Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Cheltenham Festival)

Explore the history of this gruelling 3-mile hurdle race. Discover past champions, winning trends, and key statistics. Uncover insights into successful trainers and jockeys who have dominated this stamina-testing contest for novice hurdlers.
Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Cheltenham Festival)
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Content Editor

Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.

2026 Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Preview

Known as the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle this race was introduced to the festival in 2005 as there wasn't a novice option beyond the two miles five furlongs of the Baring Bingham Novices Hurdle run on the second day of the festival.

Introduced at Grade 2 status but when current sponsor Albert Bartlett took over it became a Grade 1, giving those with stamina in abundance a chance at the highest level.

Run over three miles on the new course at Cheltenham racecourse with twelve hurdles being jumped, the race has produced some high-class winners like Bobs Worth, Unowhatimeanharry and Penhill all of whom have gone on to future Grade 1 wins/places at the festival and also the future Gold Cup winner Minella Indo.

Uncover Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle winning strategies through our deep dive into past race patterns and trainer performance, and supercharge your bets with these top free bets for Cheltenham.

Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Information:

To see which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are tipping throughout the card that includes this race, head over to the Cheltenham tips on the day of the race, do they agree with the runners on the trend shortlist or are they predicting other runners? We cover every race at the Cheltenham Festival and below you can find links to all of the races for each of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.

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How competitive is the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2017 when the race had an over-round of 116%. The race in 2023 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 130%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle, the over-round has been 124%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £124 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2026 Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Trends, see which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal, we also have a section that looks at the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:

  1. Black Jack Ketchum (5:38.30) in 2006
  2. Bobs Worth (5:42.20) in 2011
  3. Wichita Lineman (5:43.60) in 2007

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 7 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of +2.71. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.

The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2013 renewal when At Fishers Cross from Rebecca Curtis under the guidance of A P McCoy, won in a time of 6:40.10, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Black Jack Ketchum, trained by Jonjo O'Neill and ridden by A P McCoy set the quickest time of 5:38.30 in the 2006 renewal.

What the expert says...
The last two winners, Jasmin De Vaux (2025) and Stellar Story (2024) both came here after running 4th in the Golden Cygnet Novice Hurdle, a race that has now produced five winners since 2009 including three of the last five.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Past Winners

Here are the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorseInfo
2025
5:57.13
Jasmin De Vaux (FR)
6yo 11-7 6/1
Paul Townend
W P Mullins (IRE)
2024
6:24.40
Stellar Story (IRE)
7yo 11-7 33/1
Sam Ewing
Gordon Elliott (IRE)
2023
5:59.49
Stay Away Fay (IRE)
6yo 11-7 18/1
Harry Cobden
Paul Nicholls (GB)
2022
5:53.58
The Nice Guy (IRE)
7yo 11-8 18/1
Sean O'Keeffe
W P Mullins (IRE)
2021
6:01.65
Vanillier (FR)
6yo 11-5 14/1
Mark Walsh
Gavin Cromwell (IRE)
2020
5:57.96
Monkfish (IRE)
6yo 11-5 5/1
Paul Townend
W P Mullins (IRE)
2019
5:57.42
Minella Indo (IRE)
6yo 11-5 50/1
Rachael Blackmore
Henry De Bromhead (IRE)
2018
6:13.60
Kilbricken Storm (IRE)
7yo 11-5 33/1
Harry Cobden
Colin Tizzard (GB)
2017
5:49.90
Penhill (GB)
6yo 11-5 16/1
Paul Townend
W P Mullins (IRE)
2016
5:48.10
Unowhatimeanharry (GB)
8yo 11-5 11/1
Noel Fehily
Harry Fry (GB)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle have been based:

  • IRE: 11 winners with an additional 22 placings from 143 runners
  • GB: 9 winners with an additional 18 placings from 214 runners
  • FR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners

Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is W P Mullins who has won the race four times with those four winners coming from Penhill (2017), Monkfish (2020), The Nice Guy (2022) and Jasmin De Vaux (2025). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle is Jonjo O'Neill (2 wins). There is one trainer who has not had the best of times in the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle, Nigel Twiston-Davies has sent a total of 13 runners to the race without recording any wins.

