You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.
2026 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 race is now a class three handicap, which is limited to horses rated under 130 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 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.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2026
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.
Below you will find the 2026 Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase 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 Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase races 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
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase next time out, then you would have backed a total of 4 winners. Backing all 20 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -5.05. Remember to use the racing predictions along with the information on this page to find a bet on the 2026 Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase.
When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 5:00.10 was set by Present View in 2014, trained by Jamie Snowden and ridden by Brendan Powell, which is the quickest time over that period. The slowest winning time was set in 2018 when Mister Whitaker won in a time of 5:29.00 for trainer Mick Channon, who booked Brian Hughes in the saddle.
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 that won, and the horse's age & weight. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
Race Notes: The race was dropped from the Cheltenham Festival in 2021 and moved to Sandown.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 5:15.00 | New Order (IRE) 7yo 10-13 7/1 | David Bass Charlie Longsdon (GB) |
| 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) |
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 41 placings from 264 runners
- IRE: 3 winners with an additional 10 placings from 59 runners
- FR: 2 winners with an additional 0 placings from 5 runners
Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase Trainer Statistics
Two trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase. Nigel Twiston-Davies has sent a total of 13 runners to the race without recording any wins, whilst Jonjo O'Neill has sent out 10 without a winner.
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 | 26-1-9 | -9.00 | +10.51 |
| Paul Nicholls | 25-1-4 | -16.00 | -13.75 |
| Venetia Williams | 17-1-2 | -9.50 | -10.85 |
| Philip Hobbs | 14-1-2 | -1.00 | -3.50 |
| Charlie Longsdon | 11-1-2 | -3.00 | -4.12 |
| 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 |
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 David Bass (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 |
| David Bass | 6-2-2 | +7.00 | +2.88 |
| 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 |
| Rachael Blackmore | 2-1-1 | +4.00 | +2.13 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 9-0-3 | -9.00 | +6.63 |
| Harry Skelton | 7-0-1 | -7.00 | -5.81 |
| Harry Cobden | 6-0-2 | -6.00 | -1.75 |
2026 Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 7, F, 10, 7, 5, 1, 5, (13, PU), 2, 6, F, 8, 1, (1, 2), F, 4, 5, 3, 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 (66%) - No bigger than 20/1
- 20 / 20 (74%) - Off a break of 17 - 60 days
- 20 / 20 (79%) - No bigger than 11/1 (Career Win)
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Not BB/BL/CH/RG in colour
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Ran over 2m½f - 3m (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Fewer than 3 wins (Going)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Highest Won is not G1-2/Cl5
- 20 / 20 (89%) - No bigger than 25/1 (Career Place)
- 18 / 20 (69%) - No older than a 7yo
- 18 / 20 (74%) - No more than +2yrs (Vs Min Age)
- 18 / 20 (78%) - Placed within last 2 starts
- 18 / 20 (86%) - Achieved a TS of 102+ (Season)
- 18 / 20 (89%) - No more than 1 fall (Career)
- 17 / 20 (76%) - No more than +8lbs (Vs Min Weight)
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. 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 Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase by adding a tip on the race here.
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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 have been a total 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 have been a total of 3 winners of this race who ran at Kempton last time out.
The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 321 runners, while female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 7 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)
- Getaway (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 a bet on the 2026 Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase.
Route to the Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase
Many trainers target races as preparation for the Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - New Order Wetherby - 1st of 8 (11/1) | Watch Racing TV In Stunning HD Novices Limited Handicap Chase |
| 2024 - Scarface Plumpton - 2nd of 4 (11/4) | Big Sprat Novices Handicap Chase |
| 2023 - Hudson De Grugy Lingfield - 3rd of 4 (7/2) | At The Races App Expert Tips Novices Limited Handicap Chase |
| 2022 - Killer Kane Kempton - 1st of 6 (11/2) | Every Race Live On Racing TV Novices Handicap Chase |
| 2021 - Farinet Haydock - 3rd of 7 (6/1) | williamhill.com Best Odds Guaranteed Novices Limited Handicap Chase |
| 2020 - Imperial Aura Cheltenham - 2nd of 12 (5/1) | Timeform Novices' Handicap Chase |
| 2019 - A Plus Tard Punchestown - 2nd of 7 (5/4) | Total Event Rental Novice Chase |
| 2018 - Mister Whitaker Cheltenham - 1st of 7 (6/1) | Timeform Novices' Handicap Chase |
| 2017 - Tully East Navan - 2nd of 3 (7/1) | Flyingbolt Novice Chase |
| 2016 - Ballyalton Ascot - F of 6 (12/1) | Sodexo Reynoldstown Novices Chase |
Article Contributor Information
We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Betfair Novices' Handicap Chase Preview are Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.
Darren Brett
Expert Guide
Andy Powell
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