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 Long Distance Hurdle Preview
A race that usually features runners who compete in the Stayers Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, scheduled to take place in November of each year at the Newbury racecourse is the Long Distance Hurdle. The runner will have a distance of three miles and a total of twelve hurdles between them and success in this race.
There has been no lack of back-to-back winners in the race, Deano's Beeno won it in both 1999 & 2000 for Pipe & McCoy, and the French raider Baracouda won it in 2003 & 2004 before Inglis Drever went one better with wins in 2005, 2006 & 2007.
The legend that is Big Buck is the most successful horse in the race having won it four years on the bounce between 2009 & 2012, however, no runner has won back-to-back since, Unowhatimeanharry did win it twice but not consecutive years.
Long Distance Hurdle Information:
- Long Distance Hurdle Past Winners
- Long Distance Hurdle Trainer Statistics
- Long Distance Hurdle 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 Long Distance Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2012 when the race had an over-round of 106%. The race in 2011 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 120%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Long Distance Hurdle, the over-round has been 112%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £112 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2025 Long Distance 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 Long Distance Hurdle Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Long Distance Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:
- Celestial Halo (5:48.35) in 2013
- Inglis Drever (5:49.30) in 2005
- Champ (5:53.70) in 2022
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 Long Distance Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 7 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -5.80. Whilst we wait for the 2025 Long Distance Hurdle remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters 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 2006 renewal when Inglis Drever from Howard Johnson under the guidance of Tony Dobbin, won in a time of 6:38.50, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Celestial Halo, trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Daryl Jacob set the quickest time of 5:48.35 in the 2013 renewal.
Long Distance Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the Long Distance 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 Long Distance Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 6:10.60 | Strong Leader (GB) 7yo 11-8 4/7F | Sean Bowen Olly Murphy (GB) |
| 2023 6:02.47 | Dashel Drasher (GB) 10yo 11-2 2/1 | Rex Dingle Jeremy Scott (GB) |
| 2022 5:53.70 | Champ (IRE) 10yo 11-8 11/8F | Jonjo O'Neill Jr Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2021 5:56.20 | Thomas Darby (IRE) 8yo 11-0 7/1 | Sean Bowen Olly Murphy (GB) |
| 2020 5:58.62 | Thyme Hill (GB) 6yo 11-3 7/2 | Richard Johnson Philip Hobbs (GB) |
| 2019 6:02.15 | Paisley Park (IRE) 7yo 11-6 8/15F | Aidan Coleman Emma Lavelle (GB) |
| 2018 5:55.00 | Unowhatimeanharry (GB) 10yo 11-0 11/4F | Barry Geraghty Harry Fry (GB) |
| 2017 6:02.90 | Beer Goggles (IRE) 6yo 11-0 40/1 | Richard Johnson Richard Woollacott (GB) |
| 2016 5:56.70 | Unowhatimeanharry (GB) 8yo 11-4 7/2 | Barry Geraghty Harry Fry (GB) |
| 2015 6:18.25 | Thistlecrack (GB) 7yo 11-4 7/2 | Tom Scudamore Colin Tizzard (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Long Distance Hurdle have been based:
- GB: 20 winners with an additional 20 placings from 116 runners
- FR: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 4 runners
- IRE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 4 runners
Long Distance Hurdle Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Long Distance Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Paul Nicholls who has won the race five times with those five winners coming from Big Bucks (2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012) and Celestial Halo (2013). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Long Distance Hurdle are Nicky Henderson (2 wins), Harry Fry (2 wins) and Olly Murphy (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Long Distance 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Nicholls | 11-5-8 | -1.60 | +4.42 |
| Nicky Henderson | 7-2-4 | +5.38 | +4.45 |
| Harry Fry | 5-2-3 | +3.25 | +1.54 |
| Olly Murphy | 3-2-2 | +6.57 | +3.38 |
| Emma Lavelle | 8-1-4 | -6.47 | -2.65 |
| Alan King | 7-1-2 | +2.00 | +0.44 |
| Philip Hobbs | 3-1-2 | +1.50 | +1.30 |
| Jeremy Scott | 1-1-1 | +2.00 | +1.25 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 7-0-2 | -7.00 | -5.35 |
| Rebecca Curtis | 5-0-0 | -5.00 | -5.00 |
Long Distance Hurdle Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Long Distance Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Sean Bowen who has won the race two times with those two winners coming from Thomas Darby (2021) and Strong Leader (2024).
Here are some of the top Long Distance 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Bowen | 4-2-2 | +5.57 | +2.38 |
| Daryl Jacob | 6-1-1 | -1.50 | -1.81 |
| Rex Dingle | 1-1-1 | +2.00 | +1.25 |
| Jonjo O'Neill Jr | 1-1-1 | +1.38 | +0.86 |
| Harry Cobden | 3-0-1 | -3.00 | -1.31 |
| Harry Skelton | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -2.00 |
| Adam Wedge | 2-0-1 | -2.00 | +0.25 |
| Dougie Costello | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | -1.00 |
| Chris Ward | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | -1.00 |
| Gavin Sheehan | 2-0-1 | -2.00 | -1.16 |
2025 Long Distance Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 1, 1, PU, 1, 1, 1, 1, 4, 3, 5, 2, 5, 1, 1, 3, 3, 1, 4, 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 (67%) - Highest Won is not G2/LST/Cl3-4
- 20 / 20 (68%) - Achieved an RPR of 149+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (73%) - Achieved an RPR of 138+ (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (74%) - Achieved a TS of 127+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (77%) - Not in IRL/SCO/WAL (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (78%) - No bigger than 11/1 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (78%) - Achieved a TS of 133+ (Career)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Not in a LST/Cl3-5 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Carried 150 - 165lbs (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Achieved an RPR of 143+ (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Beaten no more -17l (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Not in a G3/LST/Cl3-5 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Highest Run is not G2-3
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Off a break of 17 - 333 days
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Ran over 2m3½f - 3m2½f (Last Win)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Newbury racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Long Distance Hurdle. if you are unaware of what trends and statistics are, how they can be used etc then head over to the OLBG Betting School and read this Stats And Trends article which will make everything much clearer.
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 Long Distance Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.
Long Distance Hurdle Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +30.73 is when runners ran in a race restricted to 4-6yo on debut.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had a highest class won of Class 1 (G2), when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-28.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Long Distance Hurdle is Aintree, there has been a total number of 9 winners of this race who ran at Aintree last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Wetherby, there has been a total number of 4 winners of this race who ran at Wetherby 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 116 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 8 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Long Distance Hurdle:
- Cadoudal (4 Wins)
- In The Wings (3 Wins)
- Kayf Tara (2 Wins)
- Oscar (2 Wins)
- Passing Glance (2 Wins)
- Sir Harry Lewis (2 Wins)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Beer Goggles in 2017, winning for Richard Woollacott at odds of 40/1 under the guidance of Richard Johnson. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 11 winning favourites in the race. Remember to use the best racing tipsters along with the information on this page to find you a bet on the 2025 Long Distance Hurdle.
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Long Distance Hurdle 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
