Maghull Novices’ Chase

The Maghull Novices Chase is a Grade 1 race for five-year-olds and upwards over two miles.

The Maghull Novices’ Chase takes place on the 13th of April 2024.

It takes place at the Aintree Grand National meeting in April. It is often the target for horses which ran in the Arkle Challenge Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival.

Notable past winners include Night Nurse (1979), Pearlyman (1986), Flagship Uberalles (1999) and Sprinter Sacre (2012).

Find out more about the Maghull Novices Chase:

Race Overview – The Maghull Novices Chase

Horses five years old or older may compete in the Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase known as the Maghull Novices’ Chase. 

There are twelve fences to jump during the race, which is raced at Aintree over a distance of roughly 2 miles (1 mile 7 furlong and 176 yards, or 3,178 metres).

Each year, it is planned to have the novice chaser race during the Grand National meeting in early April.

Check out our full guide to Aintree Festival Day 3 Tips.

Many Maghull Novices’ Chase 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.

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Maghull Novices’ Chase Previous Winners

Check out the previous winners for this race:

Maghull Novices’ Chase Previous Result

Check out the latest result from this race:

Famous Maghull Novices Chase Winners

The Maghull Novices Chase was first run in 1954 and is named after a town north of Aintree. It was promoted to Grade 1 level in 1995 and is the obvious target for winners of the Arkle Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival.

1979 winner Night Nurse had won the Champion Hurdle in 1976 and 1977 and went on to make his mark over fences. He finished runner-up to stable companion Little Owl in the 1981 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Pearlyman won in 1986, following up his win in the Grand Annual Chase at Cheltenham. He went on to establish himself as the leading two-mile chaser in Great Britain and Ireland, winning the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1987 and 1988. Flagship Uberalles (1999) won the Arkle on his previous start, won the Tingle Creek three times and the Champion Chase in 2002.

More recent winners of note include Nicky Henderson’s trio; Finian’s Rainbow (2011), Sprinter Sacre (2012) and Shishkin (2021). Willie Mullins won it for the first time with Douvan in 2016 and again in 2022 with Gentleman De Mee.

Key Maghull Novices Chase Trials

Five of the last eleven Maghull winners ran in the Arkle at Cheltenham last time out.

Three of the five had won and one had been placed.

Four Maghull winners went on to run in the Ryanair Novice Chase at Punchestown but only one of them was successful.

Maghull Novices Chase Betting Trends

There have been four winning favourites in the past eleven renewals of the Maghull Novices Chase; Finian’s Rainbow (2011), Sprinter Sacre (2012), Douvan (2016) and Shishkin (2021). All four started odds-on favourite, three of them starting at prohibitive odds of 2-13 or even shorter.

Shock results are extremely rare. Only Special Tiara (28-1 in 2013) was not in the first three in the betting during that period.

An official rating of 150 or higher is usually required to win this race.

The highest-rated winners in recent times were Sprinter Sacre (2012) and Shishkin (2021) on 169.

Maghull Novices Chase – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Paul Nicholls is the leading trainer in the history of the Maghull with seven winners; Flagship Uberalles (1999), Armaturk (2002), Le Roi Miguel (2003), Twist Magic (2007), Tataniano (2010), San Benedito (2017) and Diego Du Charmil (2018).

Nicky Henderson and Henry De Bromhead both have three winners, all achieved within the past eleven renewals.

The leading rider is Ruby Walsh who won it three times, all trained by Nicholls.

Betting on the Maghull Novices Chase

The Maghull Novices Chase can sometimes be something of a victory parade for the Arkle winner. There have been no more than 7 runners in this race in recent times and the form usually stands up well from Cheltenham.

Summary of the Maghull Novices’ Chase

Thank you for reading our Maghull Novices’ Chase guide.

A top class novice event it has thrown up many stars of the future. We have looked at stats, winners, tips, odds, betting and more, so that you can enjoy the race.

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