brendan Powell.
Who won the Classic Novices’ Hurdle in 2025?
Potters Charm is the official winner of the 2025 renewal following the subsequent disqualification of Sixmilebridge, who had originally crossed the line first.
Has a Classic Novices’ Hurdle winner won the Cheltenham Gold Cup?
Yes. Bobs Worth won the Classic in 2011 before winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2013.
Is the Classic Novices’ Hurdle a Cheltenham Festival trial?
Yes, although it should not be treated as a trial for one specific Festival race. Its intermediate distance can provide clues for horses heading towards different novice hurdle targets.
Which Classic Novices’ Hurdle winners subsequently won at the Cheltenham Festival?
Wichita Lineman, Bobs Worth and At Fishers Cross are among the winners who subsequently won novice hurdles at the Festival. Bobs Worth later also won the RSA Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Is previous Cheltenham form important?
Previous course experience can be useful, but it is not essential. The quality of a horse’s previous performances, jumping, stamina and suitability for the conditions are more important than simply having run at Cheltenham before.
Classic Novices’ Hurdle Summary
The Classic Novices’ Hurdle is an established Grade 2 race staged on Cheltenham’s New Course during Festival Trials Day.
Run over approximately two miles and four and a half furlongs with ten hurdles, it tests novice hurdlers shortly before the Cheltenham Festival.
Its roll of honour includes Wichita Lineman, Bobs Worth, At Fishers Cross, Yanworth and Santini, while more recent winners include Gidleigh Park, Potters Charm and Kripticjim.
The race has produced horses capable of succeeding over hurdles and fences at the highest level.
Its history also shows why rigid betting trends should be treated carefully. The most useful evidence comes from the current field: form quality, jumping, stamina, ground, pace, Cheltenham suitability and potential for further improvement.
The next Classic Novices’ Hurdle is scheduled for Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham on Saturday 30 January 2027.
