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 Greatwood Hurdle Preview
Scheduled to take place in November of each year, the Greatwood Hurdle was first introduced back in 1987 when Celtic Shot for Fred Winter and Peter Scudamore took the inaugural running of the race. The race is run at Cheltenham racecourse and is open to runners aged four years old or older and is a Class 1 Premier Handicap run over an extended two miles.
Greatwood is a charity organisation for the welfare of retired racehorses who feature within the OLBG Charity Scheme, there have been some very good winners of the race with the likes of Detroit City, Sizing Europe, Menorah, Dell' Arca & Old Guard all landing the wins.
Greatwood Hurdle Information:
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 Schedule for the November Meeting at Cheltenham section for links to these.
How competitive is the Greatwood Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2008 when the race had an over-round of 116%. The race in 2015 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 138%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Greatwood Hurdle, the over-round has been 125%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £125 which is bet.
Greatwood Hurdle Trends:
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 Greatwood Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 5 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of +11.75. Before placing your bet on the 2025 Greatwood Hurdle see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.
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 Olofi from Tom George under the guidance of Paddy Brennan, won in a time of 4:13.08, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Nietzsche, trained by Brian Ellison and ridden by Danny McMenamin set the quickest time of 3:48.60 in the 2018 renewal.
These are the top three quickest-run Greatwood Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:
- Nietzsche (3:48.60) in 2018
- Brampour (3:51.17) in 2011
- West Cork (3:51.20) in 2021
Greatwood Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the Greatwood 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 horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Greatwood Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 3:59.08 | Burdett Road (GB) 4yo 11-10 7/2 | Harry Cobden James Owen (GB) |
| 2023 4:05.33 | Iberico Lord (FR) 5yo 11-0 7/1 | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2022 3:54.72 | I Like To Move It (GB) 5yo 12-0 17/2 | Sam Twiston-Davies Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB) |
| 2021 3:51.20 | West Cork (GB) 7yo 10-13 11/1 | Harry Skelton Dan Skelton (GB) |
| 2020 4:10.69 | The Shunter (IRE) 7yo 10-0 13/2 | Robbie Power Emmet Mullins (IRE) |
| 2019 4:10.64 | Harambe (GB) 6yo 11-0 16/1 | Tom Bellamy Alan King (GB) |
| 2018 3:48.60 | Nietzsche (GB) 5yo 9-7 20/1 | Danny McMenamin (7lbs) Brian Ellison (GB) |
| 2017 4:04.40 | Elgin (GB) 5yo 10-8 10/1 | Wayne Hutchinson Alan King (GB) |
| 2016 3:56.10 | North Hill Harvey (GB) 5yo 11-0 6/1 | Harry Skelton Dan Skelton (GB) |
| 2015 4:00.10 | Old Guard (GB) 4yo 10-10 12/1 | Harry Cobden (7lbs) Paul Nicholls (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Greatwood Hurdle have been based:
- GB: 18 winners with an additional 42 placings from 263 runners
- IRE: 2 winners with an additional 8 placings from 56 runners
Greatwood Hurdle Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Greatwood Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Philip Hobbs who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Detroit City (2006), Menorah (2010) and Garde La Victoire (2014). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Greatwood Hurdle are Paul Nicholls (2 wins), Alan King (2 wins), Dan Skelton (2 wins) and Nigel Twiston-Davies (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Greatwood 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philip Hobbs | 19-3-5 | +1.20 | -2.09 |
| Paul Nicholls | 21-2-7 | +5.00 | +4.13 |
| Alan King | 20-2-7 | +8.00 | +9.82 |
| Dan Skelton | 15-2-4 | +4.00 | +0.69 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 12-2-4 | +7.50 | +9.19 |
| Nicky Henderson | 20-1-7 | -12.00 | -7.90 |
| David Pipe | 11-1-3 | +2.00 | +0.88 |
| Brian Ellison | 10-1-4 | +11.00 | +12.00 |
| Gary Moore | 10-1-3 | -4.00 | -3.32 |
| Jonjo O'Neill | 10-1-2 | -4.00 | -4.87 |
Greatwood Hurdle Jockey Statistics
There are two leading jockeys in the Greatwood Hurdle over the last 20 renewals with both Harry Skelton and Harry Cobden who have both won the race two times. Harry Skelton winners have been with North Hill Harvey (2016) and West Cork (2021). Harry Cobden winners have been with Old Guard (2015) and Burdett Road (2024).
