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

2025 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 Ballymore 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.

We have delved a little deeper into the previous race trends and trainer statistics to help you find the winner of the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle also, be sure to head over to the Cheltenham bookie guide.

Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Information:

• Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Past Winners
• Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Trainer Statistics
• Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Jockey Statistics

Why not use the trends shortlist below to help you narrow down the field and then head over to the dedicated Cheltenham tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG expert racing tipsters to find yourself a bet? 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.

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.

Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Trends:

• 2025 Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Trends
• Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Trend Analysis

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. Ahead of the 2025 Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today?

Over the last 20 renewals, it was the Jonjo O'Neill trained Black Jack Ketchum ridden by A P McCoy who set the fastest winning time in the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle, the runner won the race in a time of 5:38.30 was set when winning the race in 2006. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Rebecca Curtis and jockey A P McCoy with At Fishers Cross who set the slowest winning time, the race-winning time was 6:40.10 in the 2013 renewal.

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

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 trainer of the horse at the time of winning the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle as well as the jockey is also displayed along with the starting price the horse was sent off.

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: 10 winners with an additional 21 placings from 134 runners
• GB: 9 winners with an additional 19 placings from 221 runners
• FR: 1 winner 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 three times with those three winners coming from Penhill (2017), Monkfish (2020) and The Nice Guy (2022). 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 15 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):

Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Jockey Statistics

There are two leading jockeys in the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle over the last 20 renewals with both Paul Townend and Harry Cobden who have both won the race two times. Paul Townend winners have been with Penhill (2017) and Monkfish (2020). Harry Cobden winners have been with Kilbricken Storm (2018) and Stay Away Fay (2023).

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):

2025 Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Trends

Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 3, 1, 1, (3, 11), 2, PU, 1, 2, 1, F, 7, PU, UR, 3, 2, 4, 4, PU, RO, PU

The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well.

• 20 / 20 (57%) - Achieved an RPR of 138+ (Career)
• 20 / 20 (76%) - No bigger than 50/1
• 20 / 20 (80%) - Not in a LST/Cl4-6 (LTO)
• 20 / 20 (83%) - Highest Run is not LST/Cl2/Cl4
• 20 / 20 (85%) - Had 2 - 6 placings (Non-Hcps)
• 20 / 20 (85%) - Highest Placed is not LST/Cl2/Cl5
• 20 / 20 (85%) - Off a break of 27 - 97 days
• 20 / 20 (85%) - No bigger than 20/1 (Career Place)
• 20 / 20 (86%) - Beaten no more -13l (Debut)
• 20 / 20 (86%) - In a field of 8 - 22 (Debut)
• 20 / 20 (88%) - Furthest ran 2m3f - 3m½f
• 20 / 20 (89%) - Ran over 2m3f - 3m½f (LTO)
• 19 / 20 (87%) - Not in a G1/LST/Cl5-6 (Last Win)
• 19 / 20 (88%) - No bigger than 14/1 (Career Win)
• 18 / 20 (82%) - Achieved a TS of 91+ (Last 3)

Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Cheltenham racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle. If you are looking to place on a bet this race well in advance of the actual running, then there may be an ante-post market available for you to place your bet. If you are unfamiliar with this type of betting then head over to the OLBG Betting School and read our Ante-Post Horse Racing article which explains how ante-post betting works.

Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.

Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle Trend Analysis

The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +116.38 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 0-54.

The courses that have produced the most winners of the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle are Leopardstown and Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 4 winners from each of those courses.

The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 346 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 11 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)
• Video Rock (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 10 runners)
• Kayf Tara (0 Wins from 7 runners)
• Westerner (0 Wins from 7 runners)
• Getaway (0 Wins from 6 runners)
• Supreme Leader (0 Wins from 6 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 2025 Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle head over to see which other runners today are being backed by the best racing tipsters today.

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.

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!

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.

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.