Taking place on day three of the Cheltenham Festival, the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle is a place where emerging National Hunt starlets can fight it out for glory and we take a look at the recent trends for the event, which is run on Thursday 14th March in 2024. Having only been introduced to the festival schedule in 2016, the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle lacks notable history, but there are still some notable trends to be aware of.
Age
Open to horses aged four years or older, the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle is unsurprisingly targeted by trainers with their young up-and-coming mares and it’s an ideal opportunity for those performers to get some notable success on their CV, as they can avoid taking on the boys in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle or Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle. In the eight runnings of the race, the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle has been won by four five-year-olds and four six-year-olds, so make sure when looking for the winner you focus your attentions on that age.
Age Of Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Winners Since 2016
- 5 – 4 winners
- 6 – 4 winners
- 7 – 0 winners
Starting Price
It’s a real mixed bag when looking at the starting prices of the winners of the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, as while there have been two odds-on favourites land the prize in the shape of Limini (2016) and Laurina (2018) there have also been some notable shocks in the event. The Willie Mullins-trained Eglantine Du Seuil was a shock 50/1 winner of the 2019 race, while in 2023 Jamie Snowden’s You Wear It Well was a surprise 16/1 victor. The aforementioned Mullins trained the first five winners of this event and he often has a strong team lining up and they can often been the market leader, but it’s certainly a race that can throw up the odd shock.
Starting Price Of Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Winners Since 2016
- 1/2 to Evens – 2 winners
- 11/10 to 5/1 – 3 winners
- 11/2 to 10/1- 1 winner
- 11/1 to 18/1 – 1 winner
- 20/1+ – 1 winner
Rating
With them only being novice hurdlers, the mares that win the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival are far from being at their best, so the winners have generally held a relatively low rating when landing the prize. The highest-rated horse to win the race was Let’s Dance in 2016 who was rated 147 when storming to victory, while both Love Envoi (2022) and You Wear It Well (2023) were both rated a meagre 135. So, when trying to assess the official rating of the winner it’s hard to gauge what is needed to land this prize, as some runners may have spent little time on the track and not shown their best, but you feel like a mare has to be rated 135 or higher to stand a chance.
Official Rating Of Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Winners Since 2016
- 130-135 – 2 winners
- 136-140 – 1 winner
- 141-145 – 3 winners
- 145+ – 1 winner
*Eglantine Du Seuil (2019) had no Official Rating when winning
Looking For More Racing Info? Check Out Our Racecards & Top Tips Sections
Make sure you’re following us on all our social media platforms to keep up to date with all the latest horse racing news and the best tips.