Peterborough Chase

The Peterborough Chase is a Grade 2 race over two and a half miles at Huntingdon in December.

The Peterborough Chase takes place on Sunday 10th December 2023.

It was run as a handicap chase over three miles from 1969 to 1977.

Since becoming a conditions race it has been won by numerous top-class chasers including Wayward Lad (1981, 1983), One Man (1997), Best Mate (2002) and four-time winner Edredon Bleu (1998-2001).

Find out more about the Peterborough Chase:

Race Overview – The Peterborough Chase

Horses must be four years old or older to compete in the Grade 2 Peterborough Chase.

There are sixteen fences to jump during the race, which is run at Huntingdon over a distance of approximately 2 miles and 4 furlongs (2 miles, 3 furlongs, and 189 yards, or 3,995 metres).

Currently, early December is the race’s scheduled date.

Peterborough Chase Previous Result

Check out the latest result from this race:

Famous Peterborough Chase Winners

Wayward Lad won this race twice for Michael Dickinson and Robert Earnshaw in 1981 and 1983. He was long odds-on favourite to defeat just three rivals on both occasions. He never won the Cheltenham Gold Cup where the famous hill found him out but he was a different prospect at Kempton Park. He won the King George VI Chase in 1982, 1983 and 1985.

1997 winner One Man had a similar profile, winning the King George in 1995 and 1996. Like Wayward Lad, he struggled in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but gained a well-earned Cheltenham Festival victory in 1998. The popular grey was dropped back to two miles for the Queen Mother Champion Chase by Trainer Gordon Richards and recorded an emotional victory.

Other notable winners during the 1980’s and 1990’s include Very Promising (1987), Pegwell Bay (1990), Sabin Du Loir (1991), Remittance Man (1992) and Martha’s Son (1994). Remittance Man and Martha’s Son won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1992 and 1997 respectively.

Edredon Bleu made this race his own between 1998 and 2001. He raced in the same colours as stable companion and three time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate.

Edredon Bleu’s other career victories included the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2000 and the King George VI Chase in 2003.

Best Mate won this race in 2002 on route to his second Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was also a King George winner in 2002 and won the 2003 Ericsson Chase (now known as the Savills Chase). His three successive Gold Cup victories matched the achievement of the legendary Arkle.

More recent winners of the Peterborough Chase include Monet’s Garden (2008), Riverside Theatre (2013) and Al Ferof (2015).

Monet’s Garden won the Ascot Chase twice and the Old Roan Chase at Aintree on three occasions. The latter has carried his name since 2011.

Key Peterborough Chase Trials

Three of the last twelve Peterborough Chase winners ran in the 1965 Chase at Ascot on their previous start. Nicky Henderson’s Top Notch won both races in 2017.

Four of the twelve winners ran in the King George VI Chase next time but all were beaten.

Recent results at the Cheltenham Festival have also been disappointing in recent seasons.

Seven of the last twelve winners ran in the Ryanair Chase in March but not one of them managed to finish in the frame.

Peterborough Chase Betting Trends

There have been five winning favourites in the past twelve seasons. Only two of the twelve winners were outside the first three in the betting. Wishful Thinking returned at 13-2 in 2014 and First Flow won at odds of 12-1 in 2021.

During the same period, horses have won at all ages from six to eleven.

Wishful Thinking won as an eleven-year-old while Al Ferof was successful as a ten-year-old in 2015.

One consistent factor with the Peterborough Chase is small fields. There have only been ten or more runners on two occasions since it became a conditions race.

The official rating of the winner has usually been between 159 and 167.

The higher rating was recorded by both Riverside Theatre (2013) and Wishful Thinking (2014).

Class is a key factor in this race with all but one of the last twelve winners having previously won at least once at Grade 1 or Grade 2 level.

Peterborough Chase – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Two Trainers share the honours at the top of the all-time winner’s list for this event. Nicky Henderson and Henrietta Knight have both won it eight times. Henderson’s winners; Remittance Man (1992), Travado (1993, 1995), Riverside Theatre (2013), Josses Hill (2016), Top Notch (2017, 2019), Mister Fisher (2020).

Knight trained Edredon Bleu to win here for four successive seasons from 1998 to 2001. Her other successes came with Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate (2002), Impek (2005) and Racing Demon (2006, 2007).

Jim Culloty and Richard Dunwoody share the riding honours on four victories apiece. Culloty rode Edredon Bleu to his first three victories and also partnered Best Mate. Dunwoody won on Very Promising (1987), Remittance Man (1992), Travado (1995) and One Man (1997).

Summary of the Peterborough Chase

Thank you for checking out our Peterborough Chase guide.

Often a small field but high-class race, The Peterborough Chase is one of the top jumps races on the season.

We have looked at betting, previous winners, stats and more so you have all  you need to know when betting on or just watching the race.

You can check out the Huntingdon horse racing tips page for our tips on this race or take a look at more horse racing in December.

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