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.
2026 Imperial Cup Preview
Established in 1907, the Imperial Cup is scheduled to take place in March of each year at the Sandown racecourse usually on the Saturday before the Cheltenham Festival.
The race is a Grade 3 hurdle that is open to runners aged four or older and it is run over a trip just shy of two miles in which eight hurdles are jumped.
Imperial Cup Information:
Why not use the trends shortlist below to help you narrow down the field and then head over to the dedicated Sandown tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG expert racing tipsters to find yourself a bet? You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Other Principal Races at Sandown Racecourse section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Imperial Cup 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 117%. The race in 2010 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 136%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Imperial Cup, the over-round has been 128%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £128 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Imperial Cup 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 Imperial Cup Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Imperial Cup over the last 20 renewals:
- Daves Dream (3:50.00) in 2009
- Ashkazar (3:50.40) in 2008
- Qaspal (3:54.11) in 2010
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 Imperial Cup next time out then you would have backed a total of 1 winner. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -13.50. Before placing your bet on the 2026 Imperial Cup 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 2013 renewal when First Avenue from Laura Mongan under the guidance of Nathan Adams, won in a time of 4:15.33, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Daves Dream, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty set the quickest time of 3:50.00 in the 2009 renewal.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
Imperial Cup Past Winners
Here are the Imperial Cup 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 Imperial Cup are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
Race Notes: The race was abandoned in 2020 because of a waterlogged course.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 4:00.00 | Go Dante (GB) 9yo 10-8 6/1 | Sean Bowen Olly Murphy (GB) |
| 2024 4:05.10 | Go Dante (GB) 8yo 11-4 5/1F | Sean Bowen Olly Murphy (GB) |
| 2023 4:11.00 | Iceo (FR) 5yo 11-3 5/1 | Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2022 4:12.50 | Suprise Package (GB) 6yo 11-1 20/1 | James Bowen Peter Fahey (IRE) |
| 2021 4:14.85 | Langer Dan (IRE) 5yo 10-10 5/1 | Harry Skelton Dan Skelton (GB) |
| 2019 4:02.50 | Malaya (FR) 5yo 10-2 7/1 | Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2018 4:07.70 | Mr Antolini (IRE) 8yo 10-1 20/1 | Jamie Bargary (3lbs) Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB) |
| 2017 4:03.80 | London Prize (GB) 6yo 11-2 10/1 | Tom O'Brien Ian Williams (GB) |
| 2016 4:05.80 | Flying Angel (IRE) 5yo 10-7 9/1 | Ryan Hatch (3lbs) Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB) |
| 2015 3:59.10 | Ebony Express (GB) 6yo 10-7 33/1 | William Kennedy Dr Richard Newland (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Imperial Cup have been based:
- GB: 18 winners with an additional 54 placings from 346 runners
- IRE: 2 winners with an additional 1 placing from 16 runners
Imperial Cup Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Imperial Cup over the last 20 renewals is David Pipe who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Gaspara (2007), Ashkazar (2008) and Baltimore Rock (2014). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Imperial Cup are Paul Nicholls (2 wins), Nigel Twiston-Davies (2 wins) and Olly Murphy (2 wins). Multiple trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Imperial Cup, Gary Moore (0-21), Alan King (0-12) and Venetia Williams (0-10) have all failed to produce a single winner despite sending multiple runners to the race.
Here are some of the top Imperial Cup 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Pipe | 17-3-7 | -0.92 | +0.00 |
| Paul Nicholls | 23-2-7 | -9.00 | -5.43 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 7-2-2 | +24.00 | +13.13 |
| Olly Murphy | 2-2-2 | +11.00 | +6.88 |
| Nicky Henderson | 21-1-5 | -8.00 | -8.08 |
| Dan Skelton | 11-1-4 | -5.00 | -0.18 |
| Philip Hobbs | 11-1-4 | -7.25 | -1.78 |
| Lucy Wadham | 9-1-3 | +2.00 | +1.55 |
| Dr Richard Newland | 6-1-2 | +28.00 | +20.26 |
| Ian Williams | 6-1-1 | +5.00 | +1.25 |
Imperial Cup Jockey Statistics
There are two leading jockeys in the Imperial Cup over the last 20 renewals with both Harry Cobden and Sean Bowen who have both won the race two times. Harry Cobden winners have been with Malaya (2019) and Iceo (2023). Sean Bowen winners have been with Go Dante (2024 & 2025).
