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 Betfair Novices Handicap Chase Preview
This Betfair Novices Handicap Chase was introduced at the Cheltenham Festival in 2011 replacing the old Jewson Novices Handicap, it was then replaced at the Cheltenham Festival in 2021 by the Mrs Paddy Power Mares Chase and moved to Sandown racecourse a week before the festival and is now run on the same day as the Imperial Cup.
The handicap is limited to horses rated under 140 and with so many entries, most runners will be rated within a few lbs of this, making for a very compressed handicap. This makes it very hard for a trainer to campaign a horse for this race specifically.
2013 winner Rajdhani Express won this off a mark of 140 and then went on to run third in the Ryanair Chase the following year, progressing to a handicap rating as high as 160. 2015 winner Irish Cavalier won this off a mark of 137 and went on to race off a mark as high as 160. So you are looking for a horse likely to progress to be running at the highest levels in the future.
Betfair Novices Handicap Chase Information:
- Betfair Novices Handicap Chase Past Winners
- Betfair Novices Handicap Chase Trainer Statistics
- Betfair Novices Handicap Chase Jockey Statistics
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.
How competitive is the Betfair Novices Handicap Chase market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2022 when the race had an over-round of 108%. The race in 2016 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 137%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Betfair Novices Handicap Chase, the over-round has been 124%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £124 which is bet.
Betfair Novices Handicap Chase Trends:
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 Betfair Novices Handicap Chase 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 -8.25. Remember to bookmark the racing tips page so you can get easy access to the OLBG racing picks daily.
When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 5:00.10 was set by Present View in 2014, which is the quickest time over that period, the runner was trained by Jamie Snowden and ridden by Brendan Powell. The slowest winning time was set in 2018 when Mister Whitaker won in a time of 5:29.00, booked to ride was Brian Hughes on this Mick Channon trained runner.
These are the top three quickest-run Betfair Novices Handicap Chase over the last 20 renewals:
- Present View (5:00.10) in 2014
- Reveillez (5:05.00) in 2006
- Hunt Ball (5:05.90) in 2012
What the expert says...
The fields have dramatically reduced since this race was moved away from the Cheltenham Festival, there you would get 19-20 runners every renewal, however, since moving to Sandown the fields have been 9, 6, 5 & 7 runners which do affect the trends, especially when the top trend is runner within the first ten of the market (0-138 those not) which since going to Sandown wouldn't affect any of the fields.Betfair Novices Handicap Chase Past Winners
Here are the Betfair Novices Handicap Chase 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 Betfair Novices Handicap Chase as well as the jockey is also displayed along with the starting price the horse was sent off.
Race Notes: The race was dropped from the Cheltenham Festival in 2021 and moved to Sandown.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 5:17.40 | Scarface (IRE) 7yo 10-13 13/2 | Brendan Powell Joe Tizzard (GB) |
| 2023 5:22.75 | Hudson De Grugy (FR) 6yo 10-5 11/4 | Jamie Moore Gary Moore (GB) |
| 2022 5:24.80 | Killer Kane (IRE) 7yo 11-0 5/1 | Brendan Powell Colin Tizzard (GB) |
| 2021 5:22.25 | Farinet (FR) 6yo 10-5 13/2 | Charlie Deutsch Venetia Williams (GB) |
| 2020 5:24.32 | Imperial Aura (IRE) 7yo 11-5 4/1F | David Bass Kim Bailey (GB) |
| 2019 5:13.47 | A Plus Tard (FR) 5yo 11-5 5/1F | Rachael Blackmore Henry De Bromhead (IRE) |
| 2018 5:29.00 | Mister Whitaker (IRE) 6yo 11-2 13/2 | Brian Hughes Mick Channon (GB) |
| 2017 5:11.00 | Tully East (IRE) 7yo 11-8 8/1 | Denis O'Regan Alan Fleming (IRE) |
| 2016 5:08.70 | Ballyalton (IRE) 9yo 11-10 12/1 | Brian Hughes Ian Williams (GB) |
| 2015 5:06.70 | Irish Cavalier (IRE) 6yo 11-7 11/1 | Paul Townend Rebecca Curtis (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Betfair Novices Handicap Chase have been based:
- GB: 15 winners with an additional 42 placings from 274 runners
- IRE: 3 winners with an additional 11 placings from 61 runners
- FR: 2 winners with an additional 0 placings from 6 runners
Betfair Novices Handicap Chase Trainer Statistics
Multiple trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Betfair Novices Handicap Chase, Nigel Twiston-Davies (0-13), Jonjo O'Neill (0-11) and Charlie Longsdon (0-10) have all failed to produce a single winner despite sending multiple runners to the race.
