Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Cheltenham Festival)

Explore the trends and statistics behind this Grade 1 hurdle race for mares. Discover past winners, successful trainers, and key insights into this 2Β½-mile contest that showcases the best female hurdlers in training.
Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Cheltenham Festival)
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Content Editor

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 Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Preview

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?

Optimize your Close Brothers Mares Hurdle picks with our comprehensive analysis of previous race trends and trainer statistics, then explore the Cheltenham free bets for added value.

Close Brothers Mares 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. We cover every race at the Cheltenham Festival and below you can find links to all of the races for each of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.

Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
ALSO READ

Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025

How competitive is the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 18 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 18 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.

Below you will find the 2026 Close Brothers Mares 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 Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Close Brothers Mares Hurdle over the last 18 renewals:

  1. Quevega (4:44.60) in 2014
  2. Vroum Vroum Mag (4:45.00) in 2016
  3. Maries Rock (4:45.40) in 2022

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 18 if you had followed the winner of the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 10 winners. Backing all 14 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of +17.04. Before placing your bet on the 2026 Close Brothers Mares Hurdle see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.

Over the last 18 renewals, it was Quevega, trained by W P Mullins and ridden by R Walsh who set the fastest winning time in the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle, the runner won the race in a time of 4:44.60 when winning the race in 2014. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer W P Mullins and jockey Paul Townend with Lossiemouth who set the slowest winning time, the race-winning time was 5:10.38 in the 2024 renewal.

What the expert says...
Had you followed the winners between 2010 & 2024, backing them next time out would have returned ten winners (the other three retired after the race) and an LSP of +19.04. The only two which lost went on to finish runner-up.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

2026 Mares Hurdle 10 Mar @ 15:20 - AntePost
Lossiemouth 3.00
Brighterdaysahead 7.00
Jade De Grugy 9.00
Wodhooh 9.00
Air Of Entitlement 13.00

Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Past Winners

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 horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorseInfo
2025
4:53.87
Lossiemouth (FR)
6yo 11-5 4/6F
Paul Townend
W P Mullins (IRE)
2024
5:10.38
Lossiemouth (FR)
5yo 11-5 8/13F
Paul Townend
W P Mullins (IRE)
2023
5:05.13
Honeysuckle (GB)
9yo 11-5 9/4F
Rachael Blackmore
Henry De Bromhead (IRE)
2022
4:45.40
Maries Rock (IRE)
7yo 11-5 18/1
Nico de Boinville
Nicky Henderson (GB)
2021
4:56.51
Black Tears (GB)
7yo 11-5 11/1
Jack Kennedy
Mrs Denise Foster (IRE)
2020
5:08.73
Honeysuckle (GB)
6yo 11-5 9/4
Rachael Blackmore
Henry De Bromhead (IRE)
2019
5:00.26
Roksana (IRE)
7yo 11-5 10/1
Harry Skelton
Dan Skelton (GB)
2018
5:10.10
Benie Des Dieux (FR)
7yo 11-5 9/2
R Walsh
W P Mullins (IRE)
2017
4:50.20
Apples Jade (FR)
5yo 11-5 7/2
B J Cooper
Gordon Elliott (IRE)
2016
4:45.00
Vroum Vroum Mag (FR)
7yo 11-5 4/6F
R Walsh
W P Mullins (IRE)

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: 15 winners with an additional 20 placings from 91 runners
  • GB: 3 winners with an additional 15 placings from 158 runners
  • FR: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 5 runners

Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle over the last 18 renewals is W P Mullins who has won the race eleven times with those eleven winners coming from Quevega (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014), Glens Melody (2015), Vroum Vroum Mag (2016), Benie Des Dieux (2018) and Lossiemouth (2024 & 2025). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle is Henry De Bromhead (2 wins).

Here are some of the top Close Brothers Mares Hurdle trainer statistics over the last 18 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):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
W P Mullins40-11-20-10.18-8.35
Henry De Bromhead9-2-4-2.50+2.90
Nicky Henderson20-1-4-1.00-5.47
Dan Skelton7-1-3+4.00+3.50
Gordon Elliott7-1-4-2.50-0.70
Donald McCain5-1-1+16.00+8.00
Mrs Denise Foster1-1-1+11.00+6.60
Mrs John Harrington9-0-1-9.00-8.50
Alan King8-0-2-8.00-3.70
Harry Fry8-0-2-8.00-4.30

Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle over the last 18 renewals is Paul Townend who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Glens Melody (2015) and Lossiemouth (2024 & 2025). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle is Rachael Blackmore (2 wins).

