One of the longest races at the Cheltenham Festival, the Kim Muir Handicap Chase can often produce some top notch staying handicappers that go on to challenge for Grand National glory later in their careers. We take a look at the trends for the 3m 2f contest which takes place on Thursday 14th March in 2024..
Age
Despite being a race open to horses aged five years and older, the Kim Muir has been dominated by horses with notable experience and in the last 20 years there have been no winners aged five or six. While youth has struggled to figure there have been three veterans that have claimed glory and in 2015 David Pipe’s The Package rolled back the years by winning the race as a 12-year-old. The most popular age is seven years old which can often see improving staying handicap chasers line up and there have been seven winners of that age, while there’s five winners apiece for the eight and nine-year-old bracket.
Age Of Kim Muir Handicap Chase Winners In Last 20 Years
- 5 – 0 winners
- 6 – 0 winners
- 7 – 7 winners
- 8 – 5 winners
- 9 – 5 winners
- 10+ – 3 winners
Starting Price
A real competitive betting heat with a bumper field going to post, the starting prices of Kim Muir winners varies dramatically and there have only been four winning favourites in the last two decades. Denise Foster’s Mount Ida was the shortest priced winner when that classy mare came from the clouds to land the 2021 Kim Muir, while there have been three winners 40/1 or bigger in the betting. The last of those being the Venetia Williams-trained Chambard, who was a shock winner of the race in 2022. While there have been some shock winners it’s interesting to see that 16 of the last 20 winners have been priced 18/1 or lower, so it does often see a fancied runner land the prize.
Starting Price Of Kim Muir Handicap Chase Winners In Last 20 Years
- <5/1 – 3 winners
- 5/1 to 10/1 – 8 winners
- 11/1 to 18/1- 5 winners
- 20/1 to 33/1 – 1 winners
- 40/1+ – 3 winners
Weight Carried
Top notch fields assemble for the Kim Muir and there have been some notable weight carrying performances in the race and none more so than Ballabriggs in 2010, who carried a top weight of 11st 12lbs to victory before going on to claim Grand National glory a year later. The trends suggest it’s wise to stick with those towards the top of the handicap as nine of the last 20 winners have carried more than 11st 6lbs to victory, so it’s a race that can see the classy, proven performers come to the fore. There has only been one winner in the last 20 years that has carried between 10st and 10st 6lbs and that was Martin Pipe’s Maximise, who won the 2004 renewal.
Weight Carried By Kim Muir Handicap Chase Winners In Last 20 Years
- 10st to 10st 6lbs – 1 winner
- 10st 7lbs to 11st – 5 winners
- 11st 1lb to 11st 6lbs – 5 winners
- >11st 6lbs – 9 winners
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