Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 20 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2026 Coral Challenge Preview
Scheduled to take place in July of each year at the Sandown Racecourse is the Coral Challenge. This race is a class two handicap that is open to runners aged three or older and is contested over a mile. The race takes place on the same day as the Coral Charge and the Eclipse.
Coral Challenge Information:
We also have a dedicated Sandown tips page that will cover this race as well as all of the other races on the day of the race. See which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are predicting to win this race and the others on the cards. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races at Sandown Racecourse section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Coral Challenge 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 114%. The race in 2010 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 Coral Challenge, the over-round has been 122%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £122 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Coral Challenge 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 Coral Challenge Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Coral Challenge races over the last 20 renewals:
- Prince Of Johanne (1:38.87) in 2013
- El Hayem (1:39.21) in 2017
- Velox (1:39.35) in 2014
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 Coral Challenge next time out, then you would have backed a total of 1 winner. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -14.50. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Coral Challenge, remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.
Over the last 20 renewals, it was Prince Of Johanne, trained by Tom Tate and ridden by Graham Lee, who set the fastest winning time in the Coral Challenge. That runner won the race in a time of 1:38.87 in 2013. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Charles Hills and jockey Billy Loughnane with Ciceros Gift who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 1:47.24 in the 2024 renewal.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
Coral Challenge Past Winners
Here are the Coral Challenge 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 where the horse came from and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Coral Challenge are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 1:41.24 | Classic (GB) 5yo 8-10 (2 of 12) 6/1 | Sean Levey Richard Hannon (GB) |
| 2024 1:47.24 | Ciceros Gift (GB) 4yo 9-12 (1 of 10) 11/2 | Billy Loughnane Charles Hills (GB) |
| 2023 1:41.71 | Perotto (GB) 5yo 8-13 (4 of 15) 5/1F | Tom Marquand Roger Varian (GB) |
| 2022 1:41.44 | Sinjaari (IRE) 6yo 9-11 (7 of 11) 7/2 | Kieran Shoemark Harry & Roger Charlton (GB) |
| 2021 1:44.53 | Magical Morning (GB) 4yo 9-0 (11 of 13) 13/2 | Frankie Dettori John & Thady Gosden (GB) |
| 2020 1:43.51 | Montatham (GB) 4yo 9-3 (6 of 9) 6/5F | Jim Crowley William Haggas (GB) |
| 2019 1:40.83 | Mojito (IRE) 5yo 9-8 (8 of 13) 4/1F | Frankie Dettori William Haggas (GB) |
| 2018 1:39.73 | Tigre Du Terre (FR) 3yo 8-8 (5 of 15) 9/2F | Tom Marquand Richard Hannon (GB) |
| 2017 1:39.21 | El Hayem (IRE) 4yo 8-12 (10 of 13) 8/1 | Ryan Moore Sir Michael Stoute (GB) |
| 2016 1:44.09 | Secret Art (IRE) 6yo 8-5 (4 of 15) 16/1 | Martin Dwyer William Knight (GB) |
Coral Challenge Trainer Statistics
There are two leading trainers in the Coral Challenge over the last 20 renewals, with both William Haggas and Richard Hannon, who have both won the race two times. William Haggas winners have been with Mojito (2019) and Montatham (2020). Richard Hannon winners have been with Tigre Du Terre (2018) and Classic (2025). There is one trainer who has not had the best of times in the Coral Challenge; David O'Meara has sent a total of 13 runners to the race without recording any wins.
Here are some of the top Coral Challenge 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Haggas | 9-2-3 | -1.80 | -2.34 |
| Richard Hannon | 8-2-2 | +4.50 | +0.56 |
| Andrew Balding | 17-1-2 | -6.00 | -6.12 |
| Sir Michael Stoute | 8-1-3 | +1.00 | +2.06 |
| Saeed bin Suroor | 7-1-1 | -2.50 | -3.81 |
| Roger Varian | 6-1-2 | +0.00 | -0.92 |
| Clive Cox | 5-1-2 | +29.00 | +18.38 |
| William Knight | 5-1-2 | +12.00 | +6.77 |
| Charles Hills | 4-1-1 | +2.50 | +0.30 |
| Tom Tate | 3-1-1 | +14.00 | +8.00 |
Coral Challenge Jockey Statistics
There are multiple leading jockeys in the Coral Challenge over the last 20 renewals, with Ryan Moore, Frankie Dettori, and Tom Marquand having all won the race two times. Ryan Moore winners have been with Ordnance Row (2007) and El Hayem (2017). Frankie Dettori winners have been with Mojito (2019) and Magical Morning (2021). Tom Marquand winners have been with Tigre Du Terre (2018) and Perotto (2023).
