Red Rum Handicap Chase

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The Red Rum Handicap Chase is a Grade 3 race over two miles on the Mildmay course at the Aintree Grand National meeting in April.

The Red Rum Handicap Chase takes place on the 11th of April 2024 at 4:40pm.

Named in honour of the legendary three-time Grand National winner, it is always a very competitive event with wide-open betting.

Notable past winners include Little Bay (1982, 1984), Kathies Lad (1985, 1986), Katabatic (1992) and Editeur Du Gite (2021).

Find out more about the Red Rum Handicap Chase:

Red Rum Handicap Chase

Race Overview

Horses five years old or older may compete in the Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase known as the Red Rum Handicap Chase in Great Britain.

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

It is a handicap race that is slated to happen in the first week of April every year.

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Red Rum Handicap Chase Previous Winners

Check out the previous winners for this race:

YearWinnerAgeJockeyTrainer
2013Oiseau de Nuit11Brendan PowellColin Tizzard
2014Parsnip Pete8Paddy BrennanTom George
2015Surf And Turf9Brian HughesKevin Frost
2016Katachenko7Wayne HutchinsonDonald McCain
2017Double W’s7Brian HughesMalcolm Jefferson
2018Bentelimar9Jonathan BurkeCharlie Longsdon
2019Moon Over Germany8Rachael BlackmoreHenry de Bromhead
no race 2020 [a]
2021Editeur Du Gite7Joshua MooreGary Moore
2022The Last Day10Adam WedgeEvan Williams
2023Dancing On My Own9Rachael BlackmoreHenry De Bromhead

Red Rum Handicap Chase 2023 Result

Check out the latest result from this race:

Famous Red Rum Handicap Chase Winners

The race was originally run as a limited handicap and tended to attract a higher class of horse than it does today.

Popular early winners include Drumgora (1980) and Artifice (1983), the latter winning at the age of twelve.

Little Bay, trained by Gordon Richards, became the first dual winner of the race in 1982 and 1984. He was soon followed into the history books by the Alan Jarvis-trained Kathies Lad who won it in 1985 and 1986. 1992 winner Katabatic had won the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham the previous season. He equalled the weight-carrying record by defying 12 stone for Andrew Turnell and Simon McNeill.

The race, formerly the Aintree Chase, adopted the name of Red Rum in 1997 and became a standard handicap in 2001.

Editeur Du Gite (2021) carried only 10st 9lbs when winning here for Gary and Joshua Moore.

He has subsequently gone on to enjoy Grade 1 success in the Clarence House Chase, normally staged at Ascot but re-scheduled at Cheltenham in 2023.

Key Red Rum Handicap Chase Trials

There are no obvious trials for the Red Rum Handicap Chase, although horses often come here after running at the Cheltenham Festival.

Only one of the last eleven winners had been successful last time out.

All six winners who ran again in the same season were beaten next time, none of them managing better than fourth place.

Since this race became a standard handicap it has been a minefield for punters. Edgardo Sol (2012) is the only successful favourite in the last eleven renewals, winning at 9-2 for Paul Nicholls and Ruby Walsh.

Moon Over Germany (2019) is the only other winner during that time to feature in the first three in the betting.

The longest-priced winner in recent times was Surf And Turf (33-1) in 2015. Oiseau De Nuit (2013) won at 20-1 and Parsnip Pete (2014) was a 16-1 winner. Nine of the eleven winners carried between 10st 5lbs and 11st 1lb.

Red Rum Handicap Chase – Top Trainers and Jockeys

No Trainer or Jockey has been able to dominate this competitive event with a wide spread of successful connections.

Paul Webber won it three times between 1999 and 2004 but no trainer has won it more than once since.

It is a similar story for the jockeys with Tony McCoy (2003, 2005) the most recent rider to win it twice.

Betting on the Red Rum Handicap Chase

The Red Rum Handicap Chase is one of the most open betting races of the Aintree Festival.

A fast pace is guaranteed so the emphasis is on jumping in a race which has favoured the lightweights in recent seasons.

Red Rum Handicap Chase Facts

  • The Red Rum Handicap Chase is a National Hunt Steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older.
  • The race is run over a distance of about 3 miles at Aintree Racecourse, and it takes place annually during the Grand National meeting in early April.

Summary of the Red Rum Handicap Chase

Thank you for reading our Red Rum Handicap Chase guide.

We have looked ar at previous winners, current, odds, stats, tips and more, so whether you are placing a bet or simply watching the race you have all the information that you need.

Here are all the related articles to the Aintree Festival 2024.

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