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 Sefton Novices Hurdle Preview
Open to novices over hurdles, the Sefton Novices Hurdle is a Grade 1 race which is scheduled to take place in April of each year during the Grand National meeting at the Aintree racecourse.
The race is run over a trip of three miles and half a furlong in which the runners will have to jump thirteen hurdles.
Sefton Novices Hurdle Information:
- Sefton Novices Hurdle Past Winners
- Sefton Novices Hurdle Trainer Statistics
- Sefton Novices Hurdle Jockey Statistics
We also have a dedicated Aintree tips page that will cover this race as well as all of the other races on the day of the race, see which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are predicting to win this race and the others on the cards. We cover every race at the Aintree Grand National Meeting and below you can find links to all of the races for each of Thursday, Friday & Saturday.
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How competitive is the Sefton Novices Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2013 when the race had an over-round of 113%. The race in 2012 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 130%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Sefton Novices Hurdle, the over-round has been 121%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £121 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Sefton Novices 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 Sefton Novices Hurdle Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Sefton Novices Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:
- Beat That (6:02.90) in 2014
- Thistlecrack (6:04.10) in 2015
- Wayward Prince (6:04.30) in 2010
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 Sefton Novices Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 10 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of +6.65. Ahead of the 2026 Sefton Novices Hurdle why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today?
Over the last 20 renewals, it was Beat That, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty who set the fastest winning time in the Sefton Novices Hurdle, the runner won the race in a time of 6:02.90 when winning the race in 2014. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey Nico de Boinville with Santini who set the slowest winning time, the race-winning time was 6:40.80 in the 2018 renewal.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
Sefton Novices Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the Sefton Novices 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 Sefton Novices Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 6:11.86 | Julius Des Pictons (FR) 6yo 11-8 14/1 | Gavin Sheehan Jamie Snowden (GB) |
| 2024 6:34.82 | Dancing City (FR) 7yo 11-8 4/1 | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2023 6:22.92 | Apple Away (IRE) 6yo 11-1 16/1 | Stephen Mulqueen Lucinda Russell (GB) |
| 2022 6:11.41 | Gelino Bello (FR) 6yo 11-7 7/2 | Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2021 6:13.80 | Ahoy Senor (IRE) 6yo 11-4 66/1 | Derek Fox Lucinda Russell (GB) |
| 2019 6:17.90 | Champ (IRE) 7yo 11-4 9/4F | Mark Walsh Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2018 6:40.80 | Santini (GB) 6yo 11-4 6/4F | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2017 6:05.80 | The Worlds End (IRE) 6yo 11-4 3/1 | A P Heskin Tom George (GB) |
| 2016 6:17.90 | Ballyoptic (IRE) 6yo 11-4 9/1 | Ryan Hatch Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB) |
| 2015 6:04.10 | Thistlecrack (GB) 7yo 11-4 25/1 | Tom Scudamore Colin Tizzard (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Sefton Novices Hurdle have been based:
- GB: 18 winners with an additional 37 placings from 238 runners
- IRE: 2 winners with an additional 3 placings from 35 runners
- FR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
Sefton Novices Hurdle Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Sefton Novices Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Nicky Henderson who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Beat That (2014), Santini (2018) and Champ (2019). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Sefton Novices Hurdle are Nigel Twiston-Davies (2 wins) and Lucinda Russell (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Sefton Novices 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 | 17-3-5 | -4.25 | -6.85 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 15-2-3 | +12.00 | +5.00 |
| Lucinda Russell | 8-2-3 | +76.00 | +53.70 |
| Paul Nicholls | 16-1-5 | -11.50 | -8.74 |
| Alan King | 10-1-1 | -1.00 | -5.00 |
| W P Mullins | 7-1-2 | -2.00 | -2.55 |
| Jonjo O'Neill | 6-1-2 | -4.38 | -4.06 |
| Rebecca Curtis | 5-1-2 | -2.62 | -2.12 |
| Tim Vaughan | 4-1-2 | +30.00 | +15.10 |
| Tom George | 4-1-1 | +0.00 | -1.20 |
Sefton Novices Hurdle Jockey Statistics
There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the Sefton Novices Hurdle, Sam Twiston-Davies has ridden 11 runners to the race without recording any wins.