Here are some of the top Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
W P Mullins58-4-11-9.00-24.95
Jonjo O'Neill3-2-2+1.38+0.19
Nicky Henderson18-1-4-15.12-14.56
Gordon Elliott17-1-5+17.00+5.80
Paul Nicholls14-1-4+5.00-2.50
Rebecca Curtis11-1-1-8.62-9.17
Noel Meade10-1-2+24.00+8.00
Alan King10-1-2+0.00-4.00
Henry De Bromhead9-1-3+42.00+18.80
C Byrnes5-1-3+4.00+1.00

Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Paul Townend who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Penhill (2017), Monkfish (2020) and Jasmin De Vaux (2025). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle is Harry Cobden (2 wins).

Here are some of the top Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
Paul Townend14-3-4+16.00+4.60
Harry Cobden6-2-2+47.00+21.50
Rachael Blackmore7-1-1+44.00+19.00
Mark Walsh5-1-1+10.00+3.00
Sean O'Keeffe4-1-2+15.00+6.50
Sam Ewing2-1-2+32.00+19.30
Danny Mullins8-0-2-8.00-6.20
Sam Twiston-Davies7-0-1-7.00-6.05
Nico de Boinville6-0-1-6.00-5.50
Jack Kennedy5-0-1-5.00-4.50

Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +115.38 is when runners had a furthest trip run of 3m.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran in a Class 4 last time out, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-57.

The course which has produced the most winners of the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle is Leopardstown, there has been a total number of 5 winners of this race who ran at Leopardstown last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 4 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out.

The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 349 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 10 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle:

  • Oscar (3 Wins)
  • Kings Theatre (2 Wins)
  • Martaline (2 Wins)
  • Shantou (2 Wins)

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle despite multiple attempts:

  • Flemensfirth (0 Wins from 12 runners)
  • Westerner (0 Wins from 9 runners)
  • Kayf Tara (0 Wins from 8 runners)
  • Getaway (0 Wins from 6 runners)
  • Old Vic (0 Wins from 5 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Minella Indo in 2019, winning for Henry De Bromhead at odds of 50/1 under the guidance of Rachael Blackmore. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 4 winning favourites in the race. Before placing your bet on the 2026 Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle head over to see which other runners today are being backed by the best racing tipsters today.

Route to the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle

Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2025 - Jasmin De Vaux
Leopardstown - 4th of 12 (19/2)
Golden Cygnet Novice Hurdle
2024 - Stellar Story
Leopardstown - 4th of 6 (12/1)
Golden Cygnet Novice Hurdle
2023 - Stay Away Fay
Doncaster - 2nd of 10 (5/2)
Albert Bartlett River Don Novices Hurdle
2022 - The Nice Guy
Naas - 1st of 22 (6/5)
I.N.H. Stallion Owners EBF Maiden Hurdle
2021 - Vanillier
Leopardstown - 10th of 13 (12/1)
Golden Cygnet Novice Hurdle
2020 - Monkfish
Thurles - 1st of 6 (5/4)
W.T. OGrady Memorial Irish EBF Novice Hurdle
2019 - Minella Indo
Clonmel - 2nd of 8 (8/1)
Surehaul Mercedes-Benz Novice Hurdle
2018 - Kilbricken Storm
Newbury - 3rd of 6 (11/4)
Challow Novices Hurdle
2017 - Penhill
Limerick - 1st of 5 (3/1)
Guinness Novice Hurdle
2016 - Unowhatimeanharry
Exeter - 1st of 10 (7/2)
Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle

Schedule for Tuesday at the Cheltenham Festival

Prepare for the ROAR of the Cheltenham Festival on the opening day when the tape goes up for the Supreme Novices Hurdle, the feature on Tuesday is the Champion Hurdle.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
13:20 Cheltenham
Supreme Novices Hurdle
Kopek Des Bordes (FR)
5yo - 4/6
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
14:00 Cheltenham
Arkle Challenge Trophy
Jango Baie (FR)
6yo - 5/1
Nicky Henderson
Nico de Boinville
14:40 Cheltenham
Ultima Handicap Chase
Myretown (IRE)
8yo - 13/2
Lucinda Russell
Patrick Wadge
15:20 Cheltenham
Close Brothers Mares Hurdle
Lossiemouth (FR)
6yo - 4/6
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
16:00 Cheltenham
Champion Hurdle
Golden Ace (GB)
7yo - 25/1
Jeremy Scott
Lorcan Williams
16:40 Cheltenham
Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle
Puturhandstogether (IRE)
4yo - 17/2
Joseph Patrick O'Brien
Mark Walsh
17:20 Cheltenham
National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup
Haiti Couleurs (FR)
8yo - 7/2
Rebecca Curtis
Ben Jones

Schedule for Wednesday at the Cheltenham Festival

The dust has settled on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival and now on to day two. The feature on the second day is the Queen Mother Champion Chase. We also have the cross country scheduled on Wednesday, a race like Marmite, some love it and some don't!

