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 Morebattle Hurdle Preview
Scheduled to take place in March of each year at the Kelso Racecourse is the Morebattle Hurdle, a class two handicap hurdle run over a distance of two miles during which the runners face eight hurdles.
The race is Scotland's most valuable hurdle race and when established was a handicap, however, in 1984 it became a conditions race and it was switched back to handicap in 2021.
Morebattle Hurdle Information:
- Morebattle Hurdle Past Winners
- Morebattle Hurdle Trainer Statistics
- Morebattle Hurdle Jockey Statistics
Our dedicated Kelso tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the Morebattle Hurdle but will also have predictions for each meeting at Kelso throughout the season so be sure to head over there.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Morebattle Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2010 when the race had an over-round of 105%. The race in 2025 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 132%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Morebattle Hurdle, the over-round has been 116%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £116 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Morebattle 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 Morebattle Hurdle Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Morebattle Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:
- Benson (3:51.96) in 2023
- Cracking Rhapsody (3:53.91) in 2025
- Cormier (3:56.50) 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 Morebattle Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 3 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -9.25. Remember to use the racing predictions along with the information on this page to find a bet on the 2026 Morebattle Hurdle.
The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2016 renewal when Top Notch from Nicky Henderson under the guidance of Daryl Jacob, won in a time of 4:56.20, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Benson, trained by Sandy Thomson and ridden by Ryan Mania set the quickest time of 3:51.96 in the 2023 renewal.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
Morebattle Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the Morebattle 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 Morebattle Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 3:53.91 | Cracking Rhapsody (IRE) 6yo 11-6 12/1 | Craig Nichol Ewan Whillans (GB) |
| 2024 4:01.00 | Cracking Rhapsody (IRE) 5yo 10-8 9/1 | Craig Nichol Ewan Whillans (GB) |
| 2023 3:51.96 | Benson (GB) 8yo 11-5 11/1 | Ryan Mania Sandy Thomson (GB) |
| 2022 3:56.50 | Cormier (IRE) 6yo 10-7 8/1 | Sean Quinlan Brian Ellison (GB) |
| 2021 3:59.42 | The Shunter (IRE) 8yo 10-11 5/2F | Alain Cawley Emmet Mullins (IRE) |
| 2019 4:22.10 | We Have A Dream (FR) 5yo 11-7 1/4F | Daryl Jacob Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2018 4:50.20 | Cyrus Darius (GB) 9yo 11-8 5/2 | Brian Hughes Ruth Jefferson (GB) |
| 2017 4:41.60 | Cyrus Darius (GB) 8yo 11-2 5/2 | Brian Hughes Malcolm Jefferson (GB) |
| 2016 4:56.20 | Top Notch (FR) 5yo 11-4 4/11F | Daryl Jacob Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2015 4:34.30 | Glingerburn (IRE) 7yo 11-3 14/5 | Brian Harding Nicky Richards (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Morebattle Hurdle have been based:
- GB: 19 winners with an additional 28 placings from 180 runners
- IRE: 1 winner with an additional 2 placings from 12 runners
Morebattle Hurdle Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Morebattle Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Nicky Henderson who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Simonsig (2012), Top Notch (2016) and We Have A Dream (2019). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Morebattle Hurdle are Nicky Richards (2 wins) and Ewan Whillans (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Morebattle 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicky Henderson | 5-3-3 | -1.10 | -0.82 |
| Nicky Richards | 12-2-3 | -4.70 | -2.75 |
| Ewan Whillans | 2-2-2 | +21.00 | +13.13 |
| Donald McCain | 10-1-2 | -8.83 | -6.07 |
| Brian Ellison | 7-1-1 | +2.00 | -1.20 |
| Lucinda Russell | 6-1-3 | +9.00 | +11.25 |
| James Ewart | 4-1-1 | +22.00 | +12.00 |
| Alistair Whillans | 4-1-2 | +9.00 | +5.70 |
| Sandy Thomson | 3-1-1 | +9.00 | +4.88 |
| Emmet Mullins | 3-1-1 | +0.50 | -0.44 |