Here are some of the top Close Brothers Mares Hurdle jockey statistics over the last 18 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):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
Paul Townend11-3-8-0.71-0.27
Rachael Blackmore7-2-4-0.50+3.40
Harry Skelton7-1-3+4.00+3.50
Nico de Boinville6-1-1+13.00+5.80
Jack Kennedy5-1-3+7.00+4.05
Danny Mullins7-0-2-7.00-3.90
Sam Twiston-Davies5-0-0-5.00-5.00
Jonathan Burke3-0-1-3.00-1.40
Sean Bowen3-0-0-3.00-3.00
Mr P W Mullins3-0-0-3.00-3.00

Close Brothers Mares Hurdle Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor which had produced 9+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +1.57 is when runners were 1st in the betting market.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran in a Handicap last time out, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-48.

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. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Leopardstown, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Leopardstown last time out.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle:

  • Robin Des Champs (6 Wins)
  • Great Pretender (3 Wins)
  • Sulamani (2 Wins)

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 10 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 18 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Whiteoak in 2008, 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 18 renewals there have been 10 winning favourites in the race. Remember to bookmark the best racing tipsters page so you can get easy access to the best OLBG racing tipsters.

Route to the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle

Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2025 - Lossiemouth
Leopardstown - F of 5 (8/11)
Irish Champion Hurdle
2024 - Lossiemouth
Cheltenham - 1st of 5 (4/7)
International Hurdle
2023 - Honeysuckle
Leopardstown - 2nd of 5 (11/8)
Irish Champion Hurdle
2022 - Maries Rock
Warwick - 1st of 4 (6/4)
Virgin Bet Warwick Mares Hurdle
2021 - Black Tears
Punchestown - 1st of 5 (2/5)
Quevega Mares Hurdle
2020 - Honeysuckle
Leopardstown - 1st of 9 (8/11)
Irish Champion Hurdle
2019 - Roksana
Sandown - 3rd of 5 (10/1)
888Sport Contenders Hurdle
2018 - Benie Des Dieux
Naas - 1st of 6 (1/1)
BBA Ireland Limited Opera Hat Mares Chase
2017 - Apples Jade
Punchestown - 2nd of 6 (2/5)
Quevega Mares Hurdle
2016 - Vroum Vroum Mag
Ascot - 1st of 10 (4/6)
OLBG.com Mares Hurdle

Schedule for Tuesday at the Cheltenham Festival

Prepare for the ROAR of the Cheltenham Festival on the opening day when the tape goes up for the Supreme Novices Hurdle, the feature on Tuesday is the Champion Hurdle.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
13:20 Cheltenham
Supreme Novices Hurdle
Kopek Des Bordes (FR)
5yo - 4/6
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
14:00 Cheltenham
Arkle Challenge Trophy
Jango Baie (FR)
6yo - 5/1
Nicky Henderson
Nico de Boinville
14:40 Cheltenham
Ultima Handicap Chase
Myretown (IRE)
8yo - 13/2
Lucinda Russell
Patrick Wadge
15:20 Cheltenham
Close Brothers Mares Hurdle
Lossiemouth (FR)
6yo - 4/6
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
16:00 Cheltenham
Champion Hurdle
Golden Ace (GB)
7yo - 25/1
Jeremy Scott
Lorcan Williams
16:40 Cheltenham
Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle
Puturhandstogether (IRE)
4yo - 17/2
Joseph Patrick O'Brien
Mark Walsh
17:20 Cheltenham
National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup
Haiti Couleurs (FR)
8yo - 7/2
Rebecca Curtis
Ben Jones

Schedule for Wednesday at the Cheltenham Festival

The dust has settled on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival and now on to day two. The feature on the second day is the Queen Mother Champion Chase. We also have the cross country scheduled on Wednesday, a race like Marmite, some love it and some don't!