Here are some of the top Betfair Novices Handicap Chase 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 | 28-1-9 | -11.00 | +8.51 |
| Paul Nicholls | 25-1-4 | -16.00 | -13.75 |
| Venetia Williams | 18-1-2 | -10.50 | -11.85 |
| Philip Hobbs | 15-1-3 | -2.00 | -2.50 |
| Gary Moore | 10-1-3 | -6.25 | -3.15 |
| Henry De Bromhead | 8-1-1 | -2.00 | -3.87 |
| Rebecca Curtis | 4-1-1 | +8.00 | +3.88 |
| T J Taaffe | 4-1-2 | +6.00 | +4.88 |
| Kim Bailey | 2-1-1 | +3.00 | +1.50 |
| Ian Williams | 1-1-1 | +12.00 | +7.50 |
Betfair Novices Handicap Chase Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Betfair Novices Handicap Chase over the last 20 renewals is Brendan Powell who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Present View (2014), Killer Kane (2022) and Scarface (2024). Other jockeys who have recorded multiple wins in the Betfair Novices Handicap Chase are Brian Hughes (2 wins) and Graham Lee (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Betfair Novices Handicap Chase 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brendan Powell | 3-3-3 | +19.50 | +12.19 |
| Brian Hughes | 6-2-3 | +14.50 | +9.31 |
| Graham Lee | 5-2-2 | +27.00 | +15.75 |
| Denis O'Regan | 6-1-1 | +3.00 | +0.00 |
| Nick Scholfield | 6-1-1 | +1.50 | -0.94 |
| Paul Townend | 5-1-2 | +7.00 | +5.38 |
| Charlie Deutsch | 5-1-1 | +2.50 | -0.10 |
| David Bass | 5-1-1 | +0.00 | -1.50 |
| Rachael Blackmore | 2-1-1 | +4.00 | +2.13 |
| Mattie Batchelor | 1-1-1 | +9.00 | +5.63 |
2025 Betfair Novices Handicap Chase Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): PU, 1, 7, F, 10, 7, 5, 1, 5, (13, PU), 2, 6, F, 8, 1, (1, 2), F, 4, 5, 3
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 (60%) - Within the first 10 of the market
- 20 / 20 (65%) - No bigger than 20/1
- 20 / 20 (74%) - Off a break of 17 - 60 days
- 20 / 20 (77%) - No bigger than 11/1 (Career Win)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Not BB/BL/CH/RG in colour
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Fewer than 3 wins (Going)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Ran over 2m½f - 3m1f (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - No bigger than 25/1 (Career Place)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - In a field of 3 - 13 (LTO)
- 18 / 20 (68%) - No older than a 7yo
- 18 / 20 (73%) - No more than +2yrs (Vs Min Age)
- 18 / 20 (78%) - Placed within last 2 starts
- 18 / 20 (84%) - No bigger than 11/2 (Last Win)
- 17 / 20 (74%) - No more than +8lbs (Vs Min Weight)
- 17 / 20 (77%) - No bigger than 40/1 (Career)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Sandown racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Betfair Novices Handicap Chase. 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 Betfair Novices Handicap Chase by adding a tip on the race here.
Betfair Novices Handicap Chase Trend Analysis
The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 1 career start in the class, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-61.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Betfair Novices Handicap Chase 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 Kempton, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Kempton 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 336 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 5 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Betfair Novices Handicap Chase, that stallion Presenting has produced 2 winners (2014,2013).
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Betfair Novices Handicap Chase despite multiple attempts:
- Anshan (0 Wins from 9 runners)
- Beneficial (0 Wins from 8 runners)
- Flemensfirth (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Kings Theatre (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Bob Back (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was LAntartique in 2007, winning for Ferdy Murphy at odds of 20/1 under the guidance of Graham Lee. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 4 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 Betfair Novices Handicap Chase.
Other Principal races at Sandown racecourse
Here are some other notable races at the Sandown racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.
Races in January
Races in February
Races in March
Races in April (Jump Finale)
Races in April (Classic Trial Day)
Races in July
Races in December
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Betfair Novices Handicap Chase 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.
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