Here are some of the top Sefton Novices 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nico de Boinville | 7-1-1 | -4.50 | -5.10 |
| Gavin Sheehan | 6-1-3 | +9.00 | +4.90 |
| Paul Townend | 4-1-1 | +1.00 | -0.60 |
| Harry Cobden | 4-1-2 | +0.50 | -0.24 |
| Derek Fox | 2-1-2 | +65.00 | +49.10 |
| Dougie Costello | 2-1-1 | +8.00 | +4.40 |
| Mark Walsh | 2-1-2 | +1.25 | +1.35 |
| Stephen Mulqueen | 1-1-1 | +16.00 | +9.60 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 11-0-1 | -11.00 | -8.00 |
| Harry Skelton | 8-0-2 | -8.00 | -5.40 |
2026 Sefton Novices Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 4, 1, 2, 6, 4, 2, 3, 2, 1, 3, PU, 2, 4, 1, 1, 2, 12, PU, 2, 6
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 (78%) - Achieved an RPR of 124+ (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Achieved a TS of 94+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Won by at least ¾ (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Carried 151 - 163lbs (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Carried 147 - 165lbs (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - No bigger than 20/1 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - No bigger than 16/1 (Career Win)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Had 2 - 5 placings (180 Days)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - In a field of 7 - 18 (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - In a field of 5 - 19 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Within the first 13 of the market
- 19 / 20 (72%) - Won within last 2 starts
- 18 / 20 (65%) - No bigger than 25/1
- 18 / 20 (76%) - No bigger than 16/1 (Career Place)
- 18 / 20 (81%) - No more than -2yrs (Vs Max Age)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Aintree racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Sefton Novices 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 Sefton Novices Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.
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Sefton Novices Hurdle Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +121.88 is when runners had 2 places in the past 90 days.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners last win was 3 starts ago, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-44.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Sefton Novices Hurdle is Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 8 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Newbury, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Newbury 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 259 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 2 winners from a total of 15 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Sefton Novices Hurdle:
- Milan (2 Wins)
- Oscar (2 Wins)
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Sefton Novices Hurdle despite multiple attempts:
- Flemensfirth (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Westerner (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Accordion (0 Wins from 5 runners)
- Beneficial (0 Wins from 5 runners)
- Doyen (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Ahoy Senor in 2021, winning for Lucinda Russell at odds of 66/1 under the guidance of Derek Fox. 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 bookmark the best racing tipsters page so you can get easy access to the best OLBG racing tipsters.
