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 Scottish County Handicap Hurdle Preview
Scheduled to take place in February of each year at the Musselburgh racecourse is the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle, a class 2 race that is run over a distance of one mile, seven and a half furlongs. The race is open to runners aged four or older with a total of nine hurdles faced during the race.
Scottish County Handicap Hurdle Information:
- Scottish County Handicap Hurdle Past Winners
- Scottish County Handicap Hurdle Trainer Statistics
- Scottish County Handicap Hurdle Jockey Statistics
Our dedicated Musselburgh tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle but will also have predictions for each meeting at Musselburgh throughout the season so be sure to head over there. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Other Principal Races at Musselburgh Racecourse section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2018 when the race had an over-round of 107%. The race in 2012 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 124%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle, the over-round has been 117%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £117 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Scottish County Handicap 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 Scottish County Handicap Hurdle Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Scottish County Handicap Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:
- Diego Du Charmil (3:35.90) in 2017
- Clever Cookie (3:37.70) in 2014
- Retrieve (3:37.70) in 2015
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 Scottish County Handicap Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 2 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -14.46. Ahead of the 2026 Scottish County Handicap Hurdle why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today?
The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2008 renewal when Astarador from Howard Johnson under the guidance of Richard Johnson, won in a time of 4:06.80, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Diego Du Charmil, trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Harry Cobden set the quickest time of 3:35.90 in the 2017 renewal.
Scottish County Handicap Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the Scottish County Handicap 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 Scottish County Handicap Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 3:40.49 | Welsh Charger (IRE) 7yo 11-5 14/1 | David Noonan Alastair Ralph (GB) |
| 2024 3:48.20 | Afadil (FR) 5yo 10-8 100/30F | Freddie Gingell (5lbs) Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2023 3:41.10 | Collingham (GER) 5yo 9-11 11/2 | Charlie Maggs (10lbs) Donald McCain (GB) |
| 2022 3:45.43 | Socialist Agenda (GB) 6yo 10-5 4/1 | Adam Wedge L J Morgan (GB) |
| 2021 3:43.20 | Christopher Wood (IRE) 6yo 11-2 11/4 | Angus Cheleda (7lbs) Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2020 3:43.60 | Sebastopol (IRE) 6yo 11-9 9/2 | Jonathan Burke Tom Lacey (GB) |
| 2018 3:48.80 | Dear Sire (FR) 6yo 11-11 15/2 | William Kennedy Donald McCain (GB) |
| 2017 3:35.90 | Diego Du Charmil (FR) 5yo 11-6 5/1 | Harry Cobden (3lbs) Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2016 3:45.40 | Shrewd (GB) 6yo 9-9 5/1 | Shane Shortall (5lbs) Iain Jardine (GB) |
| 2015 3:37.70 | Retrieve (AUS) 7yo 10-0 13/2 | Jack Quinlan John Ferguson (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle have been based:
- GB: 20 winners with an additional 36 placings from 209 runners
- IRE: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 9 runners
- FR: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 4 runners
Scottish County Handicap Hurdle Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Paul Nicholls who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Diego Du Charmil (2017), Christopher Wood (2021) and Afadil (2024). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle is Donald McCain (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Scottish County Handicap 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Nicholls | 10-3-5 | +4.08 | +1.60 |
| Donald McCain | 13-2-4 | +2.00 | -0.59 |
| Brian Ellison | 22-1-7 | -14.50 | -7.38 |
| John Quinn | 7-1-3 | -1.50 | -1.69 |
| Iain Jardine | 5-1-3 | +1.00 | +2.70 |
| Nicky Henderson | 5-1-2 | +0.50 | -0.14 |
| Tony Carroll | 3-1-1 | +3.00 | +1.13 |
| Richard Guest | 2-1-1 | +11.00 | +6.50 |
| Tom Lacey | 2-1-1 | +3.50 | +1.70 |
| L J Morgan | 2-1-1 | +3.00 | +1.50 |
Scottish County Handicap Hurdle Jockey Statistics
There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle, Brian Hughes has ridden 17 runners to the race without recording any wins.
