Arkle Challenge Trophy Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Cheltenham Festival)

2025 Arkle Challenge Trophy Preview

A Grade One Chase for Novices over 2 miles on the Old Course at Cheltenham racecourse, for the Arkle Chase we are on the lookout for a future star of steeplechasing.

Arkle winners including Put The Kettle On, Altior, Sprinter Sacre, Sizing Europe, Voy Per Ustedes, Moscow Flyer, Azertyuiop, Flagship Uberalles and Klairon Davis have all gone on to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

Arkle Challenge Trophy Information:

• Arkle Challenge Trophy Past Winners
• Arkle Challenge Trophy Trainer Statistics
• Arkle Challenge Trophy Jockey Statistics

If you are interested in other predictions at Cheltenham then head over to the Cheltenham tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG racing tipsters and also compare those predictions to the runners that make the trend shortlist when added below. 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 Arkle Challenge Trophy market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2021 when the race had an over-round of 110%. The race in 2017 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 134%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Arkle Challenge Trophy, the over-round has been 117%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £117 which is bet.

Arkle Challenge Trophy Trends:

• 2025 Arkle Challenge Trophy Trends
• Arkle Challenge Trophy 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 Arkle Challenge Trophy next time out then you would have backed a total of 10 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -3.61. Remember to use the racing predictions along with the information on this page to find a bet on the 2025 Arkle Challenge Trophy.

The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2024 renewal when Gaelic Warrior from W P Mullins under the guidance of Paul Townend, won in a time of 4:08.36, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Western Warhorse, trained by David Pipe and ridden by Tom Scudamore set the quickest time of 3:47.04 in the 2014 renewal.

These are the top three quickest-run Arkle Challenge Trophy over the last 20 renewals:

1. Western Warhorse (3:47.04) in 2014
2. Douvan (3:48.60) in 2016
3. Sprinter Sacre (3:51.10) in 2012

Arkle Challenge Trophy Past Winners

Here are the Arkle Challenge Trophy 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 Arkle Challenge Trophy 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 Arkle Challenge Trophy have been based:

• GB: 11 winners with an additional 18 placings from 125 runners
• IRE: 9 winners with an additional 15 placings from 79 runners
• FR: 0 winners with an additional 2 placings from 7 runners

Arkle Challenge Trophy Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Arkle Challenge Trophy over the last 20 renewals is W P Mullins who has won the race six times with those six winners coming from Un De Sceaux (2015), Douvan (2016), Footpad (2018), Duc Des Genievres (2019), El Fabiolo (2023) and Gaelic Warrior (2024). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Arkle Challenge Trophy are Nicky Henderson (4 wins), Alan King (3 wins) and Henry De Bromhead (2 wins). There is one trainer who has not had the best of times in the Arkle Challenge Trophy, Paul Nicholls has sent a total of 13 runners to the race without recording any wins.

Here are some of the top Arkle Challenge Trophy 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):

Arkle Challenge Trophy Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Arkle Challenge Trophy over the last 20 renewals is Paul Townend who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Duc Des Genievres (2019), El Fabiolo (2023) and Gaelic Warrior (2024). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the Arkle Challenge Trophy is Nico de Boinville (2 wins).

Here are some of the top Arkle Challenge Trophy 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 Arkle Challenge Trophy Trends

Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 7, 7, 2, 3, F, 8, 4, 1, 1, (2, 3), 1, 1, 1, 1, 7, 6, 1, 1, 1, 1

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 (69%) - Highest Won is not G3/LST/Cl2/Cl4
• 20 / 20 (72%) - Within the first 8 of the market
• 20 / 20 (73%) - Achieved an RPR of 140+ (LTO)
• 20 / 20 (75%) - Beaten no more -4½l (LTO)
• 20 / 20 (76%) - Had 3 - 7 placings (1 Year)
• 20 / 20 (80%) - Achieved a TS of 123+ (Last 3)
• 20 / 20 (81%) - No bigger than 6/1 (LTO)
• 20 / 20 (82%) - Had 2 - 5 placings (180 Days)
• 20 / 20 (84%) - Break of 17 - 114 days (Last Place)
• 20 / 20 (84%) - No bigger than 33/1
• 20 / 20 (84%) - Had 1 - 9 wins (Jockey)
• 20 / 20 (85%) - Achieved an RPR of 143+ (Last 3)
• 20 / 20 (85%) - Had 2 - 7 placings (Season)
• 20 / 20 (85%) - Beaten no more -17l (Debut)
• 20 / 20 (85%) - Highest Placed is not G3/LST/Cl2/Cl4

Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Cheltenham racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Arkle Challenge Trophy. You may want to do your research into the race, there are times when there are several runners who pass the trends so you need to do your research to find a bet, we have a Horse Racing Form Reading Made Easy & What to Look For article to help you do just this in the OLBG Betting School section.

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 Arkle Challenge Trophy by adding a tip on the race here.

Arkle Challenge Trophy Trend Analysis

The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 5 career wins, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-36.

The course which has produced the most winners of the Arkle Challenge Trophy is Leopardstown, there has been a total number of 7 winners of this race who ran at Leopardstown last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Doncaster, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Doncaster last time out.

The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 19 winners from a total of 202 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 1 winner from a total of 9 runners.

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Arkle Challenge Trophy despite multiple attempts:

• Oscar (0 Wins from 5 runners)
• Presenting (0 Wins from 5 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Western Warhorse in 2014, winning for David Pipe at odds of 33/1 under the guidance of Tom Scudamore. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 10 winning favourites in the race. Remember to use the best racing tipsters along with the information on this page to find you a bet on the 2025 Arkle Challenge Trophy.

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.