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2026 Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle Preview
Scheduled to take place in April of each year at the Perth racecourse is the Future Champions Novices Hurdle, this is a class 1 listed race that is currently known as the Gold Castle Novicesâ Hurdle. The race features on the opening day of the three-day Perth April meeting and is run over a trip of three miles; the meeting also features the Highland National.
Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle Information:
- Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle Past Winners
- Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle Trainer Statistics
- Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle Jockey Statistics
If you are interested in other predictions at Perth, then head over to the Perth 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.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2026
How competitive is the Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2018, when the race had an over-round of 105%. The race in 2025 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 124%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle, the over-round has been 111%, which means the bookie expects to pay out ÂŁ100 for every ÂŁ111 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Gold Castle 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 Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle races over the last 20 renewals:
- Up For Review (5:47.40) in 2016
- Giovinco (5:51.17) in 2023
- Gayebury (5:51.20) in 2017
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 Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle next time out, then you would have backed a total of 4 winners. Backing all 20 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -8.29. Remember to bookmark the racing tips page to access the OLBG racing picks easily daily.
When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 5:47.40 was set by Up For Review in 2016, trained by W P Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend, which is the quickest time over that period. The slowest winning time was set in 2007 when Heres Johnny won in a time of 6:30.50 for trainer Victor Dartnall, who booked Tom O'Brien in the saddle.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the race year, the winning horse, and the horse's age & weight. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 6:02.57 | Kiss Will (FR) 5yo 11-2 5/1 | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2024 6:19.05 | Sounds Russian (IRE) 9yo 11-2 5/1 | Brian Hughes Ruth Jefferson (GB) |
| 2023 5:51.17 | Giovinco (IRE) 6yo 11-2 10/1 | Stephen Mulqueen Lucinda Russell (GB) |
| 2022 6:01.98 | Mahler Mission (IRE) 6yo 11-5 5/1 | Tom Scudamore John C McConnell (IRE) |
| 2021 5:55.95 | Threeunderthrufive (IRE) 6yo 11-3 15/8 | A P Heskin Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2019 5:53.30 | Go Another One (IRE) 7yo 11-5 2/1F | Richard Johnson John C McConnell (IRE) |
| 2018 6:11.90 | Calett Mad (FR) 6yo 11-0 8/11F | Daryl Jacob Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB) |
| 2017 5:51.20 | Gayebury (GB) 7yo 11-8 3/1 | Tom O'Brien Evan Williams (GB) |
| 2016 5:47.40 | Up For Review (IRE) 7yo 11-6 5/1 | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2015 6:12.60 | Onenightinvienna (IRE) 6yo 11-3 11/10F | Tom O'Brien Philip Hobbs (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle have been based:
- GB: 14 winners with an additional 18 placings from 107 runners
- IRE: 5 winners with an additional 1 placing from 17 runners
- FR: 1 winner with an additional 1 placing from 2 runners
Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Victor Dartnall, who has won the race three times, with those three winners coming from Heres Johnny (2007), Lodge Lane (2008) and Ambion Wood (2012). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle are Lucinda Russell (2 wins), W P Mullins (2 wins), Nicky Henderson (2 wins), Philip Hobbs (2 wins) and John C McConnell (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Gold Castle 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victor Dartnall | 4-3-3 | +4.88 | +3.59 |
| Lucinda Russell | 6-2-2 | +15.00 | +2.25 |
| W P Mullins | 6-2-3 | +6.00 | +0.59 |
| Nicky Henderson | 4-2-3 | +1.13 | -0.50 |
| Philip Hobbs | 4-2-4 | +0.98 | +1.88 |
| John C McConnell | 3-2-2 | +6.00 | +3.38 |
| Paul Nicholls | 7-1-2 | -4.12 | -4.04 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 5-1-1 | -3.27 | -4.00 |
| Gordon Elliott | 4-1-1 | +8.00 | +5.88 |
| Ruth Jefferson | 1-1-1 | +5.00 | +3.13 |
Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Paul Townend, who has won the race two times, with those two winners coming from Up For Review (2016) and Kiss Will (2025).
Here are some of the top Gold Castle 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Townend | 3-2-3 | +9.00 | +2.59 |
| Brian Hughes | 8-1-4 | -2.00 | +0.07 |
| Stephen Mulqueen | 2-1-1 | +9.00 | +5.25 |
| Jack Doyle | 1-1-1 | +2.50 | +1.56 |
| David Bass | 1-1-1 | +1.75 | +0.00 |
| Harry Skelton | 4-0-1 | -4.00 | -1.90 |
| Ryan Mania | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -2.00 |
| Sean Bowen | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -3.00 |
| Dougie Costello | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -3.00 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -3.00 |
2026 Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 2, 5, PU, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, (1, 2), 4, 4, 1, 1, 4, 2, 4, 2, 3
The percentage shown is the proportion 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 (81%) - Ran over 2m½f - 3m2f (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Not in a Cl3 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - In a field of 5 - 18 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Achieved a TS of 62+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - No bigger than 14/1 (Career Win)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Carried 152 - 167lbs (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - No more than -7lbs (Vs Max Weight)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Furthest Won 2m½f - 3m2f
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Achieved an RPR of 108+ (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - No bigger than 33/1
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Won by at least a head (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Highest Won is not LST
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Had 2 - 13 placings (Career)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Achieved an RPR of 111+ (Career)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Not fallen (Career)
Remember to use the trends listed above, along with the Perth racing predictions, to see if you can find the winner of the Gold Castle 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 ÂŁ6,000 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 Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.
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Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle Trend Analysis
â The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +49.88, is when runners had 2 wins in the past year.
â The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 3 career places, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-15.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle is Cheltenham; there have been a total of 9 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out.
The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 19 winners from a total of 117 runners, while female runners have produced 1 winner from a total of 9 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle:
- Presenting (4 Wins)
- Oscar (2 Wins)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Trisons Star in 2005, winning for Lucy Normile at odds of 33/1 under the guidance of Des Flavin. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 6 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2026 Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle, why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today? If you are interested in other races at the Perth racecourse, then why not read our blog for the Highland National?
Route to the Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle
Many trainers target races as preparation for the Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Kiss Will Cheltenham - 7th of 11 (50/1) | Turners Novices' Hurdle |
| 2024 - Sounds Russian Haydock - 5th of 6 (5/1) | Virgin Bet Rendlesham Hurdle |
| 2023 - Giovinco Carlisle - 1st of 5 (1/2) | Happy 60th Birthday Helen Butterworth Novices Hurdle |
| 2022 - Mahler Mission Cheltenham - 7th of 16 (66/1) | Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle |
| 2021 - Threeunderthrufive Cheltenham - 6th of 16 (11/1) | Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle |
| 2019 - Go Another One Thurles - 1st of 6 (6/1) | BetVictor Michael Purcell Memorial Novice Hurdle |
| 2018 - Calett Mad Cheltenham - PU of 20 (16/1) | Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle |
| 2017 - Gayebury Cheltenham - 18th of 24 (25/1) | Pertemps Network Final |
| 2016 - Up For Review Cheltenham - PU of 19 (12/1) | Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle |
| 2015 - Onenightinvienna Hexham - 1st of 8 (4/9) | Chollerford 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 Gold Castle Novices' Hurdle Preview are Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.
Darren Brett
Expert Guide
Andy Powell
Expert Guide