Morebattle Hurdle Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Morebattle Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Brian Hughes who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Runswick Royal (2014) and Cyrus Darius (2017 & 2018). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the Morebattle Hurdle is Craig Nichol (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Morebattle 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Hughes | 11-3-4 | +1.50 | -4.55 |
| Craig Nichol | 6-2-2 | +17.00 | +10.13 |
| Ryan Mania | 4-1-1 | +8.00 | +3.88 |
| Sean Quinlan | 3-1-2 | +6.00 | +5.30 |
| Alain Cawley | 2-1-1 | +1.50 | +1.56 |
| Dougie Costello | 1-1-1 | +14.00 | +8.75 |
| Harry Skelton | 5-0-3 | -5.00 | +0.46 |
| Derek Fox | 3-0-1 | -3.00 | +2.50 |
| Danny McMenamin | 3-0-1 | -3.00 | -0.50 |
| Ryan Day | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | +0.00 |
2026 Morebattle Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 2, 6, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, F, 2, 1, F, 3, 1, 1, 7, 6, 3, PU
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 (72%) - No bigger than 25/1
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Within the first 10 of the market
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Had 3 - 13 placings (Career)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Ran in 1 - 8 races (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - In a field of 8 - 20 (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - No bigger than 16/1 (Career Win)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Had 1 - 7 wins (Career)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Dam is not AUS/GER/USA bred
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Fewer than 6 races (180 Days)
- 19 / 20 (85%) - No more than 1 fall (Career)
- 18 / 20 (81%) - No bigger than 20/1 (LTO)
- 18 / 20 (82%) - Beaten no more -14½l (Debut)
- 18 / 20 (89%) - Achieved a TS of 81+ (Hcps)
- 17 / 20 (74%) - No older than an 8yo
- 16 / 20 (46%) - No bigger than 11/4 (Last Win)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Kelso racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Morebattle Hurdle. 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 Morebattle Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.
101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
Morebattle Hurdle Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +45.00 is when runners ran over 2m on debut.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 3 season places, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-26.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Morebattle Hurdle is Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 4 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Musselburgh, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Musselburgh 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 187 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 5 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Morebattle Hurdle:
- Overbury (2 Wins)
- Sans Frontieres (2 Wins)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Kimbambo in 2005, winning for James Ewart at odds of 25/1 under the guidance of Gary Berridge. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 6 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 Morebattle Hurdle
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Morebattle Hurdle, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Cracking Rhapsody Windsor - 10th of 14 (25/1) | Fitzdares Sovereign Handicap Hurdle |
| 2024 - Cracking Rhapsody Kelso - 1st of 6 (11/4) | Church House Investment Management Handicap Hurdle |
| 2023 - Benson Musselburgh - 1st of 8 (2/1) | Fitzdares Hair Of The Dog Handicap Hurdle |
| 2022 - Cormier Cheltenham - 1st of 12 (9/2) | SSS Super Alloys Handicap Hurdle |
| 2021 - The Shunter Leopardstown - 3rd of 20 (7/2) | Matheson Handicap Chase |
| 2019 - We Have A Dream Cheltenham - 4th of 8 (13/2) | International Hurdle |
| 2018 - Cyrus Darius Wetherby - 3rd of 6 (2/1) | 188Bet Castleford Handicap Chase |
| 2017 - Cyrus Darius Haydock - 4th of 5 (16/1) | stanjames.com Champion Hurdle Trial Hurdle |
| 2016 - Top Notch Cheltenham - 5th of 8 (13/8) | Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle |
| 2015 - Glingerburn Doncaster - 1st of 11 (11/4) | Cash Out On The Betdaq+ App "National Hunt" Novices Hurdle |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Morebattle 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
