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 Game Spirit Chase Preview
Scheduled to take place in February of each year at the Newbury racecourse is the Game Spirit Chase, a Grade 2 that is open to runners aged five or older and is run over a distance of two miles and half a furlong where a total of thirteen fences are to be jumped.
The race is named in honour of twenty-one-time winner Game Spirit, a horse that was owned by the Queen Mother. The majority of the winners will go on to run in the Champion Chase at Cheltenham the following month, Azertyuiop (2004) and Altior (2018) went on to win that race next time out whilst Altior (2017) also went on to win the Arkle Chase at the Festival next time out as did Sprinter Sacre (2012).
Game Spirit Chase Information:
- Game Spirit Chase Past Winners
- Game Spirit Chase Trainer Statistics
- Game Spirit Chase Jockey Statistics
We also have a dedicated Newbury 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 Newbury Racecourse section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Game Spirit Chase market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2016 when the race had an over-round of 107%. The race in 2020 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 117%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Game Spirit Chase, the over-round has been 110%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £110 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2025 Game Spirit 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 Game Spirit Chase Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Game Spirit Chase over the last 20 renewals:
- Funambule Sivola (3:51.72) in 2023
- Sprinter Sacre (3:57.72) in 2012
- Altior (4:01.25) in 2020
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 Game Spirit Chase next time out then you would have backed a total of 6 winners. Backing all 20 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -5.89. Before placing your bet on the 2025 Game Spirit Chase see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.
When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 3:51.72 was set by Funambule Sivola in 2023, which is the quickest time over that period, the runner was trained by Venetia Williams and ridden by Charlie Deutsch. The slowest winning time was set in 2014 when Module won in a time of 4:21.55, booked to ride was Paddy Brennan by the trainer Tom George.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
Game Spirit Chase Past Winners
Here are the Game Spirit 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 Game Spirit Chase are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
Race Notes: Ran at Lingfield in 2006 and the race was abandoned in 2009 & 2019.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 4:06.40 | Edwardstone (GB) 10yo 11-8 11/10F | Tom Cannon Alan King (GB) |
| 2023 3:51.72 | Funambule Sivola (FR) 8yo 11-8 7/1 | Charlie Deutsch Venetia Williams (GB) |
| 2022 4:01.35 | Funambule Sivola (FR) 7yo 11-0 9/4 | Charlie Deutsch Venetia Williams (GB) |
| 2021 4:05.18 | Sceau Royal (FR) 9yo 11-0 3/1F | Daryl Jacob Alan King (GB) |
| 2020 4:01.25 | Altior (IRE) 10yo 11-6 1/3F | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2018 4:19.60 | Altior (IRE) 8yo 11-6 1/3F | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2017 4:05.80 | Altior (IRE) 7yo 11-5 30/100F | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2016 4:20.10 | Top Gamble (IRE) 8yo 11-5 11/10F | Richard Johnson Kerry Lee (GB) |
| 2015 4:09.30 | Mr Mole (IRE) 7yo 11-6 7/2 | A P McCoy Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2014 4:21.55 | Module (FR) 7yo 11-2 11/8F | Paddy Brennan Tom George (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Game Spirit Chase have been based:
- GB: 20 winners with an additional 13 placings from 101 runners
- FR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners
Game Spirit Chase Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Game Spirit Chase over the last 20 renewals is Paul Nicholls who has won the race six times with those six winners coming from Kadarann (2003), Azertyuiop (2004 & 2005), Master Minded (2008 & 2010) and Mr Mole (2015). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Game Spirit Chase are Nicky Henderson (5 wins), Alan King (2 wins) and Venetia Williams (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Game Spirit 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Nicholls | 29-6-10 | -10.67 | -3.27 |
| Nicky Henderson | 10-5-8 | -0.14 | +3.06 |
| Alan King | 10-2-4 | -3.90 | -0.87 |
| Venetia Williams | 4-2-2 | +7.25 | -1.00 |
| David Pipe | 4-1-1 | -0.50 | -1.50 |
| Tom George | 2-1-1 | +0.38 | -1.00 |
| Philip Hobbs | 1-1-1 | +4.00 | +2.50 |
| Kerry Lee | 1-1-1 | +1.10 | +0.00 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 3-0-1 | -3.00 | -0.75 |
| Gary Moore | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -2.00 |
Game Spirit Chase Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Game Spirit Chase over the last 20 renewals is Nico de Boinville who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Altior (2017, 2018 & 2020). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the Game Spirit Chase is Charlie Deutsch (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Game Spirit 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nico de Boinville | 4-3-4 | -0.04 | +0.34 |
| Charlie Deutsch | 4-2-2 | +7.25 | -1.00 |
| Tom Cannon | 1-1-1 | +1.10 | +0.00 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 4-0-0 | -4.00 | -1.00 |
| Harry Cobden | 4-0-0 | -4.00 | -2.00 |
| Brendan Powell | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | +0.00 |
| James Reveley | 2-0-1 | -2.00 | -0.50 |
| Jonathan Burke | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | -1.00 |
| Tom Bellamy | 1-0-1 | -1.00 | +0.63 |
| Nick Scholfield | 1-0-0 | -1.00 | +0.00 |
2025 Game Spirit Chase Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, UR, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 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 (59%) - No bigger than 7/1
- 20 / 20 (70%) - Dam is not GB/NZ/USA bred
- 20 / 20 (75%) - Ran in 2 - 17 races (Chase)
- 20 / 20 (75%) - Had 1 - 17 wins (Jockey)
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Achieved a TS of 126+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Within the first 4 of the market
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Ran in 8 - 35 races (Career)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Had 1 - 6 wins (Going)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - In a field of 3 - 9 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Achieved an RPR of 148+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Highest Won is not G3/LST/Cl3-5
- 20 / 20 (86%) - No bigger than 12/1 (Career Win)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Achieved an RPR of 132+ (Going)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Held an OR of 140+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Won within last 7 starts
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Newbury racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Game Spirit Chase. If there is anything that you do not understand in this blog, please leave a comment or 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 Game Spirit Chase by adding a tip on the race here.
Game Spirit Chase Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +3.27 is when runners were 1st in the betting market.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 0 career wins with the jockey, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-26.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Game Spirit Chase is Kempton, there has been a total number of 6 winners of this race who ran at Kempton last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Sandown, there has been a total number of 5 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 101 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 2 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Game Spirit Chase:
- High Chaparral (3 Wins)
- Baby Turk (2 Wins)
- Nikos (2 Wins)
- Noroit (2 Wins)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Funambule Sivola in 2023, winning for Venetia Williams at odds of 7/1 under the guidance of Charlie Deutsch. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 12 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2025 Game Spirit Chase why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today?
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Game Spirit 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
Tipster Competition Manager
Andy Powell
Content Editor