Here are some of the top Greatwood 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Skelton | 10-2-4 | +9.00 | +5.69 |
| Harry Cobden | 7-2-3 | +10.50 | +5.82 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 7-1-2 | +2.50 | +0.81 |
| Nico de Boinville | 4-1-2 | +4.00 | +2.88 |
| Danny McMenamin | 3-1-1 | +18.00 | +10.50 |
| Tom Bellamy | 3-1-1 | +14.00 | +8.00 |
| Brian Hughes | 7-0-0 | -7.00 | -7.00 |
| Dougie Costello | 5-0-1 | -5.00 | +0.50 |
| Danny Cook | 5-0-2 | -5.00 | -0.50 |
| Tom Cannon | 4-0-1 | -4.00 | -2.25 |
2025 Greatwood Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 15, 1, 8, 2, (2, 4), 3, 11, 18, (6, 16), 2, (8, PU), 11, F, 4, 12, 3, 9, 2, RO, 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 (66%) - No bigger than 20/1
- 20 / 20 (70%) - Within the first 11 of the market
- 20 / 20 (71%) - Had 2 - 6 placings (Hurdle)
- 20 / 20 (76%) - Not in a G2/LST/Cl2-3 (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (77%) - Fewer than 4 placings (Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Had 3 - 12 placings (Career)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Fewer than 9 races (Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Ran in 3 - 15 races (Hurdle)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Ran in 5 - 32 races (Career)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Fewer than 4 races (Higher Class)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Furthest Placed 2m½f - 2m5f
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Achieved an RPR of 129+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - No more than +3yrs (Vs Min Age)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Fewer than 3 wins (Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Not in SCO/WAL (Last Win)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Cheltenham racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Greatwood Hurdle. Maybe you are looking to back something in this race on the tote, but you are not sure of the process or how the tote works, No problem! We have an article which is dedicated to The Tote for you to read which explains everything you need to know! Be sure to check out the other articles in the OLBG Betting School.
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 Greatwood Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.
Greatwood Hurdle Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +29.20 is when runners had 2 career starts in higher class races.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran in a race restricted to 4-6yo on debut, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-52.
The courses that have produced the most winners of the Greatwood Hurdle are Ascot and Cheltenham, 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 20 winners from a total of 303 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 16 runners.
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Greatwood Hurdle despite multiple attempts:
- Doyen (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Montjeu (0 Wins from 6 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Nietzsche in 2018, winning for Brian Ellison at odds of 20/1 under the guidance of Danny McMenamin. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 1 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2025 Greatwood Hurdle why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today?
Schedule for the November Meeting at Cheltenham
Here is the schedule for the November Meeting at Cheltenham, each race will be linked to the race blog and detail last year's winner in the table below.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 (Friday) Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase | Sweet David (GB) 5yo - 5/1 | Gabriel Leenders Felix De Giles |
| Day 1 (Friday) Hyde Novices Hurdle | Potters Charm (IRE) 5yo - 7/4 | Nigel Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davies |
| Day 1 (Friday) Shloer Chase | Jonbon (FR) 8yo - 1/3 | Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville |
| Day 2 (Saturday) Arkle Challenge Trophy Trial Novices Chase | LEau du Sud (FR) 6yo - 10/11 | Dan Skelton Harry Skelton |
| Day 2 (Saturday) JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle | East India Dock (GB) 3yo - 4/5 | James Owen Sam Twiston-Davies |
| Day 2 (Saturday) Paddy Power Gold Cup | Il Ridoto (FR) 7yo - 10/1 | Paul Nicholls Freddie Gingell |
| Day 3 (Sunday) Greatwood Hurdle | Burdett Road (GB) 4yo - 7/2 | James Owen Harry Cobden |
| Day 3 (Sunday) November Meeting Handicap Chase | Abuffalosoldier (IRE) 7yo - 100/30 | Warren Greatrex Sean Bowen |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Greatwood Hurdle 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
