Summit Juvenile Hurdle

The Summit Juvenile Hurdle is a two-mile race for three-year-olds at Doncaster in December.

The Summit Juvenile Hurdle takes place on 14th of December 2024.

It is one of the earliest trials for the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Oh So Risky (1990) and Peace And Co (2014) won both races while other notable winners include Anzum (1994) and Hors La Loi III (1998).

Find out more about the Summit Juvenile Hurdle:

Race Overview – The Summit Juvenile Hurdle

Three-year-old horses can compete in the Grade 2 Summit Juvenile Hurdle.

There are eight hurdles to clear during the race, which is held at Doncaster over a distance of around 2 miles and a half (2 miles and 128 yards, or 3,336 metres). The novice hurdlers’ race is scheduled to take place in December each year.

Famous Summit Juvenile Hurdle Winners

1990 winner Oh So Risky was a very popular hurdler, trained by David Elsworth. After a scintillating 12 lengths win in the Triumph Hurdle he was campaigned for the Champion Hurdle in future seasons. He finished second to Royal Gait in 1992, beaten just half a length, and was also runner-up to Flakey Dove in 1994. He showed his versatility by winning a Group 3 race on the flat and the Hurst Park Novices Chase at Ascot.

1994 winner Anzum won his first six races over hurdles before finishing third in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham. His biggest career win came in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham in 1999 when scoring at odds of 40-1. He stayed on strongly to beat the strongly-fancied Le Coudray and Lady Rebecca.

The Champion Hurdle eluded Oh So Risky but not so 1998 winner Hors La Loi III. He was transferred to Martin Pipe’s stable to win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 1999 and then back to Francois Doumen, finishing second to Istabraq in the 2000 Champion Hurdle. He returned to the Festival in 2002 to win the race when in the care of James Fanshawe.

Key Summit Juvenile Hurdle Trials

The best trial for this event in recent years has been the Prestbury Juvenile Hurdle at Cheltenham. Two winners of that race have successfully followed up here in the past five seasons; Quel Destin (2018) and Knight Salute (2021).

The next target for winners of this race is often the Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow, won by both We Have A Dream (2017) and Quel Destin (2018).

Peace And Co (2014) won the Finesse Juvenile Hurdle at Cheltenham and became the second Summit Juvenile Hurdle winner to win the Triumph Hurdle.

Summit Juvenile Hurdle Betting Trends

All bar one of the last eleven winners of this race have featured in the first three in the betting. This includes five winning favourites including the odds-on Cliffs Of Dover (2016), Quel Destin (2018) and Monmiral (2020).

The only surprise winner during that period was 16-1 chance Royal Bonsai (2011), trained by John Quinn and ridden by Dougie Costello.

Summit Juvenile Hurdle – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Three trainers share the honours in the history of this race with three winners apiece; Reg Akehurst, Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls. The latter won it for the first time with Cliffs Of Dover (2016) and has since struck again with Quel Destin (2018) and Monmiral (2020).

No jockey has managed to dominate this event and three riders currently have two winners each; Thierry Doumen, Dougie Costello and Daryl Jacob. Jacob’s winners were Peace And Co (2014) and We Have A Dream (2017).

Summary of the Summit Juvenile Hurdle

Thank you for reading our Summit Juvenile Hurdle guide.

We have looked at history, betting, tips and more on this intriguing juvenile hurdle.

You can find more December horse races by checking out our guide.

If you enjoy attending Doncaster Racecourse, then check out our Doncaster tips page.

Related December Articles