RaceLast WinnerInfo
13:20 Cheltenham
Turners Novices Hurdle
The New Lion (GB)
6yo - 3/1
Dan Skelton
Harry Skelton
14:00 Cheltenham
Brown Advisory Novices Chase
Lecky Watson (IRE)
7yo - 20/1
W P Mullins
Sean O'Keeffe
14:40 Cheltenham
Coral Cup
Jimmy Du Seuil (FR)
6yo - 16/1
W P Mullins
Danny Mullins
15:20 Cheltenham
Cross Country Chase
Stumptown (IRE)
8yo - 5/2
Gavin Cromwell
Keith Donoghue
16:00 Cheltenham
Queen Mother Champion Chase
Marine Nationale (IRE)
8yo - 5/1
Barry Connell
Sean Flanagan
16:40 Cheltenham
Johnny Henderson Grand Annual
Jazzy Matty (FR)
6yo - 15/2
Cian Collins
Danny Gilligan
17:20 Cheltenham
Champion Bumper
Bambino Fever (IRE)
5yo - 4/1
W P Mullins
Miss J Townend

Schedule for Thursday at the Cheltenham Festival

Halfway through the festival and onto day three where the Stayers Hurdle is the feature race. A hurdle race to test the stamina and see how can last best up the Cheltenham hill.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
13:20 Cheltenham
Mares Novices Hurdle
Air Of Entitlement (IRE)
6yo - 16/1
Henry De Bromhead
Rachael Blackmore
14:00 Cheltenham
Novices Limited Handicap Chase
Caldwell Potter (FR)
7yo - 7/1
Paul Nicholls
Harry Cobden
14:40 Cheltenham
Pertemps Network Final
Doddiethegreat (IRE)
9yo - 25/1
Nicky Henderson
Brian Hughes
15:20 Cheltenham
Ryanair Chase
Fact To File (FR)
8yo - 6/4
W P Mullins
Mark Walsh
16:00 Cheltenham
Stayers Hurdle
Bob Olinger (IRE)
10yo - 8/1
Henry De Bromhead
Rachael Blackmore
16:40 Cheltenham
Festival Plate
Jagwar (FR)
6yo - 3/1
Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero
Jonjo O'Neill Jr
17:20 Cheltenham
Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup
Daily Present (IRE)
8yo - 12/1
Paul Nolan
Mr B T Stone

Schedule for Friday at the Cheltenham Festival

The final day of the festival and feature race that we have all been waiting for, the Cheltenham Gold Cup in which the Irish have been fairly dominant in recent years.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
13:20 Cheltenham
Triumph Hurdle
Poniros (GB)
4yo - 100/1
W P Mullins
Jonjo O'Neill Jr
14:00 Cheltenham
County Handicap Hurdle
Kargese (FR)
5yo - 3/1
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
14:40 Cheltenham
Mrs Paddy Power Mares Chase
Dinoblue (FR)
8yo - 6/4
W P Mullins
Mark Walsh
15:20 Cheltenham
Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle
Jasmin De Vaux (FR)
6yo - 6/1
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
16:00 Cheltenham
Cheltenham Gold Cup
Inothewayurthinkin (IRE)
7yo - 15/2
Gavin Cromwell
Mark Walsh
16:40 Cheltenham
Festival Hunters Chase
Wonderwall (IRE)
9yo - 28/1
S Curling
Mr R James
17:20 Cheltenham
Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle
Wodhooh (FR)
5yo - 9/2
Gordon Elliott
Danny Gilligan

Article Contributor Information

We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Close Brothers Mares 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

James Banting

Tipster Competition Assistant

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Club provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Content Editor

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for jump racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful national hunt racing blogs for OLBG.

No Comments

There are no comments here. Be the first to comment...

Please login or register to reply to this news article
KEEP READING
🎀 Bookie Q&A with AK BETS

🎀 Bookie Q&A with AK BETS

With Cheltenham Festival done and dusted for another year, we get an on course reaction of the week from AK BETS founder Anthony Kaminskas.
Continue Reading
🎀 Bookie Q&A with BetVictor

🎀 Bookie Q&A with BetVictor

After the Cheltenham Festival, we speak to Sam Boswell, Head of Sponsorship and PR at BetVictor, about the week, its trends and how it can be improved for punters.
Continue Reading
Lincoln Trial Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

Lincoln Trial Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

Explore the Lincoln Trial at Wolverhampton, a competitive handicap over 1m142yds. Discover past winners, top trainers, and jockeys while uncovering key trends that shape this exciting event, offering insights into potential Lincoln contenders.
Continue Reading