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.
2025 Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase Preview
Part of the Crystal Cup European Cross Country Challenge is the Cross Country Chase which takes place in December at Cheltenham during The two-day Christmas Meeting.
The race is contested by horses aged five or older over a distance of just over three miles and six furlongs on the Cheltenham cross-country course, where a total of thirty-two obstacles are faced.
Dominate the Crystal Cup Cross Country 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.
Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase Information:
- Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase Past Winners
- Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase Trainer Statistics
- Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase 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. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Other Principal Races at Cheltenham Racecourse section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2002 when the race had an over-round of 111%. The race in 2009 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 Crystal Cup Cross Country 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 2025 Crystal Cup Cross Country 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 Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase over the last 20 renewals:
- Fact Of The Matter (8:09.40) in 2018
- Cantlow (8:10.50) in 2016
- Garde Champetre (8:13.88) in 2011
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 Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase next time out then you would have backed a total of 3 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -10.43. Remember to use the racing predictions along with the information on this page to find a bet on the 2025 Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase.
The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2012 renewal when Outlaw Pete from J Halley under the guidance of Mr Josh Halley, won in a time of 9:16.53, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Fact Of The Matter, trained by Jamie Snowden and ridden by Gavin Sheehan set the quickest time of 8:09.40 in the 2018 renewal.
Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase Past Winners
Here are the Crystal Cup Cross Country 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 Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
Race Notes: Abandoned in 2022 due to frozen ground.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 8:33.95 | Stumptown (IRE) 7yo 11-4 4/1F | Keith Donoghue Gavin Cromwell (IRE) |
| 2023 8:29.07 | Latenightpass (GB) 10yo 10-8 3/1F | Miss Gina Andrews Dan Skelton (GB) |
| 2021 8:24.62 | Diesel DAllier (FR) 8yo 10-2 6/1 | Harry Bannister Richard J Bandey (GB) |
| 2020 8:49.33 | Some Neck (FR) 9yo 10-11 18/1 | Mr B W Harvey (7lbs) John C McConnell (IRE) |
| 2019 9:04.00 | Easysland (FR) 5yo 11-3 5/2F | Jonathan Plouganou D Cottin (FR) |
| 2018 8:09.40 | Fact Of The Matter (IRE) 8yo 10-10 6/1 | Gavin Sheehan Jamie Snowden (GB) |
| 2017 8:25.70 | Bless The Wings (IRE) 12yo 11-2 12/1 | Davy Russell Gordon Elliott (IRE) |
| 2016 8:10.50 | Cantlow (IRE) 11yo 11-2 13/8F | Mark Walsh E Bolger (IRE) |
| 2015 8:14.00 | Josies Orders (IRE) 7yo 11-8 11/4 | Ms N Carberry E Bolger (IRE) |
| 2014 8:23.20 | Any Currency (IRE) 11yo 11-0 8/1 | Aidan Coleman Martin Keighley (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase have been based:
- IRE: 12 winners with an additional 21 placings from 125 runners
- GB: 5 winners with an additional 17 placings from 101 runners
- FR: 3 winners with an additional 5 placings from 24 runners
- CZE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase over the last 20 renewals is E Bolger who has won the race seven times with those seven winners coming from Spot Thedifference (2004 & 2006), Garde Champetre (2008, 2009 & 2011), Josies Orders (2015) and Cantlow (2016).
Here are some of the top Crystal Cup Cross Country 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):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| E Bolger | 38-7-21 | -6.62 | +6.32 |
| Gordon Elliott | 19-1-3 | -6.00 | -5.17 |
| Paul Nicholls | 14-1-6 | -6.00 | -2.57 |
| A J Martin | 6-1-1 | +0.00 | -1.87 |
| Martin Keighley | 5-1-2 | +4.00 | +2.06 |
| D Cottin | 4-1-2 | -0.50 | +0.31 |
| Gavin Cromwell | 3-1-2 | +2.00 | +3.00 |
| Richard J Bandey | 2-1-1 | +5.00 | +2.75 |
| John C McConnell | 1-1-1 | +18.00 | +10.80 |
| Jamie Snowden | 1-1-1 | +6.00 | +3.60 |
Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase Jockey Statistics
Here are some of the top Crystal Cup Cross Country 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):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Walsh | 6-1-4 | -3.37 | +0.14 |
| Keith Donoghue | 4-1-2 | +1.00 | +4.13 |
| Harry Bannister | 2-1-2 | +5.00 | +4.85 |
| Miss Gina Andrews | 2-1-2 | +2.00 | +2.01 |
| Mr B W Harvey | 1-1-1 | +18.00 | +10.80 |
| Gavin Sheehan | 1-1-1 | +6.00 | +3.60 |
| Jonathan Plouganou | 1-1-1 | +2.50 | +1.56 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 5-0-1 | -5.00 | -3.80 |
| Mr P W Mullins | 5-0-0 | -5.00 | -5.00 |
| Richie McLernon | 4-0-1 | -4.00 | -1.00 |
2025 Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): F, (1, 7), 11, 3, 2, 1, 1, 4, UR, 6, UR, 8, 1, 3, (3, 4), 1, 3, 5, 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 (67%) - No bigger than 18/1
- 20 / 20 (75%) - Ran over 2m5f - 3m6f (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (76%) - No bigger than 9/1 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (78%) - Furthest Won 2m6½f - 4m2f
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Furthest ran 3m3f - 4m4f
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Within the first 10 of the market
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Ran over 3m - 3m6f (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Not in a LST/Cl5 (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Furthest Placed 3m - 4m2f
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Highest Placed is not Cl3-5
- 20 / 20 (86%) - In a field of 7 - 17 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Not CH in colour
- 20 / 20 (87%) - In a field of 5 - 19 (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Won within last 15 starts
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Not in a G1/G3/Cl5 (LTO)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Cheltenham racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase. If you are looking to place a bet on this race well in advance of the actual running, then there may be an ante-post market available for you to place your bet. If you are unfamiliar with this type of betting then head over to the OLBG Betting School and read our Ante-Post Horse Racing article which explains how ante-post betting works.
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 Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase by adding a tip on the race here.
Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +28.50 is when runners had 2 season starts.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran in a race restricted to 4yo+ last time out, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-52.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase is Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 13 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Punchestown, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Punchestown 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 248 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 3 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase:
- Garde Royale (3 Wins)
- Lafontaine I (2 Wins)
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase despite multiple attempts:
- Presenting (0 Wins from 9 runners)
- Be My Native (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Kings Theatre (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Network (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Saddlers Hall (0 Wins from 6 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Some Neck in 2020, winning for John C McConnell at odds of 18/1 under the guidance of Mr B W Harvey. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 7 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.
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase 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 National Hunt Racing.
James Banting
Tipster Competition Assistant
Andy Powell
Content Editor
