Greatwood Hurdle

The Greatwood Hurdle is the first big two-mile handicap hurdle of the National Hunt season.

The race was first run in 1987 when it was won by subsequent Champion Hurdle winner Celtic Shot.

Rooster Booster (2002) also won both races while other notable winners include Detroit City (2006), Sizing Europe (2007) and Khyber Kim (2009).

Find out more about The Greatwood Hurdle:

Race Overview – The Greatwood Hurdle

Horses four years old and older may enter the Greatwood Hurdle, a Grade 3 National Hunt hurdle race. There are eight hurdles to clear throughout the race, which is held on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of around 2 miles and a half (2 miles and 87 yards, or 3,298 metres).

It is a handicap race that is slated to happen in November each year.

Check out the previous winners for this race:

Famous Greatwood Hurdle Winners

Celtic Shot helped to establish this race by winning the inaugural running in 1987 for Fred Winter and Peter Scudamore. He won the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in 1988. 2002 winner Rooster Booster defied 11st 12lbs and also went on to win the Champion for Philip Hobbs and Richard Johnson.

Triumph Hurdle winner Detroit City won for the same combination under an identical weight in 2006. The versatile performer also won the Cesarewitch Handicap on the flat at Newmarket. The following year the race was won by Sizing Europe, trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Timmy Murphy. He won the Irish Champion Hurdle in 2008 and went on to a glorious career over fences, highlighted by his Queen Mother Champion Chase win in 2011.

Khyber Kim was another high-class winner in 2009 for Nigel Twiston-Davies. He won the International Hurdle on his next start before finishing second to Binocular in the Champion Hurdle.

Compensation came with a 5 lengths victory in the Grade 1 Aintree Hurdle.

Key Greatwood Hurdle Trials

There are no outstanding trials for this race but it always attracts a high-quality field.

Around half of recent winners were having their first outing of the season and had already won at Cheltenham in the past.

Six of the last twelve winners ran in the Betfair Exchange Trophy at Ascot next time out but all were beaten.

Three ran in the International Hurdle with Menorah (2010) and Old Guard (2015) winning both races.

Greatwood Hurdle Betting Trends

The Greatwood Hurdle has proved to be a minefield for punters with no winning favourite since Detroit City in 2006.

Long-priced winners include Nietzche (2018) at 20-1 and Harambe (2019) at 16-1. Brampour (2011), Dell ‘Arca (2013) and Old Guard (2015) all started at 12-1.

Horses aged four to six years have the best record in this race. I Like To Move It (2022) was the second horse to defy 12 stone following Leotard in 1993.

Others to defy big weights include Rooster Booster (2002), Detroit City (2006) and Menorah (2010) who all carried 11st 12lbs to victory.

Official ratings of the winners over the past twelve seasons vary between 128 (The Shunter 2020) and 151 (Menorah 2010).

Greatwood Hurdle – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Martin Pipe and Philip Hobbs share the honours as leading trainer in the Greatwood Hurdle with four apiece.

Paul Nicholls has won it three times while Alan King, Dan Skelton and Nigel Twiston-Davies have all won it twice.

Jamie Osborne, Richard Johnson and Tony McCoy all won this race three times.

Harry Skelton is the only jockey to win this race twice in the past twelve seasons.

Greatwood Hurdle Facts

• The Greatwood Hurdle is a National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older.
• It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse over a distance of 3 miles and 110 yards (4,907 metres), and during its running there are twelve hurdles to be jumped.
• The event is currently sponsored by JLT Group.
• The race was first run in 1960, and it was won by the five-year-old gelding, Mandarin.
• The Greatwood Hurdle is currently the only Grade 3 National Hunt hurdle race in the United Kingdom which is open to four-year-old horses.
• The race was promoted to Grade 3 status in 2006.

Summary of the Greatwood Hurdle

Thank you for reading our Greatwood Hurdle guide.

We have looked at facts and figures of previous winners, as well as a look at this year’s race. It is one of the most competitive and high-class races of the hurdling season.

Take a look at our Cheltenham tips guide if you enjoy watching horse races at Cheltenham.

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