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2026 Challow Novices' Hurdle Preview
Scheduled to take place in late December of each year at the Newbury racecourse is the Challow Novices Hurdle, a Grade 1 race run over a distance of two miles, four and a half furlongs, during which a total of ten hurdles will be faced.
The race has been a springboard for many good types with the likes of Bindaree, Denman and Wichita Lineman all winning this race early in their illustrious careers, and in more recent times the likes of Champ, Thyme Hill and Bravemansgame have won this race.
Challow Novices' Hurdle Information:
- Challow Novices' Hurdle Past Winners
- Challow Novices' Hurdle Trainer Statistics
- Challow Novices' Hurdle Jockey Statistics
Our dedicated Newbury tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the Challow Novices' Hurdle, but will also have predictions for each meeting at Newbury throughout the season, so be sure to head over there. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races at Newbury Racecourse section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2026
How competitive is the Challow Novices' Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2015 when the race had an over-round of 108%. The race in 2009 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 123%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Challow Novices' Hurdle, the over-round has been 113%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £113 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Challow 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 Challow Novices' Hurdle Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Challow Novices' Hurdle races over the last 20 renewals:
- Thyme Hill (4:57.15) in 2019
- Messire Des Obeaux (4:57.70) in 2016
- No Drama This End (5:00.52) in 2025
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 Challow Novices' Hurdle next time out, then you would have backed a total of 4 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -9.90. Before placing your bet on the 2026 Challow Novices' Hurdle, see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.
Over the last 20 renewals, it was Thyme Hill, trained by Philip Hobbs and ridden by Richard Johnson, who set the fastest winning time in the Challow Novices' Hurdle. That runner won the race in a time of 4:57.15 in 2019. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Jonjo O'Neill and jockey A P McCoy with Taquin Du Seuil who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 5:58.36 in the 2012 renewal.
Challow Novices' Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the Challow 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 Challow Novices' Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 5:00.52 | No Drama This End (IRE) 5yo 11-7 4/9F | Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2024 5:03.50 | The New Lion (GB) 5yo 11-7 9/4 | Harry Skelton Dan Skelton (GB) |
| 2023 5:23.04 | Captain Teague (IRE) 5yo 11-7 2/1F | Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2022 5:14.50 | Hermes Allen (FR) 5yo 11-7 11/10F | Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2021 5:14.68 | Stage Star (IRE) 5yo 11-7 5/4F | Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2020 5:06.10 | Bravemansgame (FR) 5yo 11-7 5/2F | Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2019 4:57.15 | Thyme Hill (GB) 5yo 11-7 4/6F | Richard Johnson Philip Hobbs (GB) |
| 2018 5:10.00 | Champ (IRE) 6yo 11-7 1/1F | Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2017 5:24.30 | Poetic Rhythm (IRE) 6yo 11-7 15/8F | Paddy Brennan Fergal O'Brien (GB) |
| 2016 4:57.70 | Messire Des Obeaux (FR) 4yo 11-7 100/30 | Daryl Jacob Alan King (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Challow Novices' Hurdle have been based:
- GB: 20 winners with an additional 25 placings from 135 runners
- IRE: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 4 runners
- GER: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
2025 Challow Novices' Hurdle Replay
Challow Novices' Hurdle Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Challow Novices' Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Paul Nicholls, who has won the race five times, with those five winners coming from Bravemansgame (2020), Stage Star (2021), Hermes Allen (2022), Captain Teague (2023) and No Drama This End (2025). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Challow Novices' Hurdle are Jonjo O'Neill (3 wins), Nicky Henderson (2 wins), Philip Hobbs (2 wins) and Nick Williams (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Challow 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):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Nicholls | 18-5-9 | -5.71 | -3.01 |
| Jonjo O'Neill | 4-3-3 | +8.38 | +4.67 |
| Nicky Henderson | 10-2-6 | +1.00 | +0.61 |
| Philip Hobbs | 4-2-2 | -1.08 | -1.42 |
| Nick Williams | 3-2-2 | +1.55 | +0.55 |
| Alan King | 8-1-2 | -3.67 | -2.50 |
| Ben Pauling | 6-1-2 | -4.64 | -2.50 |
| Dan Skelton | 5-1-2 | -1.75 | -0.96 |
| Fergal O'Brien | 4-1-1 | -1.12 | -1.82 |
| Peter Bowen | 2-1-1 | +6.00 | +3.20 |
Challow Novices' Hurdle Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Challow Novices' Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Harry Cobden, who has won the race five times, with those five winners coming from Bravemansgame (2020), Stage Star (2021), Hermes Allen (2022), Captain Teague (2023) and No Drama This End (2025).
