Ascot Challenge Cup Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

See which trainers and jockeys have performed well in this fact-packed blog for the Ascot Challenge Cup. This is a race that is hosted at Ascot, with the race being run over a distance of 7f. See which trends the past winners of the Ascot Challenge Cup have set for this year.
Ascot Challenge Cup Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Expert Guide

You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.

2025 Ascot Challenge Cup Preview

The Ascot Challenge Cup is a valuable Heritage Handicap that is run at Ascot in early October of each year. The race carries a purse of £180k, it is a Class 2, which is open to runners aged three or older, and is contested over seven furlongs.

Ascot Challenge Cup Information:

To see which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are tipping throughout the card that includes this race, head over to the Ascot tips on the day of the race. Do they agree with the runners on the trend shortlist, or are they predicting other runners? You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races at Ascot Racecourse section for links to these.

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How competitive is the Ascot Challenge Cup 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 120%. The race in 2009 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 139%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Ascot Challenge Cup, the over-round has been 129%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £129 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2025 Ascot Challenge Cup 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 Ascot Challenge Cup Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Ascot Challenge Cup races over the last 20 renewals:

  1. All Ivory (1:25.26) in 2005
  2. Advanced (1:25.89) in 2009
  3. All Ivory (1:26.26) in 2006

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Ascot Challenge Cup next time out, then you would have backed a total of 1 winner. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -13.50. Remember to use the racing predictions along with the information on this page to find a bet on the 2025 Ascot Challenge Cup.

Over the last 20 renewals, it was All Ivory, trained by Roger Charlton and ridden by Richard Hughes, who set the fastest winning time in the Ascot Challenge Cup. That runner won the race in a time of 1:25.26 in 2005. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer David O'Meara and jockey Andrea Atzeni with Escobar who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 1:31.01 in the 2022 renewal.

What the expert says...
The Heritage Handicap run over a mile at the Ebor Festival has produced two of the last four winners of this race. Aldaary (2021) was 7th in that before winning this, while Volterra (2024) was runner-up. The Ayr Gold Cup is another to keep an eye on; it has produced 6 winners since 2009, although only 1 of the last 8.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Ascot Challenge Cup Past Winners

Here are the Ascot Challenge Cup 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. Also detailed is the stall from which the horse came and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Ascot Challenge Cup are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorse (Drawn)Info
2024
1:27.51
Volterra (IRE)
3yo 9-0 (2 of 18) 11/2
Shane Gray
Kevin Ryan (GB)
2023
1:27.14
Atrium (GB)
4yo 9-3 (13 of 17) 25/1
Harry Davies
Charlie Fellowes (GB)
2022
1:31.01
Escobar (IRE)
8yo 9-11 (6 of 17) 20/1
Andrea Atzeni
David O'Meara (GB)
2021
1:29.63
Aldaary (GB)
3yo 9-4 (2 of 16) 100/30F
Jim Crowley
William Haggas (GB)
2019
1:28.54
Kynren (IRE)
5yo 9-2 (17 of 17) 11/4F
Ben Curtis
David Barron (GB)
2018
1:29.33
Raising Sand (GB)
6yo 8-8 (17 of 15) 5/1
Nicola Currie (3lbs)
Jamie Osborne (GB)
2017
1:30.51
Accidental Agent (GB)
3yo 9-3 (8 of 18) 16/1
Charles Bishop
Eve Johnson Houghton (GB)
2016
1:28.35
Librisa Breeze (GB)
4yo 9-9 (16 of 18) 11/2F
Robert Winston
Dean Ivory (GB)
2015
1:26.54
Buckstay (IRE)
5yo 9-1 (8 of 17) 9/2F
Jamie Spencer
Peter Chapple-Hyam (GB)
2014
1:30.24
Intransigent (GB)
5yo 9-4 (10 of 15) 16/1
Oisin Murphy
Andrew Balding (GB)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Ascot Challenge Cup have been based:

  • GB: 20 winners with an additional 56 placings from 371 runners
  • IRE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners
  • NOR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner

Ascot Challenge Cup Trainer Statistics

There are multiple leading trainers in the Ascot Challenge Cup over the last 20 renewals, with William Haggas, Kevin Ryan, and Roger Charlton having all won the race twice. William Haggas winners have been with Candidato Roy (2007) and Aldaary (2021). Kevin Ryan winners have been with Advanced (2009) and Volterra (2024). Roger Charlton winners have been with All Ivory (2005 & 2006).