Here are some of the top Imperial Cup 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 Cobden | 6-2-2 | +8.00 | +3.51 |
| Sean Bowen | 5-2-2 | +8.00 | +3.88 |
| Harry Skelton | 9-1-3 | -3.00 | -1.81 |
| William Kennedy | 6-1-1 | +28.00 | +15.63 |
| James Bowen | 3-1-3 | +18.00 | +13.83 |
| Jamie Bargary | 1-1-1 | +20.00 | +12.50 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 7-0-0 | -7.00 | -7.00 |
| Jack Quinlan | 5-0-2 | -5.00 | +1.63 |
| Kielan Woods | 5-0-2 | -5.00 | -2.18 |
| Gavin Sheehan | 5-0-0 | -5.00 | -5.00 |
2026 Imperial Cup Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 5, 1, 1, 2, 1, (2, 21), 8, PU, 3, PU, 4, 2, 3, 3, 6, PU, PU, (1, 11), 13
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 (81%) - Within the first 14 of the market
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Carried 125 - 162lbs (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Not BR/CH in colour
- 20 / 20 (85%) - No bigger than 33/1
- 20 / 20 (85%) - In a field of 6 - 18 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Carried no more than 158lbs
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Off a break of 9 - 92 days
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Had 2 - 8 placings (Hurdle)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Had 1 - 4 wins (Hurdle)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Fewer than 6 placings (Hcps)
- 19 / 20 (87%) - No more than +3yrs (Vs Min Age)
- 18 / 20 (67%) - No bigger than 8/1 (Career Win)
- 18 / 20 (77%) - Achieved a TS of 107+ (Last 5)
- 18 / 20 (84%) - Won by at least 1l (Last Win)
- 17 / 20 (61%) - Achieved an RPR of 128+ (Season)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Sandown racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Imperial Cup. 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 £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 Imperial Cup by adding a tip on the race here.
101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
Imperial Cup Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +36.58 is when runners had 2 career wins in Jumps (Hurdle) races.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran in a race worth £4,000 on debut, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-41.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Imperial Cup is Newbury, there has been a total number of 4 winners of this race who ran at Newbury last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Sandown, there has been a total number of 3 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 18 winners from a total of 343 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 2 winners from a total of 19 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Imperial Cup, that stallion Kayf Tara has produced 2 winners (2025,2024).
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Imperial Cup despite multiple attempts:
- Kings Theatre (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Desert Prince (0 Wins from 5 runners)
- Halling (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Ebony Express in 2015, winning for Dr Richard Newland at odds of 33/1 under the guidance of William Kennedy. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 5 winning favourites in the race. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Imperial Cup remember you can get daily racing predictions from the top racing tipsters on the best racing tipsters page.
Route to the Imperial Cup
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Imperial Cup, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Go Dante Newbury - 7th of 17 (29/1) | Newbury Handicap Hurdle |
| 2024 - Go Dante Newbury - 3rd of 21 (14/1) | Newbury Handicap Hurdle |
| 2023 - Iceo Sandown - 2nd of 10 (3/1) | Unibet New And Improved Bet Builder Handicap Hurdle |
| 2022 - Suprise Package Leopardstown - 9th of 27 (14/1) | Timeless Sash Windows Handicap Hurdle |
| 2021 - Langer Dan Market Rasen - 4th of 7 (9/1) | MansionBets Faller Insurance Handicap Hurdle |
| 2019 - Malaya Ascot - 4th of 10 (20/1) | Ascot Supports Berkshire Community Foundation Handicap Hurdle |
| 2018 - Mr Antolini Huntingdon - 2nd of 7 (4/1) | Watch Racing UK In Stunning HD Handicap Hurdle |
| 2017 - London Prize Newcastle (AW) - 2nd of 9 (11/4) | Betway Handicap |
| 2016 - Flying Angel Newbury - 3rd of 22 (25/1) | Newbury Handicap Hurdle |
| 2015 - Ebony Express Newbury - BD of 23 (33/1) | Newbury Handicap Hurdle |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Imperial Cup 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