Here are some of the top Coral Challenge 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Moore | 15-2-6 | +6.00 | +3.20 |
| Frankie Dettori | 7-2-3 | +5.50 | +2.94 |
| Tom Marquand | 4-2-3 | +7.50 | +5.32 |
| William Buick | 10-1-3 | -7.00 | -6.16 |
| James Doyle | 8-1-3 | -3.50 | -2.18 |
| Jim Crowley | 7-1-1 | -4.80 | -5.28 |
| David Probert | 6-1-2 | +5.00 | +4.88 |
| Luke Morris | 3-1-1 | +31.00 | +18.63 |
| Sean Levey | 2-1-1 | +5.00 | +2.75 |
| Billy Loughnane | 2-1-1 | +4.50 | +2.30 |
2026 Coral Challenge Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 5, 3, 3, 4, 2, 1, 3, 4, (1, 9), 14, 6, 1, 1, 1, 9, 2, (1, 12), (3, 4), 3
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 (71%) - Not in a G3/LST/Cl3-5 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (78%) - No bigger than 20/1 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Not on HY/SFT/FM/STD-SLW/FS (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Fewer than 11 races (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Ran in 4 - 35 races (Career)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Achieved an RPR of 87+ (Going)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Achieved an RPR of 94+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Achieved a TS of 77+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Highest Won is not G1-2/LST
- 19 / 20 (84%) - No older than a 6yo
- 19 / 20 (89%) - Placed within last 5 starts
- 18 / 20 (66%) - No bigger than 16/1
- 18 / 20 (77%) - Achieved an RPR of 99+ (Career)
- 18 / 20 (84%) - No bigger than 22/1 (Debut)
- 18 / 20 (88%) - Won within last 10 starts
Remember to use the trends listed above, along with the Sandown racing predictions, to see if you can find the winner of the Coral Challenge. 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 Coral Challenge by adding a tip on the race here.
101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
Coral Challenge Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +13.00, is when runners had 0 season wins.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners finished in 2nd on debut, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-47.
Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:
- 2025: Winner in 2 (8,9) [12 Runners]
- 2024: Winner in 1 (3,9) [10 Runners]
- 2023: Winner in 4 (5,15) [15 Runners]
- 2022: Winner in 7 (9,3) [11 Runners]
- 2021: Winner in 11 (14,2) [13 Runners]
The course which has produced the most winners of the Coral Challenge is Ascot; there have been a total of 9 winners of this race who ran at Ascot last time out. The next best course, which has produced the second most winners, is Sandown; there have been a total of 3 winners of this race who ran at Sandown 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 274 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 5 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Coral Challenge; that stallion, Muhaarar, has produced 2 winners (2024,2021).
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Coral Challenge despite multiple attempts:
- Cape Cross (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Danehill Dancer (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Famous Name (0 Wins from 5 runners)
- Shamardal (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Black Spirit in 2010, winning for Clive Cox at odds of 33/1 under the guidance of Luke Morris. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 7 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2026 Coral Challenge, why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today?
Route to the Coral Challenge
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Coral Challenge. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Classic Sandown - 2nd of 5 (11/8) | Read Meg Nicholls Blog At betmgm.co.uk Handicap |
| 2024 - Ciceros Gift Ascot - 7th of 9 (12/1) | St James's Palace Stakes |
| 2023 - Perotto Ascot - 10th of 30 (7/1) | Royal Hunt Cup |
| 2022 - Sinjaari Ascot - 5th of 29 (14/1) | Royal Hunt Cup |
| 2021 - Magical Morning Ascot - 8th of 30 (12/1) | Royal Hunt Cup |
| 2020 - Montatham Ascot - 2nd of 23 (8/1) | Royal Hunt Cup |
| 2019 - Mojito Ascot - 18th of 18 (4/1) | Ascot Challenge Cup |
| 2018 - Tigre Du Terre Maisons-Laffitte - 2nd of 11 (4/1) | Prix de la Ville de Maisons-Laffitte |
| 2017 - El Hayem Newbury - 11th of 15 (4/1) | Toronado Handicap |
| 2016 - Secret Art Sandown - 4th of 9 (9/1) | BetStars By Pokerstars Handicap |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Coral Challenge Preview are at hand, Andy and James. 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 Flat Racing.
James Banting
Tipster Competition Assistant
Andy Powell
Content Editor