Route to the Sefton Novices Hurdle
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Sefton Novices Hurdle, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Julius Des Pictons Exeter - 3rd of 6 (10/1) | trustatrader.com Novices Hurdle |
| 2024 - Dancing City Cheltenham - 3rd of 13 (8/1) | Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle |
| 2023 - Apple Away Doncaster - 1st of 5 (9/4) | Virgin Bet Daily Price Boosts Mares Novices Hurdle |
| 2022 - Gelino Bello Newbury - 1st of 10 (3/10) | Download The BetVictor App "National Hunt" Novices Hurdle |
| 2021 - Ahoy Senor Ayr - 1st of 12 (16/1) | Western House Hotel Staycation Maiden Hurdle |
| 2019 - Champ Cheltenham - 2nd of 16 (9/2) | Turners Novices Hurdle |
| 2018 - Santini Cheltenham - 3rd of 20 (11/4) | Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle |
| 2017 - The Worlds End Cheltenham - F of 15 (10/1) | Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle |
| 2016 - Ballyoptic Uttoxeter - 1st of 10 (6/4) | Betfred "Racings Biggest Supporter" "National Hunt" Novices Hurdle |
| 2015 - Thistlecrack Sandown - 5th of 23 (12/1) | Imperial Cup |
Schedule for Thursday at the Aintree Grand National Meeting
The three-day Grand National meeting kicks off on Thursday with four Grade 1 events on the seven-race card which features both the Aintree Hurdle and the Bowl Chase.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:45 Aintree Manifesto Novices Chase | Impaire Et Passe (FR) 7yo - 9/4 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 14:20 Aintree Anniversary 4YO Juvenile Hurdle | Murcia (FR) 4yo - 11/4 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 14:55 Aintree Bowl Chase | Gaelic Warrior (GER) 7yo - 11/4 | W P Mullins Mr P W Mullins |
| 15:30 Aintree Aintree Hurdle | Lossiemouth (FR) 6yo - 5/4 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 16:05 Aintree Foxhunters Chase | Gracchus De Balme (FR) 9yo - 22/1 | J J O'Shea Mr Huw Edwards |
| 16:40 Aintree Red Rum Handicap Chase | Sans Bruit (FR) 7yo - 5/1 | Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden |
| 17:15 Aintree Nickel Coin Mares Bumper | Seo Linn (IRE) 5yo - 15/8 | P Twomey W J Lee |
Schedule for Friday at the Aintree Grand National Meeting
Day 2 of the Grand National meeting is Ladies Day or Fabulous Friday, the highlights on the track being the Melling Chase plus there is the Topham Chase over the Grand National fences.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:45 Aintree Mildmay Novices Chase | Caldwell Potter (FR) 7yo - 11/4 | Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden |
| 14:20 Aintree National Meeting 2m4f Handicap Hurdle | Wellington Arch (GB) 6yo - 14/1 | Jonjo & A J O'Neill Jonjo O'Neill Jr |
| 14:55 Aintree Top Novices Hurdle | Salvator Mundi (FR) 5yo - 7/2 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 15:30 Aintree Melling Chase | Jonbon (FR) 9yo - 4/6 | Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville |
| 16:05 Aintree Topham Chase | Gentleman De Mee (FR) 9yo - 14/1 | W P Mullins Mark Walsh |
| 16:40 Aintree Sefton Novices Hurdle | Julius Des Pictons (FR) 6yo - 14/1 | Jamie Snowden Gavin Sheehan |
| 17:15 Aintree National Meeting 2m Handicap Hurdle | Shes A Saint (IRE) 8yo - 25/1 | Dan Skelton Tristan Durrell |
Schedule for Saturday at the Aintree Grand National Meeting
The Grand National is obviously the showpiece of the Aintree meeting and day 3 also includes three Grade 1 events, the feature of those being the Liverpool Hurdle.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Aintree National Meeting 3m Handicap Hurdle | Deep Cave (IRE) 7yo - 28/1 | Christian Williams Jack Tudor |
| 13:55 Aintree Mersey Novices Hurdle | Honesty Policy (IRE) 5yo - 5/1 | Gordon Elliott Mark Walsh |
| 14:30 Aintree Freebooter Handicap Chase | Cruz Control (FR) 8yo - 10/1 | Tom Lacey Stan Sheppard |
| 15:05 Aintree Liverpool Hurdle | Hiddenvalley Lake (IRE) 8yo - 12/1 | Henry De Bromhead Darragh O'Keeffe |
| 16:00 Aintree Grand National | Nick Rockett (IRE) 8yo - 33/1 | W P Mullins Mr P W Mullins |
| 17:00 Aintree Maghull Novices Chase | Kalif Du Berlais (FR) 5yo - 15/8 | Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden |
| 17:35 Aintree Champion Standard Open NH Flat Race | Green Splendour (GB) 5yo - 100/30 | W P Mullins Mr P W Mullins |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Sefton Novices 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