Here are some of the top Ascot Challenge Cup 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
William Haggas11-2-3+44.33+26.33
Kevin Ryan10-2-2+30.50+16.07
Roger Charlton4-2-4+20.50+18.07
David O'Meara31-1-9-10.00+2.69
Richard Fahey27-1-2-17.00-18.99
Andrew Balding15-1-3+2.00+0.69
David Barron7-1-2-3.25-2.65
Eve Johnson Houghton6-1-2+11.00+7.00
John Gosden6-1-1+1.00-1.25
Jamie Osborne6-1-3+0.00+2.26

Ascot Challenge Cup Jockey Statistics

Here are some of the top Ascot Challenge Cup 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
Jamie Spencer10-1-3-4.50-3.50
Ryan Moore7-1-2+3.00+1.63
Frankie Dettori6-1-3+2.00+3.01
Jim Crowley6-1-3-1.67+0.83
Oisin Murphy4-1-2+13.00+9.25
Hayley Turner4-1-1+9.00+4.50
Robert Havlin4-1-1+3.00+0.75
Andrea Atzeni3-1-1+18.00+10.50
Harry Davies2-1-1+24.00+14.63
Charles Bishop2-1-1+15.00+9.00

Ascot Challenge Cup Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +62.50, is when runners have had 1 place in the past 90 days.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 6 season starts, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-51.

Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:

  • 2024: Winner in 2 (12,6,5) [18 Runners]
  • 2023: Winner in 13 (11,9,12) [17 Runners]
  • 2022: Winner in 6 (3,12,13) [17 Runners]
  • 2021: Winner in 2 (4,9,18) [16 Runners]
  • 2019: Winner in 17 (9,6,5) [17 Runners]

The course which has produced the most winners of the Ascot Challenge Cup is Ayr; there have been a total of 7 winners of this race who ran at Ayr last time out. The next best course, which has produced the second most winners, is York; there have been a total of 3 winners of this race who ran at York 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 372 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 2 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Ascot Challenge Cup; that stallion, Halling, has produced 2 winners (2006,2005).

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

  • Cape Cross (0 Wins from 10 runners)
  • Pivotal (0 Wins from 8 runners)
  • Footstepsinthesand (0 Wins from 6 runners)
  • Lope De Vega (0 Wins from 6 runners)
  • Barathea (0 Wins from 5 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Candidato Roy in 2007, winning for William Haggas at odds of 50/1 under the guidance of Johnny Murtagh. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 6 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2025 Ascot Challenge Cup, why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today?

Route to the Ascot Challenge Cup

Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Ascot Challenge Cup. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2024 - Volterra
York - 2nd of 16 (19/2)
Ebor Festival Mile Heritage Handicap
2023 - Atrium
Sandown - 6th of 7 (11/4)
Christophe Duchamp Grand Mont Handicap
2022 - Escobar
Ayr - 8th of 24 (18/1)
Ayr Gold Cup
2021 - Aldaary
York - 7th of 14 (13/2)
Ebor Festival Mile Heritage Handicap
2019 - Kynren
Ayr - 2nd of 10 (7/4)
William Hill Foundation:Uniting Against Dementia Handicap
2018 - Raising Sand
Newmarket (Rowley) - 8th of 33 (41/1)
Cambridgeshire Handicap
2017 - Accidental Agent
Newbury - 2nd of 11 (16/1)
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Cup Stakes
2016 - Librisa Breeze
York - 4th of 10 (9/2)
City of York Stakes
2015 - Buckstay
Ayr - 5th of 25 (12/1)
Ayr Gold Cup
2014 - Intransigent
Goodwood - 8th of 16 (10/1)
32Red Stakes

Article Contributor Information

We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Ascot Challenge Cup Preview are Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team, looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for Flat Racing.

James Banting

James Banting

Expert Guide

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Association provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Expert Guide

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 flat racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful flat racing blogs for OLBG.

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