Here are some of the top Scottish County Handicap 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Quinlan | 3-1-2 | +4.50 | +3.00 |
| Angus Cheleda | 3-1-1 | +0.75 | -0.35 |
| Jim Crowley | 2-1-1 | +6.50 | +3.69 |
| William Kennedy | 2-1-1 | +6.50 | +3.69 |
| Charlie Maggs | 2-1-1 | +4.50 | +2.30 |
| Jonathan Burke | 2-1-2 | +3.50 | +3.95 |
| Freddie Gingell | 2-1-2 | +2.33 | +1.95 |
| David Noonan | 1-1-1 | +14.00 | +8.75 |
| Harry Cobden | 1-1-1 | +5.00 | +3.00 |
| Adam Wedge | 1-1-1 | +4.00 | +2.50 |
2026 Scottish County Handicap Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): (2, 5), 5, 2, 3, 4, F, 1, 4, 1, 5, 4, 6, 5, 4, 2, 9, F, (4, 5), 1, 2
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 (62%) - No bigger than 14/1
- 20 / 20 (64%) - Within the first 7 of the market
- 20 / 20 (68%) - Won within last 5 starts
- 20 / 20 (72%) - Not on SFT/FM/STD-SLW/STD/STD-FS/FS (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (74%) - No older than a 7yo
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Ran in 3 - 17 races (Hurdle)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Had 2 - 8 placings (Hurdle)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Furthest ran 2m½f - 2m5f
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Fewer than 13 races (Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - No bigger than 25/1 (Career Place)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Ran in 5 - 44 races (Career)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Carried 121 - 156lbs (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Furthest Placed 2m - 2m4f
- 19 / 20 (80%) - Achieved an RPR of 113+ (Last Win)
- 19 / 20 (84%) - Placed within last 4 starts
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Musselburgh racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Scottish County Handicap 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 Scottish County Handicap Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.
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Scottish County Handicap Hurdle Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +14.75 is when runners were aged 6.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 1 career win in the class, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-43.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle is Musselburgh, there has been a total number of 5 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 212 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 10 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle, that stallion Halling has produced 2 winners (2006,2005).
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Welsh Charger in 2025, winning for Alastair Ralph at odds of 14/1 under the guidance of David Noonan. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 3 winning favourites in the race. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Scottish County Handicap Hurdle remember you can get daily racing predictions from the top racing tipsters on the best racing tipsters page.
Route to the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Welsh Charger Newbury - 7th of 11 (10/1) | Coral Racing Club Join For Free Handicap Hurdle |
| 2024 - Afadil Musselburgh - 3rd of 7 (4/1) | tote.co.uk Hogmaneigh Handicap Hurdle |
| 2023 - Collingham Musselburgh - 2nd of 10 (10/1) | Fitzdares Hogmaneigh Handicap Hurdle |
| 2022 - Socialist Agenda Catterick - 1st of 5 (8/13) | #jumpingforjoy On Racing TV Novices Hurdle |
| 2021 - Christopher Wood Kempton - 2nd of 13 (11/1) | Watch Racing Free Online At Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle |
| 2020 - Sebastopol Huntingdon - 4th of 13 (6/4) | Integral UK Michaelmas Handicap Hurdle |
| 2018 - Dear Sire Musselburgh - F of 7 (9/2) | totepool Hogmaneigh Handicap Hurdle |
| 2017 - Diego Du Charmil Ascot - 12th of 19 (16/1) | Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle |
| 2016 - Shrewd Musselburgh - 3rd of 9 (11/4) | Loganbet Brechin Big Layers On Football Bets Handicap Hurdle |
| 2015 - Retrieve Southwell - 2nd of 5 (8/11) | Nottingham City Transport Handicap Hurdle |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Scottish County Handicap 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
