Supreme Novices' Hurdle betting
The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is a Grade 1 race over 2m and is the traditional curtain raiser at the Cheltenham Festival in March. The race begins to the famous “Cheltenham Roar” as the crowd send the runners on their way at the start of four days of top class National Hunt racing.
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle betting is now available all year round for the clash between the fastest novice hurdlers from Britain and Ireland. Notable winners of the Supreme include Golden Cygnet (1978), Browne’s Gazette (1984), Douvan (2015) and Altior (2016).
Supreme Novices' Hurdle betting tips
Experience is a key factor when assessing Supreme Novices’ Hurdle tips. Winners here usually had raced at least four times prior to the Cheltenham Festival. Most Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winners had won on their previous outing.
Many of them had also raced within the past 60 days and had two or more victories over 2m, including at least one in a graded race.
Irish-trained runners have a very good record in this race. Trainer Willie Mullins and jockey Ruby Walsh have featured strongly in Supreme Novices’ Hurdle bets in recent years. Walsh won on Noland (2006) and Al Ferof (2011), both trained by Paul Nicholls. Mullins won the race for first time in 1995 with Tourist Attraction.
Mullins did not win it again until 2007 with Ebaziyan, before he and Walsh teamed up successfully. They reeled off a hat-trick of victories with Champagne Fever (2013), Vautour (2014) and Douvan (2015), all heavily-backed Supreme Novices’ Hurdle betting tips. They also won with Klassical Dream in 2019, providing Mullins with a record sixth winner in the race.
An official rating of 142 or higher is usually required to win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
Supreme Novices' Hurdle betting trends
Horses aged five and six should be the focus of attention when calculating your Supreme Novices’ Hurdle bets. They have dominated the race over the years.
Hors La Loi III (1999) was a rare winner as a four-year-old. Like-A-Butterfly was eight years old when landing some big Supreme Novices’ Hurdle bets in 2002.
The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle betting market often features at least one heavily-backed horse, but the recent record of favourites is poor.
Many Supreme Hurdle winners have been in the first three in the betting and there have been comparatively few shock results. One notable exception was the enigmatic Labaik at 25/1 in 2017.
Destriero landed one of the biggest Supreme Novices’ Hurdles bets in history in 1991 for the Noel Furlong stable.
There was also plenty of money for 3/1 favourite Back In Front, who won for Edward O’Grady and Norman Williamson in 2003. The runner-up that day was Kicking King, the winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2005.
Supreme Novices' Hurdle ante-post betting pointers
Klassical Dream won the Grade 1 Chanelle Pharma Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown prior to winning here in 2019. That race also produced Like-A-Butterfly, Brave Inca, Champagne Fever and Vautour.
Summerville Boy beat Kalashnikov in the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown and then confirmed the form at Cheltenham in 2018. He was the first horse to win both races since Noland in 2006.
The next target for Supreme winners is often the Punchestown Champion Novice Hurdle. Vautour and Douvan were both successful in that race. Captain Cee Bee (2008) and Menorah (2010) were both defeated at Aintree next time.
The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle has been the launch pad for many stellar careers, both over hurdles and fences. Horses to win both this and the Champion Hurdle include Hors La Loi III (1999) and Brave Inca (2004).
In recent seasons, Vautour (2014), Douvan (2015) and Altior (2016) all went on to win top-level steeplechases. Altior’s second Queen Mother Champion Chase win in 2019 equalled the record of Big Buck’s of 18 consecutive victories.
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Supreme Novices' Hurdle history and memorable winners
The race was first run in 1946 when it was known as the Gloucestershire Hurdle and split into divisions. It became known as the Champion Novices’ Hurdle in 1974 and the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 1978, under the sponsorship of Waterford Crystal.
Famous winners include Flyingbolt (1964), L’Escargot (1968), Bula (1970) and Golden Cygnet (1978).
Flyingbolt went on to become a leading chaser, winning the Champion Chase and the Irish Grand National. He was rated second only to Arkle by Timeform.
L’Escargot won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1970 and 1971 and the Grand National in 1975. He famously beat Red Rum by 15 lengths, denying the Aintree legend a hat-trick. Red Rum eventually gained his record third victory in 1977 at the age of 12.
Bula won the Champion Hurdle in 1971 and 1972.
Golden Cygnet won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle by 15 lengths and was immediately made favourite for the 1979 Champion Hurdle. Tragically he suffered an injury that would eventually prove fatal when falling heavily in the Scottish Champion Hurdle.
Other notable winners include Browne’s Gazette (1984), Hors La Loi III (1999) and Brave Inca (2004).
Browne’s Gazette started odds-on favourite for the Champion Hurdle in 1985 but whipped round at the start and lost all chance. Hors La Loi III won the Champion Hurdle in 2002 for James Fanshawe and Dean Gallagher.
Brave Inca won the Supreme in 2004 and went on to win the Champion Hurdle (2006) and Irish Champion Hurdle (2006 and 2009). Even those achievements were eclipsed by Altior who won a vintage renewal in 2016. He beat Min, with stable companion Buveur D’Air back in third place.
Trainer Nicky Henderson raced Buveur D’Air over fences but later reverted to the lower obstacles to win the Champion Hurdle in 2017 and 2018. Altior went on to become the highest-rated steeplechaser in training.
Supreme Novices' Hurdle betting 2021
Envoi Allen and Blue Sari dominate the early Supreme Novices’ Hurdle betting after fighting out the finish of the Champion Bumper in 2019. Both horses were well supported and it was the year-older Envoi Allen who pulled out a bit extra to win by three-quarters of a length.
Blue Sari’s connections cannot be too disappointed with his effort and both should make exciting novice hurdlers in 2020.
Envoi Allen is owned by the Cheveley Park Stud, who also have Malone Road to look forward to. He was ante-post favourite in the Cheltenham betting for the Bumper, but was forced to miss the race through injury. Gordon Elliott trains the Kalanisi gelding who won impressively at Punchestown in November 2018.
Harry Fry side-stepped Cheltenham with his wide-margin Exeter winner Get In The Queue. The son of Mount Nelson ran at Newbury in March, providing Noel Fehily with a fitting send-off on his last ride before retirement.
Nicky Henderson also has a promising hurdler in the making with Shishkin. He won a couple of point-to-point races before making his debut under National Hunt rules at Kempton Park. He won easily under Nico de Boinville despite taking a keen hold in the early stages.
Thyme Hill and Abacadabras, third and fourth in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at Cheltenham, are others prominent in the early Supreme Novices’ Hurdle odds.
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