Warfield Mares’ Hurdle

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Mark Dooley

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Fillies and mares must be four years old or older to compete in Grade 2 Warfield Mares’ Hurdle.

The Warfield Mares’ Hurdle takes place on the 20th January 2024.

The Warfield Mares Hurdle is a Grade 2 race for fillies and mares aged four years and upwards.

It takes place at Ascot in January over three miles and is a significant trial for the Mares Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Notable past winners include Vroum Vroum Mag (2016), La Bague Au Roi (2018), Magic of Light (2019, 2020) and Roksana (2021).

The January horse race was first to run was in 2008.

Find out more about the Warfield Mares’ Hurdle:

Warfield Mares’ Hurdle

Race Overview – Warfield Mares’ Hurdle

There are eleven hurdles to clear during the race, which is held at Ascot over a distance of around 2 miles 7 and a half furlongs (2 miles 7 furlongs and 118 yards, or 4,735 metres).

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Facts about the Warfield Mares’ Hurdle

  • The Warfield Mares’ Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in the United Kingdom for mares aged four years or older.
  • It is run on the New Course at Ascot over a distance of about 2 miles and 7 and a half furlongs, and during its running there are 11 hurdles to be jumped.
  • The race is scheduled to take place each year in January.
  • The event was first run in 2008, and it was given Grade 2 status from its second running.
  • The race was originally known as the Ascot Mares’ Hurdle, and it was run over a distance of about 2 miles and 3 furlongs.
  • It was promoted to Grade 2 status and renamed the Warfield Mares’ Hurdle in 2009.

Famous Warfield Mares Hurdle Winners

The Warfield Mares Hurdle was first run in 2008 with victory going to Labelthou, trained by Emma Lavelle and ridden by Timmy Murphy. 2016 winner Vroum Vroum Mag justified her odds of 4-6 favourite when scoring for Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh. She returned the same odds when landing the Grade 1 Mares Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival next time. The mare lost out to Apple’s Jade at Cheltenham in 2017 and was retired with 14 wins from her 21 races under rules.

La Bague Au Roi (2018) was a stable star for Trainer Warren Greatrex. She won two Grade 1 races over fences; the Kauto Star Novices Chase at Kempton (2018) and the Flogas Novice Chase at Leopardstown (2019). Magic of Light became the first dual winner of the race in 2019-2020 for Jessica Harrington.

She will always be remembered for her fantastic effort in the 2019 Aintree Grand National when second to Tiger Roll at odds of 66-1. Unfortunately she unseated her rider at the fourth fence in 2020 and was retired to the paddocks. Tragically she died while giving birth to a filly foal by Crystal Ocean. 2021 winner Roksana had won the Mares Hurdle in 2019, finished fourth in 2020 and third in 2021.

Key Warfield Mares Hurdle Trials

Five of the last nine winners of this race had been successful on their most recent outing. Only one was a previous course winner and they came from a wide range of races. Future targets are more clear-cut with seven of the last nine winners running in the Mares Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. Only Vroum Vroum Mag (2016) won both races with three others managing a place.

There have been six winning favourites in the last seven renewals; Bitofapuzzle (2015), Vroum Vroum Mag (2016), La Bague Au Roi (2018), Magic Of Light (2019), Roksana (2021) and Molly Ollys Wishes (2022). The only winner that did not start favourite during that time was Magic Of Light who returned at 5-2 when claiming her second success in 2020.

Warfield Mares Hurdle – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Three trainers have won this race twice; Harry Fry, Jessica Harrington and Dan Skelton. The last two named account for the last four winners between them. Magic Of Light struck twice for Harrington before Skelton won it with Roksana and Molly Ollys Wishes. Noel Fehily leads the jockey stats with three winners; Highland Retreat (2014), Bitofapuzzle (2015) and La Bague Au Roi (2018).

Betting on the Warfield Mares Hurdle

The Warfield Mares Hurdle has been a great race for favourites in recent years with almost total domination. Trainers Jessica Harrington and Dan Skelton clearly have this race on the agenda for their Cheltenham hopefuls and the form can be followed with confidence.

Summary of the Warfield Mares’ Hurdle

Thank you for reading our Warfield Mares’ Hurdle guide.

We hope you found all the information you needed for this race.

There are more races in January that you might enjoy, so make sure you check them out.

Check out our Ascot tips page if you enjoy watching races at Ascot Racecourse.

Here are all of January’s horse racing-related posts:

Mark Dooley avatar
Mark Dooley
As the Co-Founder of British Racecourses, I love the chance to share my enjoyment of racing with others. As a family, we have always loved the racing and went to Haydock races as kids, as often as we could. We are now lucky enough to own some fantastic racehorses who we will follow around the tracks and we have had some great wins. As part of British Racecourses, I enjoy visiting and reviewing the racecourses that we visit, all of which I think have something to offer and are brilliant in their own ways.