Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Festival Trials Day)

Explore the Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase on Festival Trials Day. Uncover key trends, past champions, and critical insights that reveal the secrets to success in this thrilling 2m4Β½f race. Gain valuable knowledge for this important precursor to the Cheltenham Festival.
Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Festival Trials Day)
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 Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase Preview

Scheduled to take place in January of each year at the Cheltenham racecourse is the Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase, a Premier Handicap which is run over a trip of two miles, four and a half furlongs in which there is a total of seventeen fences to be jumped and it is open to runners who are five or older.

Dominate the Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase betting scene by leveraging our expert insights into previous race patterns and trainer stats, and don't forget to check out the free bets for Cheltenham.

Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase Information:

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. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Schedule for the Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham section for links to these.

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How competitive is the Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2022 when the race had an over-round of 112%. The race in 2023 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 129%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase, the over-round has been 119%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £119 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2026 Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase 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 Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase over the last 20 renewals:

  1. Il Ridoto (5:12.13) in 2023
  2. The Giant Bolster (5:15.42) in 2012
  3. Siruh Du Lac (5:17.00) in 2019

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 Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase next time out then you would have backed a total of 1 winner. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to 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 2026 Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase.

Over the last 20 renewals, it was Il Ridoto, trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Harry Cobden who set the fastest winning time in the Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase, the runner won the race in a time of 5:12.13 when winning the race in 2023. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Venetia Williams and jockey Aidan Coleman with Katenko who set the slowest winning time, the race-winning time was 5:48.80 in the 2013 renewal.

What the expert says...
Nine of the last thirteen winners between 2011 & 2024 went directly to the festival, however, there has been limited success with only Siruh Du Lac (2019) going on to win the Festival Plate and only one other going on to place.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase Past Winners

Here are the Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase 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 Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorseInfo
2025
5:26.50
Moon DOrange (FR)
7yo 10-5 7/2F
Sean Bowen
John C McConnell (IRE)
2024
5:22.35
Ga Law (FR)
8yo 11-8 8/1
Gavin Sheehan
Jamie Snowden (GB)
2023
5:12.13
Il Ridoto (FR)
6yo 10-12 9/2
Harry Cobden
Paul Nicholls (GB)
2022
5:17.05
Torn And Frayed (FR)
8yo 10-10 5/1F
Sam Twiston-Davies
Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB)
2020
5:33.42
Cepage (FR)
8yo 11-12 8/1
Charlie Deutsch
Venetia Williams (GB)
2019
5:17.00
Siruh Du Lac (FR)
6yo 10-6 6/1
Lizzie Kelly (3lbs)
Nick Williams (GB)
2018
5:28.90
Frodon (FR)
6yo 11-7 13/2
Bryony Frost (5lbs)
Paul Nicholls (GB)
2017
5:25.30
Foxtail Hill (IRE)
8yo 10-0 12/1
Jamie Bargary (3lbs)
Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB)
2016
5:42.00
Annacotty (IRE)
8yo 11-9 13/2
Ian Popham
Alan King (GB)
2015
5:28.90
Annacotty (IRE)
7yo 11-8 5/1
Gavin Sheehan
Martin Keighley (GB)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase have been based:

  • GB: 19 winners with an additional 42 placings from 230 runners
  • IRE: 1 winner with an additional 0 placings from 4 runners
  • FR: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 4 runners

Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase Trainer Statistics

There are multiple leading trainers in the Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase over the last 20 renewals with Paul Nicholls, Nigel Twiston-Davies, Venetia Williams, Philip Hobbs, Nick Williams and Bob Buckler having all won the race two times. Paul Nicholls winners have been with Frodon (2018) and Il Ridoto (2023). Nigel Twiston-Davies winners have been with Foxtail Hill (2017) and Torn And Frayed (2022). Venetia Williams winners have been with Katenko (2013) and Cepage (2020). Philip Hobbs winners have been with Wishfull Thinking (2011 & 2014). Nick Williams winners have been with Maljimar (2008) and Siruh Du Lac (2019). Bob Buckler winners have been with The Sawyer (2009 & 2010).

Here are some of the top Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase 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
Paul Nicholls29-2-5-16.00-16.58
Nigel Twiston-Davies21-2-5-2.00-3.50
Venetia Williams19-2-6-5.00-3.42
Philip Hobbs12-2-4+3.50+1.73
Nick Williams4-2-3+9.50+6.00
Bob Buckler3-2-2+13.50+8.07
David Pipe11-1-1-2.00-5.20
Alan King10-1-4-2.50+0.15
Jamie Snowden2-1-2+7.00+5.75
Paul Webber1-1-1+9.00+5.63

Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase over the last 20 renewals is Gavin Sheehan who has won the race two times with those two winners coming from Annacotty (2015) and Ga Law (2024).

Here are some of the top Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase 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
Gavin Sheehan4-2-3+11.00+6.94
Sam Twiston-Davies8-1-3-2.00-0.20
Charlie Deutsch6-1-1+3.00-0.20
Harry Cobden5-1-2+0.50-0.19
Jamie Bargary2-1-1+11.00+6.50
William Kennedy2-1-1+8.00+4.63
Bryony Frost1-1-1+6.50+4.06
Sean Bowen1-1-1+3.50+2.10
Tom Cannon3-0-2-3.00+3.13
James Bowen3-0-1-3.00-1.25

Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +9.00 is when runners had recorded 1 career fall over Jumps (Chase).

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had recorded 0 career non-finishes, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-40.

The courses that have produced the most winners of the Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase are Newbury and Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 6 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 231 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 7 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase:

  • Alflora (2 Wins)
  • Beneficial (2 Wins)
  • Fleetwood (2 Wins)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Hunters Tweed in 2004, winning for P Beaumont at odds of 14/1 under the guidance of Graham Lee. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 4 winning favourites in the race. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase remember you can get daily racing predictions from the top racing tipsters on the best racing tipsters page.

Schedule for the Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham

Here is the schedule for the Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham, each race will be linked to the race blog and detail last year's winner in the table below.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
Cheltenham Trophy Handicap ChaseMoon DOrange (FR)
7yo - 7/2
John C McConnell
Sean Bowen
Classic Novices HurdleSixmilebridge (IRE)
6yo - 9/1
Fergal O'Brien
Kielan Woods
Cleeve HurdleGowel Road (IRE)
9yo - 5/2
Nigel Twiston-Davies
Sam Twiston-Davies
Cotswold ChaseLHomme Presse (FR)
10yo - 4/5
Venetia Williams
Charlie Deutsch
International HurdleConstitution Hill (GB)
8yo - 1/12
Nicky Henderson
Nico de Boinville
JCB Triumph Juvenile Hurdle TrialEast India Dock (GB)
4yo - 1/2
James Owen
Sam Twiston-Davies
Timeform Novices Handicap ChaseJagwar (FR)
6yo - 4/1
Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero
Jonjo O'Neill Jr

Article Contributor Information

We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase 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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