RaceLast WinnerInfo
13:20 Cheltenham
Turners Novices Hurdle
The New Lion (GB)
6yo - 3/1
Dan Skelton
Harry Skelton
14:00 Cheltenham
Brown Advisory Novices Chase
Lecky Watson (IRE)
7yo - 20/1
W P Mullins
Sean O'Keeffe
14:40 Cheltenham
Coral Cup
Jimmy Du Seuil (FR)
6yo - 16/1
W P Mullins
Danny Mullins
15:20 Cheltenham
Cross Country Chase
Stumptown (IRE)
8yo - 5/2
Gavin Cromwell
Keith Donoghue
16:00 Cheltenham
Queen Mother Champion Chase
Marine Nationale (IRE)
8yo - 5/1
Barry Connell
Sean Flanagan
16:40 Cheltenham
Johnny Henderson Grand Annual
Jazzy Matty (FR)
6yo - 15/2
Cian Collins
Danny Gilligan
17:20 Cheltenham
Champion Bumper
Bambino Fever (IRE)
5yo - 4/1
W P Mullins
Miss J Townend

Schedule for Thursday at the Cheltenham Festival

Halfway through the festival and onto day three where the Stayers Hurdle is the feature race. A hurdle race to test the stamina and see how can last best up the Cheltenham hill.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
13:20 Cheltenham
Mares Novices Hurdle
Air Of Entitlement (IRE)
6yo - 16/1
Henry De Bromhead
Rachael Blackmore
14:00 Cheltenham
Novices Limited Handicap Chase
Caldwell Potter (FR)
7yo - 7/1
Paul Nicholls
Harry Cobden
14:40 Cheltenham
Pertemps Network Final
Doddiethegreat (IRE)
9yo - 25/1
Nicky Henderson
Brian Hughes
15:20 Cheltenham
Ryanair Chase
Fact To File (FR)
8yo - 6/4
W P Mullins
Mark Walsh
16:00 Cheltenham
Stayers Hurdle
Bob Olinger (IRE)
10yo - 8/1
Henry De Bromhead
Rachael Blackmore
16:40 Cheltenham
Festival Plate
Jagwar (FR)
6yo - 3/1
Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero
Jonjo O'Neill Jr
17:20 Cheltenham
Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup
Daily Present (IRE)
8yo - 12/1
Paul Nolan
Mr B T Stone

Schedule for Friday at the Cheltenham Festival

The final day of the festival and feature race that we have all been waiting for, the Cheltenham Gold Cup in which the Irish have been fairly dominant in recent years.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
13:20 Cheltenham
Triumph Hurdle
Poniros (GB)
4yo - 100/1
W P Mullins
Jonjo O'Neill Jr
14:00 Cheltenham
County Handicap Hurdle
Kargese (FR)
5yo - 3/1
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
14:40 Cheltenham
Mrs Paddy Power Mares Chase
Dinoblue (FR)
8yo - 6/4
W P Mullins
Mark Walsh
15:20 Cheltenham
Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle
Jasmin De Vaux (FR)
6yo - 6/1
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
16:00 Cheltenham
Cheltenham Gold Cup
Inothewayurthinkin (IRE)
7yo - 15/2
Gavin Cromwell
Mark Walsh
16:40 Cheltenham
Festival Hunters Chase
Wonderwall (IRE)
9yo - 28/1
S Curling
Mr R James
17:20 Cheltenham
Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle
Wodhooh (FR)
5yo - 9/2
Gordon Elliott
Danny Gilligan

Article Contributor Information

We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Preview are at hand, Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.

Darren Brett

Darren Brett

Tipster Competition Manager

Darren has worked in the horse racing industry for decades bringing to OLBG for the last 20 years a wealth of knowledge, creating much of our content on these sports. Darren also manages our Grand National Guide and is the go-to font of knowledge for the world's greatest steeplechase.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Content Editor

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for jump racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful national hunt racing blogs for OLBG.

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