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2026 Old Borough Cup Preview
The Old Borough Cup is run in September of each year at the Haydock racecourse. The race is a class two handicap that is run over one mile and six furlongs and is open to runners who are aged three or older.
Old Borough Cup Information:
Why not use the trends shortlist below to help you narrow down the field and then head over to the dedicated Haydock 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 Haydock Racecourse section for links to these.
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How competitive is the Old Borough Cup 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 110%. The race in 2019 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 134%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Old Borough Cup, the over-round has been 123%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £123 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Old Borough Cup 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 Old Borough Cup Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Old Borough Cup races over the last 20 renewals:
- Kansai Spirit (2:55.64) in 2010
- Island Brave (2:57.22) in 2021
- Sir Graham Wade (2:57.65) 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 Old Borough Cup next time out, then you would have backed a total of 3 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of +0.15. Before placing your bet on the 2026 Old Borough Cup, see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.
Over the last 20 renewals, it was Kansai Spirit, trained by John Gosden and ridden by William Buick, who set the fastest winning time in the Old Borough Cup. That runner won the race in a time of 2:55.64 in 2010. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Ian Williams and jockey Jim Crowley with Reshoun who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 3:17.75 in the 2018 renewal.
Old Borough Cup Past Winners
Here are the Old Borough Cup 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. Also detailed is the stall where the horse came from and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Old Borough Cup are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 3:01.30 | The Reverend (GB) 4yo 9-5 (7 of 15) 7/2F | Tom Marquand William Haggas (GB) |
| 2024 3:03.67 | Epic Poet (IRE) 5yo 9-7 (9 of 15) 11/2 | Daniel Tudhope David O'Meara (GB) |
| 2023 3:02.61 | Post Impressionist (IRE) 4yo 9-0 (11 of 14) 10/1 | Tom Marquand William Haggas (GB) |
| 2022 3:06.17 | Island Brave (IRE) 8yo 8-11 (5 of 6) 15/2 | Gina Mangan (5lbs) Heather Main (GB) |
| 2021 2:57.22 | Island Brave (IRE) 7yo 9-4 (3 of 10) 10/1 | Silvestre De Sousa Heather Main (GB) |
| 2020 3:12.64 | Euchen Glen (GB) 7yo 9-7 (11 of 17) 14/1 | Paul Mulrennan Jim Goldie (GB) |
| 2019 3:06.99 | Time To Study (FR) 5yo 8-10 (5 of 16) 7/1 | Cieren Fallon (5lbs) Ian Williams (GB) |
| 2018 3:17.75 | Reshoun (FR) 4yo 8-11 (7 of 8) 6/1 | Jim Crowley Ian Williams (GB) |
| 2017 3:13.22 | Sepal (USA) 4yo 8-1 (10 of 9) 11/4F | Jamie Gormley (7lbs) Iain Jardine (GB) |
| 2016 3:11.68 | Intense Tango (GB) 5yo 8-5 (11 of 17) 12/1 | Clifford Lee (7lbs) K R Burke (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Old Borough Cup have been based:
- GB: 20 winners with an additional 47 placings from 274 runners
- IRE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners
Old Borough Cup Trainer Statistics
There are multiple leading trainers in the Old Borough Cup over the last 20 renewals, with Ian Williams, John Gosden, Iain Jardine, William Haggas, and Heather Main having all won the race two times. Ian Williams' winners have been with Reshoun (2018) and Time To Study (2019). John Gosden's winners have been with Kansai Spirit (2010) and Nautilus (2014). Iain Jardine's winners have been with Nakeeta (2015) and Sepal (2017). William Haggas' winners have been with Post Impressionist (2023) and The Reverend (2025). Heather Main winners have been with Island Brave (2021 & 2022). Two trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Old Borough Cup. Tim Easterby has sent a total of 12 runners to the race without recording any wins, whilst Richard Fahey has sent out 11 without a winner.
Here are some of the top Old Borough Cup 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Williams | 19-2-6 | -4.00 | +4.80 |
| John Gosden | 6-2-5 | +10.00 | +9.44 |
| Iain Jardine | 5-2-2 | +19.75 | +11.15 |
| William Haggas | 5-2-4 | +10.50 | +7.67 |
| Heather Main | 2-2-2 | +17.50 | +10.69 |
| Jim Goldie | 8-1-2 | +7.00 | +5.05 |
| David O'Meara | 8-1-3 | -1.50 | -0.12 |
| Sir Michael Stoute | 5-1-1 | +0.00 | -1.50 |
| Philip Kirby | 3-1-1 | +8.00 | +4.25 |
| K R Burke | 2-1-2 | +11.00 | +9.00 |
Old Borough Cup Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Old Borough Cup over the last 20 renewals is Tom Marquand, who has won the race two times, with those two winners coming from Post Impressionist (2023) and The Reverend (2025).
