Wednesday 3 January 2018

Cheltenham Festival - Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase


This race enjoys the privilege of a slot on the biggest day of the Cheltenham Festival despite being just a Grade III competition. It brings together racehorses of five years and more to fight for a £100,000 purse over two miles and half a furlong (3319 meters).

There are 14 fences to be cleared along this path in the Johnny Henderson, which closes the events and doubles up as the oldest race in the festival. It has been happening since 1834. Severalvariations have occurred over time but the basic structure of competition has remained the same.

Slightly older horses- eight to ten years specifically- are always the best bets to win this race. They have won over 60% of the race events held in the 21st century. Inexperienced five-year-olds are the worst bets, failing to take top honours sine as far back as 1946. British horses also tend to perform better than Irish ones (nine wins in the last 15).

Eight year old Don’t Touch It is the favourite to win the 2018 race, with similar 10-1 odds as 2017 winner Rock the World.

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