Here are some of the top Challow 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):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Cobden | 9-5-6 | +3.29 | +2.23 |
| Harry Skelton | 7-1-3 | -3.75 | -2.21 |
| David Bass | 4-1-1 | -2.64 | -3.00 |
| Gavin Sheehan | 8-0-2 | -8.00 | -2.27 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 6-0-1 | -6.00 | -2.70 |
| Tom Cannon | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -3.00 |
| Brendan Powell | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -3.00 |
| Kielan Woods | 2-0-2 | -2.00 | +2.40 |
| Adam Wedge | 2-0-1 | -2.00 | -1.19 |
| Nico de Boinville | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | -2.00 |
2026 Challow Novices' Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 2, 4, 1, 3, 4, 1, 1, 3, 3, 1, F, 1, 1, 1, (1, 2), 1, 1, 1, 4, 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 (54%) - No bigger than 8/1
- 20 / 20 (59%) - Highest Won is not G3/Cl4-6
- 20 / 20 (72%) - Within the first 5 of the market
- 20 / 20 (74%) - Achieved an RPR of 124+ (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Had 2 - 5 placings (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Ran in 2 - 6 races (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Break of 14 - 78 days (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - In a field of 5 - 16 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Furthest Won 2m1f - 3m½f
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Achieved a TS of 46+ (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Carried 146 - 161lbs (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Achieved a TS of 72+ (Season)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - No bigger than 10/1 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Achieved a TS of 79+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Had 1 - 3 wins (180 Days)
Remember to use the trends listed above, along with the Newbury racing predictions, to see if you can find the winner of the Challow Novices' Hurdle. Did you know that we have an OLBG Betting School section on OLBG? It is a place to help you improve your betting experience with articles covering numerous topics.
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 Challow Novices' Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.
101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
Challow Novices' Hurdle Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +10.54, is when runners had a furthest trip run of 2m5f.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had a highest class won of Class 4, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-43.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Challow Novices' Hurdle is Cheltenham; there have been a total of 9 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out. The next best courses, which have produced the second most winners, are Sandown and Newbury; there have been a total of 4 winners from each of those courses.
The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 131 runners, while female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 9 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Challow Novices' Hurdle:
- Kings Theatre (3 Wins)
- Flemensfirth (2 Wins)
- Kayf Tara (2 Wins)
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have been disappointed with multiple attempts but no wins in the Challow Novices' Hurdle; that stallion is Oscar, who has failed to produce a winner from 7 runners.
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Captain Cutter in 2013, winning for Nicky Henderson at odds of 8/1 under the guidance of A P McCoy. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 12 winning favourites in the race. Remember to bookmark the best racing tipsters page so you can get easy access to the best OLBG racing tipsters.
Route to the Challow Novices' Hurdle
Many trainers target races as preparation for the Challow Novices' Hurdle. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - No Drama This End Sandown - 1st of 5 (4/9) | Betfair Winter Novices Hurdle |
| 2024 - The New Lion Newbury - 1st of 6 (4/6) | Coral Were Here For It Novices Hurdle |
| 2023 - Captain Teague Cheltenham - 2nd of 8 (4/6) | Hyde Novices' Hurdle |
| 2022 - Hermes Allen Cheltenham - 1st of 7 (9/4) | Hyde Novices' Hurdle |
| 2021 - Stage Star Newbury - 1st of 5 (2/7) | Watch Racing Free Online At Ladbrokes Novices Hurdle |
| 2020 - Bravemansgame Newbury - 1st of 5 (8/11) | Play Ladbrokes 5-A-Side On Football Novices Hurdle |
| 2019 - Thyme Hill Cheltenham - 1st of 8 (11/8) | Hyde Novices' Hurdle |
| 2018 - Champ Newbury - 1st of 15 (9/2) | Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle |
| 2017 - Poetic Rhythm Cheltenham - 3rd of 6 (9/2) | Hyde Novices' Hurdle |
| 2016 - Messire Des Obeaux Sandown - 1st of 7 (9/4) | Neptune Investment Management Novices Hurdle |
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 Challow Novices' Hurdle Preview are Andy and Darren. 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 National Hunt Racing.
Darren Brett
Expert Guide
Andy Powell
Expert Guide
