2023 Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Preview, Trends & Analysis

The Close Brothers Mares Hurdle grew in strength during the period when OLBG took up the sponsorship and developed the supporting 'OLBG Mares Road to Cheltenham' programme. Now a Grade 1 contest and with the Mares Novice race having been added to the festival in 2016, mares racing in the UK is looking stronger than ever.

Below we highlight some pointers, looking at trends and discussing the form to help you to find the winner of the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle. Who are our racing tipsters tipping to win this year's Close Brothers Mares Hurdle? You can find their picks on the Cheltenham tips page or on the main daily racing picks page. Additionally, have a read of the Best Bookies for the Cheltenham Festival to get the most out of your bettings.

Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Content:

• Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Past Winners
• Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Trainer Statistics
• Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Jockey Statistics
• 2023 Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Trends
• Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Trend Analysis
• Schedule at the Cheltenham Festival

Our dedicated Cheltenham Betting Picks will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle but will also have predictions for each meeting at Cheltenham throughout the season so be sure to head over there.

When looking over the past 15 renewals, a time of 4:44.60 was set by Quevega in 2014, that is the quickest time over that period, the runner was trained by W P Mullins and ridden by R Walsh. The slowest winning time was set in 2018 when Benie Des Dieux won in a time of 5:10.10, booked to ride was R Walsh on this W P Mullins trained runner.

These are the top three quickest run Close Brothers Mares Hurdle over the last 15 renewals:

• 2014 - Quevega (4:44.60)
• 2016 - Vroum Vroum Mag (4:45.00)
• 2022 - Maries Rock (4:45.40)

How competitive is the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 15 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2022 when the race had an over-round of 115%. The race in 2009 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 127%, whilst on average over the last 15 renewals of the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle, the over-round has been 121%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £121 which is bet.

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 15 if you had followed the winner of the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle next time out then you would have back a total of 8 winners. Backing all 12 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of +6.86. Ahead of the 2023 Close Brothers Mares Hurdle why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today.

Here are the Close Brothers Mares 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 trainer of the horse at the time of winning the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle as well as the jockey is also displayed along with the starting price the horse was sent off.

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle have been based:

• IRE: 12 winners with an additional 16 placings from 73 runners
• GB: 3 winners with an additional 13 placings from 146 runners
• FR: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 5 runners

The leading trainer in the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle over the last 15 renewals is W P Mullins who has won the race 9 times. Those 9 winners came from Quevega (2009), Quevega (2010), Quevega (2011), Quevega (2012), Quevega (2013), Quevega (2014), Glens Melody (2015), Vroum Vroum Mag (2016) & Benie Des Dieux (2018).

Here are some of the top Close Brothers Mares Hurdle trainer statistics over the last 15 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):

Here are some of the top Close Brothers Mares Hurdle jockey statistics over the last 15 renewals (R = Rides, 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):

Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): ,3,1,1,1,1,1,1,F,1,3,3,F,2,2,4

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.

• 15 / 15 (41%) - No bigger than 20/1
• 15 / 15 (56%) - Carried 153-162lbs (Last Win)
• 15 / 15 (63%) - Won within last 3 starts
• 15 / 15 (63%) - Won within last 3 starts
• 15 / 15 (74%) - Never fallen
• 15 / 15 (74%) - Placed within last 2 starts
• 15 / 15 (75%) - Made 2-7 starts (1 Year)
• 15 / 15 (77%) - No bigger than 10/1 (LTO)
• 15 / 15 (77%) - Made 7-22 starts (Career)
• 15 / 15 (78%) - Fewer than 6 starts (Season)
• 15 / 15 (80%) - Did not run in a Hcp (LTO)
• 14 / 15 (44%) - Held an OR of 140+
• 14 / 15 (49%) - Within first 7 of market
• 14 / 15 (66%) - Previously won over 2m4f+
• 14 / 15 (67%) - Last win not in a hcp
• 14 / 15 (78%) - Stick with BAY horses
• 13 / 15 (48%) - Place in at least a G2
• 13 / 15 (58%) - Has finished every race

Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Cheltenham racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle. If there is anything that you do not understand in this blog, please do leave a comment or alternatively, 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 why share your thoughts on the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.

The trend factor which has produced 8+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +12.28 is when runners last win was 1 start ago. The worst performing factor which has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 4 season starts, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-51.

The course which has produced the most winners of the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle is Punchestown, there has been a total number of 7 winners of this race who ran at Punchestown last time out.

Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle, that stallion is Robin Des Champs who has produced 6 winners (2014,2013,2012,2011,2010,2009).

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle despite multiple attempts:

• Kayf Tara (0 Wins from 10 runners)
• Midnight Legend (0 Wins from 9 runners)
• Flemensfirth (0 Wins from 8 runners)
• Alflora (0 Wins from 7 runners)
• Beneficial (0 Wins from 7 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 15 renewals, the biggest priced winner was Whiteoak in 2008 when winning for Donald McCain at odds of 20/1 under the guidance of Jason Maguire. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 15 renewals there has been a total of 7 winning favourites in the race. Whilst we wait for the 2023 Close Brothers Mares Hurdle remember you can get daily racing predictions from the top racing tipsters on the best racing tipsters page.

Have a look at our racing tipsters Cheltenham predictions for the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle. Next up is the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, head over to find trends and tips.

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