Here are some of the top Old Borough Cup 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Marquand | 3-2-2 | +12.50 | +7.44 |
| Joe Fanning | 9-1-1 | +3.00 | -1.12 |
| Frankie Dettori | 7-1-1 | -2.00 | -3.50 |
| Jim Crowley | 6-1-3 | +1.00 | +1.15 |
| Daniel Tudhope | 6-1-3 | +0.50 | +1.13 |
| William Buick | 6-1-2 | -1.00 | -1.19 |
| Neil Callan | 5-1-1 | +12.00 | +6.00 |
| Paul Mulrennan | 5-1-2 | +10.00 | +6.06 |
| Royston Ffrench | 4-1-3 | +17.00 | +17.44 |
| Silvestre De Sousa | 4-1-1 | +7.00 | +3.00 |
2026 Old Borough Cup Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 4, 1, (1, 2), 4, 1, 3, 1, 3, UR, 4, 4, 1, 8, 2, 6, 5, 3, 14, 3, 1
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 (74%) - No bigger than 20/1
- 20 / 20 (75%) - Highest Placed is not G2/LST/Cl4-5
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Highest Won is not G2/Cl4
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Off a break of 8 - 49 days
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Ran over 7f - 1m3f (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Achieved a TS of 66+ (Season)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Highest Run is not LST/Cl4
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Had 4 - 14 placings (Career)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Within the first 12 of the market
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Not in a G1-3/LST/Cl5 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Achieved an RPR of 87+ (Season)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Ran in 1 - 9 races (Season)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Ran in 2 - 12 races (1 Year)
- 19 / 20 (89%) - No bigger than 14/1 (Last Win)
- 18 / 20 (69%) - Held an OR of 90+
Remember to use the trends listed above, along with the Haydock racing predictions, to see if you can find the winner of the Old Borough Cup. 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 Old Borough Cup by adding a tip on the race here.
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Old Borough Cup Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +23.00, is when runners had a highest class won of Class 2.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had a highest class won of Class 4, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-47.
Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:
- 2025: Winner in 7 (3,14) [15 Runners]
- 2024: Winner in 9 (5,4) [15 Runners]
- 2023: Winner in 11 (2,5) [14 Runners]
- 2022: Winner in 5 (7) [6 Runners]
- 2021: Winner in 3 (9,2) [10 Runners]
The course which has produced the most winners of the Old Borough Cup is York; there have been a total of 8 winners of this race who ran at York last time out.
The race is open to both sexes, with the Male runners having produced a total of 18 winners from a total of 258 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 2 winners from a total of 18 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Old Borough Cup:
- Lope De Vega (2 Wins)
- Zebedee (2 Wins)
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Old Borough Cup despite multiple attempts:
- Cape Cross (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Hernando (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- High Chaparral (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Rail Link (0 Wins from 5 runners)
- Sadlers Wells (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Nakeeta in 2015, winning for Iain Jardine at odds of 20/1 under the guidance of Royston Ffrench. 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 Old Borough Cup
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Old Borough Cup. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - The Reverend Ripon - 1st of 5 (4/7) | Ripon Bell-Ringer Handicap |
| 2024 - Epic Poet York - 4th of 20 (10/1) | Ebor Handicap |
| 2023 - Post Impressionist York - 9th of 22 (41/1) | Ebor Handicap |
| 2022 - Island Brave Ascot - 4th of 10 (16/1) | Shergar Cup Stayers |
| 2021 - Island Brave York - 5th of 14 (18/1) | Ebor Festival Stayers Heritage Handicap |
| 2020 - Euchen Glen York - 5th of 21 (25/1) | Ebor Handicap |
| 2019 - Time To Study Clairefontaine - 1st of 8 (39/10) | Prix FS Creation |
| 2018 - Reshoun York - 11th of 18 (14/1) | Ebor Festival Sky Bet Heritage Handicap |
| 2017 - Sepal Hamilton - 1st of 11 (7/2) | Lanark Silver Bell |
| 2016 - Intense Tango Nottingham - 2nd of 10 (10/1) | Racing UK In HD Colwick Cup |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Old Borough Cup 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 Flat Racing.
James Banting
Expert Guide
Andy Powell
Expert Guide
