Cheltenham Festival - County Handicap Hurdle

This weighted race is run on the closing day of the festival, when five years and older horses line up to compete over within a distance of two miles and one furlong on the New Course.

It is ranked grade three by the National Hunt and has eight hurdles along the path to the lion’s share of a £90,000 purse.

How the race has remained a grade 3 event is interesting given its popularity among viewers and the tight qualifications required for horses coming into it. Big names like Trespasser have featured in
the County Handicap. It is also so tough that no horse has won it twice since 1946.

Ruby Walsh holds a record jockey record of four wins, while Willie Mullins and Paul Nicholls hold a trainer record of a similar number of victories. Max Dynamite ranks ahead of Arctic Fire who won
last year’s event as 2018’s favourite. Both horses are trained by Mullins.

 

Cheltenham Festival - Champion Bumper

The Champion Bumper is considered one of the most prestigious National Hunt races because of the level of interest in people and the kind of participation showcased by jockeys and their horses. It takes place on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival and happens at the Old Course. Established
in the Year 1992, this event allows entry for horses of ages 4 to 6. For this specific race, horses will run over 2 miles and 0.5 furlong.

In 2017, this race was won by Fayonagh, with Jamie Codd at the reins. The horse is trained by one Gordon Elliot. In the same fete, Debuchet came in second.

When it comes to smashing records, some jockeys and trainers have fared far better than others. For example, Ruby Walsh has beaten other jockeys to the punch three different times while riding three different horses. Willie Mullins has come out top as a trainer a whopping 8 times.

Cheltenham Festival - Mildmay of Flete Challenge Cup

 

This is a unique race in that it is one of the lower grade races that are slotted close to the climax event of the Cheltenham Festival. Horses of a minimum five years of age line up at the New Course of the Cheltenham venue and gallop over a two miles and four furlongs distance, clearing 17 fences in the process.


This race owes the origin of its name to the well-known steeplechaser Mild of Flete who died a year before its introduction in 1951.

Despite the long existence, only two horses have been able to win this race twice- Tsarevich in 85, 86 and Elfast in 1992 and 1994. Fred winter is the top jockey with three wins, while a four win joint trainer record is held by Bobby Renton, Nicky Henderson and Martin Pipe.

A £100,000 purse makes this one of the best paying handicap races at the festival. This makes it attract decent horses, but none of them have proved to be dominant beyond the Grade 3 category.

Cheltenham Festival - Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle

This hurdle race is one of the youngest races run on the closing day of the Cheltenham Festival. Horses aged four years and above compete over two miles four-and-a-half furlongs in a bid to take home £31,000 of the £60,000 purse price.

Weight handicaps are used to balance competition, while conditional jockeys are a strict requirement in the riders’ qualifications. Conditional jockeys must be less than 26 years old, be apprentices in national Hunt competitions and must not have won more than 75 races ran under competition rules.

The 2018 event will be the 10th edition of this competition. Willie Mullins has won three Martin Pipe races as trainer, while all horses and jockeys that have participated never won more than once. Paul Nicholls could equal Mullins’ record with a win in the 2018 event.

Champagne classic has a chance of setting a two win record this year, but is currently ranked behind Flawless Escape as favourite.

Cheltenham Festival - RSA Chase

The RSA Chase takes centre stage in the early moments of the second day of the annual Cheltenham Festival. It is a grade one race that brings together horses of age five years and above to compete for a purse of around £150,000 by clearing a distance of three miles and 110 yards (4929 m). The long path is riddled by 19 fences that must be jumped, making it a pretty stamina-demanding exercise.

This race was introduced in 1946. 11-year-old Birthlaw took first finish in that inaugural race and still remains the oldest horse to finish in that position ahead of the 2018 edition.

Horses that take place in this are often likely to go on to the more challenging Gold Cup. Most remarkable is Lord Windermere who took first honours here in 2013 and went on to claim the Gold Cup on the New Course a year later.

Leading Jockey Ruby Walsh is still looking to join the record ranks in this one. He has just one win here. Willie Mullins won for the fourth time in 2015 to equal the 4-win trainer record set by Fulke Walwyn in 1957. Mullins has a variety of horses to pick from as he seeks to set a new record at the 2018 event.