Horses five years old or older may compete in the Hampton Novices’ Chase, a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain.

The Hampton Novices’ Chase is a Grade 2 race for five-year-olds and upwards over three miles at Warwick in January.

The race is regarded as a trial for the Brown Advisory Novices Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

Notable past winners include Halcon Genelardais (2006), Rocky Creek (2013), Black Hercules (2016) and OK Corral (2019).

Find out more about the Hampton Novices’ Chase:

Hampton Novices’ Chase

Race Overview – Hampton Novices’ Chase

18 fences must be cleared during the course of the Hampton Novices’ Chase, which is conducted at Warwick over a distance of 3 miles (4828 metres).

Hampton Novices’ Chase Previous Result

Check out the latest result from this race:

Famous Hampton Novices’ Chase Winners

The Hampton Novices’ Chase was first run in 2004 with victory going to Alan King’s D’Argent. He won this race by 26 lengths but proved extremely unpredictable during his career. He won a Listed chase at Cheltenham in 2005, finished second in the 2007 Midlands National and won the Warwick Classic Chase in 2008.

King won it again in 2006 with Halcon Genelardais. He won a Grade 2 at Wetherby next time and the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow the following season. He returned to the Welsh track a year later and was beaten a head by Miko De Beauchene when trying to concede 21lbs. The chestnut also finished second in the 2008 Scottish Grand National behind shock 66-1 winner Irish De Balme.

Paul Nicholls has won this race a record four times, notably with Rocky Creek in 2013. He won the Reynoldstown Chase at Ascot next time and finished fifth in the 2014 Grand National. His biggest win was in the 2015 BetBright Chase at Kempton Park.

Willie Mullins won here with Black Hercules in 2016, beating Definitly Red by two and three-quarter lengths in a top class renewal. He later won the Grade 1 JLT Novices’ Chase (also known as the Turners), defeating Bristol De Mai by three lengths. Nicky Henderson’s OK Corral was another high class winner in 2019. He had finished runner-up in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle in 2018 and won the Skybet Chase at Doncaster in 2020.

Key Hampton Novices’ Chase Trials

There are no specific trial races for the Hampton Novices’ Chase but 10 of the last 12 winners had been successful on their previous start. Only one of them had previous experience at Warwick and four had won a Grade 1-3 race. The Reynoldstown Chase at Ascot was the next target for three of those winners, Rocky Creek winning both races in 2013. Only two winners ran in the Brown Advisory at Cheltenham and neither was placed. Four ran in the National Hunt Chase while Black Hercules won the Turners after falling at Navan.

Three favourites have won this race in the last twelve renewals; Black Hercules (2016), Next Destination (2021) and Threeunderthrufive (2022). All bar one of those winners featured in the first three in the betting. The exception was 9-2 chance Frascati Park (2012) who was trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies. Seven-year-olds have the best recent record in this race, winning nine of the last eleven.

Hampton Novices’ Chase – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Paul Nicholls is the leading Trainer in the history of the race with four winners; Gungadu (2007), Rocky Creek (2013), Next Destination (2021) and Threeunderthrufive (2022). Alan King has three victories courtesy of D’Argent (2004), Halcon Genelardais (2006) and Sego Success (2015). Robert Thornton and Daryl Jacob currently share the top riding honours with two winners apiece.

Facts about the Hampton Novices’ Chase

  • The Hampton Novices’ Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older.
  • The race is run on the Warwick Racecourse over a distance of 3 miles, and during its running there are eighteen fences to be jumped.
  • The average age of a winner is 7 years old
  • The most successful trainer in the history of the Hampton Novices’ Chase is Paul Nicholls, with 5 wins

Summary of the Hampton Novices’ Chase

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