Elite Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

2024 Elite Hurdle Preview

Scheduled to take place in November of each year at the Wincanton racecourse, the Elite Hurdle is a Grade 2 race that is run over a trip of one mile and seven furlongs in which these runners aged four or older will face a total of eight hurdles. Established in 1992 and originally staged at Cheltenham, it was moved to Wincanton in 1994 and between 1998 & 2017 the race was a limited handicap because of the differing types of races, please approach the trends with caution.

Elite Hurdle Information:

• Elite Hurdle Past Winners
• Elite Hurdle Trainer Statistics
• Elite Hurdle Jockey Statistics

Why not use the trends shortlist below to help you narrow down the field and then head over to the dedicated Wincanton tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG expert racing tipsters to find yourself a bet?

How competitive is the Elite Hurdle 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 105%. The race in 2007 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 118%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Elite Hurdle, the over-round has been 112%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £112 which is bet.

Elite Hurdle Trends:

• 2024 Elite Hurdle Trends
• Elite Hurdle Trend Analysis

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 Elite Hurdle 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 -11.89. Whilst we wait for the 2024 Elite Hurdle remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.

Over the last 20 renewals, it was the Paul Nicholls trained Knappers Hill ridden by Harry Cobden who set the fastest winning time in the Elite Hurdle, the runner won the race in a time of 3:25.26 was set when winning the race in 2022. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey Barry Geraghty with Chomba Womba who set the slowest winning time, the race-winning time was 3:56.78 in the 2008 renewal.

These are the top three quickest-run Elite Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:

• 2022 - Knappers Hill (3:25.26)
• 2016 - Sceau Royal (3:25.30)
• 2010 - Nearby (3:25.80)

Elite Hurdle Past Winners

Here are the Elite 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 trainer of the horse at the time of winning the Elite Hurdle as well as the jockey is also displayed along with the starting price the horse was sent off.

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Elite Hurdle have been based:

• GB: 20 winners with an additional 24 placings from 131 runners
• IRE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 3 runners

Elite Hurdle Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Elite Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Paul Nicholls who has won the race seven times with those seven winners coming from Perouse (2004), Celestial Halo (2009 & 2011), Zarkandar (2012), Irving (2015), Knappers Hill (2022) and Rubaud (2023). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Elite Hurdle are Alan King (3 wins), Nicky Henderson (3 wins) and John Quinn (2 wins).

Here are some of the top Elite 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):

Elite Hurdle Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Elite Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Daryl Jacob who has won the race six times with those six winners coming from Celestial Halo (2011), Zarkandar (2012), Sceau Royal (2016, 2020 & 2021) and Fusil Raffles (2019). Other jockeys who have recorded multiple wins in the Elite Hurdle are Harry Cobden (2 wins), Nick Scholfield (2 wins) and Dougie Costello (2 wins).

Here are some of the top Elite 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):

2024 Elite Hurdle Trends

Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 6, (4, 9), 2, 3, 2, (1, 3), 9, F, 2, 2, F, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 1, 1, (1, 2), 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 (76%) - Had 4 - 13 placings (Hurdle)
• 20 / 20 (78%) - Achieved an RPR of 133+ (Last 3)
• 20 / 20 (78%) - Achieved a TS of 111+ (Last 3)
• 20 / 20 (78%) - No bigger than 16/1
• 20 / 20 (78%) - Top two finish within last 3
• 20 / 20 (80%) - Achieved a TS of 117+ (Last 5)
• 20 / 20 (80%) - Not in a Cl4-5 (Last Win)
• 20 / 20 (82%) - Had 4 - 23 placings (Further)
• 20 / 20 (84%) - No bigger than 50/1 (Career)
• 20 / 20 (85%) - Not Flat or Chase (Last Win)
• 20 / 20 (86%) - Carried 135 - 165lbs (Last Win)
• 20 / 20 (86%) - Furthest Placed 2m½f - 2m5f
• 20 / 20 (87%) - Highest Placed is not Cl3-4
• 20 / 20 (88%) - No bigger than 25/1 (Career Place)
• 20 / 20 (89%) - Had 1 - 7 placings (1 Year)

Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Wincanton racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Elite Hurdle. If there is anything that you do not understand in this blog, please do leave a comment or alternatively, head over to the Horse Racing Terms and Abbreviations article which is available in the OLBG Betting School section.

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 Elite Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.

Elite Hurdle Trend Analysis

The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +7.68 is when runners ran in a Handicap last time out. The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran in a Class 4 when last winning, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-21.

The course which has produced the most winners of the Elite Hurdle is Aintree, there has been a total number of 4 winners of this race who ran at Aintree last time out. The next best courses which have produced the second most winners are Kempton and Newmarket (Rowley), there has been a total number of 3 winners from each of those courses.

The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 18 winners from a total of 128 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 2 winners from a total of 6 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Elite Hurdle:

• Doctor Dino (3 Wins)
• Galileo (2 Wins)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Purple Bay in 2014, winning for John Ferguson at odds of 16/1 under the guidance of Mikey Ennis. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 7 winning favourites in the race. Before placing your bet on the 2024 Elite Hurdle head over to see which other runners today are being backed by the best racing tipsters today.