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 Select Hurdle Preview
Scheduled to take place in April of each year at the Sandown racecourse is the Select Hurdle, a Grade 2 race that is run on the Jump Finale day.
The race was upgraded from Listed to Grade 2 in 2017, three years after being established in 2014. It's run over a trip of two miles, and five and a half furlongs during which a total of 11 hurdles are jumped and is currently sponsored by bet365.
Select Hurdle Information:
We also have a dedicated Sandown 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. 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 2025
How competitive is the Select Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 11 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2022 when the race had an over-round of 109%. The race in 2017 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 115%, whilst on average over the last 11 renewals of the Select Hurdle, the over-round has been 111%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £111 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Select 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 Select Hurdle Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Select Hurdle over the last 11 renewals:
- Polly Peachum (5:15.75) in 2015
- Younevercall (5:16.30) in 2019
- LAmi Serge (5:20.50) in 2017
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 11 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Select Hurdle next time out, then you would have backed a total of 2 winners. Backing all 9 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -6.02. Before placing your bet on the 2026 Select Hurdle, see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.
When looking over the past 11 renewals, a time of 5:15.75 was set by Polly Peachum in 2015, which is the quickest time over that period. The runner was trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by David Bass. The slowest winning time was set in 2023 when Knappers Hill won in a time of 5:40.00, booked to ride was Bryony Frost by the trainer Paul Nicholls.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
Select Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the Select 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 Select Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 5:23.87 | Blueking d'Oroux (FR) 6yo 11-10 10/1 | Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2024 5:25.00 | Impaire Et Passe (FR) 6yo 11-10 4/5F | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2023 5:40.00 | Knappers Hill (IRE) 7yo 11-10 11/2 | Bryony Frost Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2022 5:26.20 | McFabulous (IRE) 8yo 11-10 4/1 | Lorcan Williams Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2021 5:23.50 | Younevercall (IRE) 10yo 11-0 5/2F | David Bass Kim Bailey (GB) |
| 2019 5:16.30 | Younevercall (IRE) 8yo 11-0 9/4F | David Bass Kim Bailey (GB) |
| 2018 5:30.50 | Call Me Lord (FR) 5yo 11-0 6/4F | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2017 5:20.50 | LAmi Serge (IRE) 7yo 11-0 7/2 | Daryl Jacob Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2016 5:22.70 | Ptit Zig (FR) 7yo 11-0 7/4F | Sam Twiston-Davies Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2015 5:15.75 | Polly Peachum (IRE) 7yo 10-11 9/4F | David Bass Nicky Henderson (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Select Hurdle have been based:
- GB: 10 winners with an additional 11 placings from 62 runners
- IRE: 1 winner with an additional 1 placing from 5 runners
Select Hurdle Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Select Hurdle over the last 11 renewals is Paul Nicholls, who has won the race five times, with those five winners coming from Southfield Theatre (2014), Ptit Zig (2016), McFabulous (2022), Knappers Hill (2023) and Blueking d'Oroux (2025). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Select Hurdle are Nicky Henderson (3 wins) and Kim Bailey (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Select Hurdle trainer statistics over the last 11 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 | 15-5-7 | +13.13 | +5.32 |
| Nicky Henderson | 17-3-6 | -6.75 | -4.69 |
| Kim Bailey | 2-2-2 | +4.75 | +2.97 |
| W P Mullins | 3-1-2 | -1.20 | -0.42 |
| Gary Moore | 4-0-1 | -4.00 | -3.06 |
| Dan Skelton | 3-0-1 | -3.00 | -1.80 |
| Paul Webber | 2-0-1 | -2.00 | +0.00 |
| Alan King | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | -2.00 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | -2.00 |
| Neil King | 1-0-1 | -1.00 | +0.50 |
Select Hurdle Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Select Hurdle over the last 11 renewals is David Bass, who has won the race three times, with those three winners coming from Polly Peachum (2015) and Younevercall (2019 & 2021). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the Select Hurdle is Sam Twiston-Davies (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Select Hurdle jockey statistics over the last 11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Bass | 3-3-3 | +7.00 | +4.38 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 5-2-2 | +0.63 | -0.73 |
| Nico de Boinville | 6-1-3 | -3.50 | -1.12 |
| Harry Cobden | 5-1-1 | +6.00 | +3.25 |
| Paul Townend | 2-1-1 | -0.20 | -0.52 |
| Bryony Frost | 1-1-1 | +5.50 | +3.44 |
| Lorcan Williams | 1-1-1 | +4.00 | +0.00 |
| Harry Skelton | 3-0-1 | -3.00 | -1.80 |
| James Bowen | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -3.00 |
| Rex Dingle | 2-0-1 | -2.00 | +0.00 |
2026 Select Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 1, 1, 4, (1, 3), 1, 1, 4, 3, 1, 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.
- 11 / 11 (57%) - Ran in 8 - 15 races (Hurdle)
- 11 / 11 (63%) - Achieved an RPR of 149+ (Season)
- 11 / 11 (63%) - Achieved an RPR of 142+ (Class)
- 11 / 11 (64%) - Had 5 - 9 placings (Hurdle)
- 11 / 11 (66%) - Furthest Won 2m2f - 2m7f
- 11 / 11 (70%) - No bigger than 10/1
- 11 / 11 (70%) - Ran in 8 - 23 races (Career)
- 11 / 11 (73%) - Held an OR of 148+
- 11 / 11 (76%) - Ran over 1m4½f - 2m2f (Debut)
- 11 / 11 (76%) - Ran in 3 - 6 races (1 Year)
- 11 / 11 (78%) - No bigger than 6/1 (Last Win)
- 11 / 11 (78%) - Had 1 - 3 placings (180 Days)
- 11 / 11 (78%) - Achieved a TS of 71+ (LTO)
- 11 / 11 (79%) - Ran in 3 - 6 races (Season)
- 11 / 11 (81%) - Within the first 5 of the market
Remember to use the trends listed above, along with the Sandown racing predictions, to see if you can find the winner of the Select 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 Select Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.
101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
Select Hurdle Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 6+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +8.88, is when runners had 1 career start at the track.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners carried 158lbs, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-17.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Select Hurdle is Cheltenham, there have been a total of 4 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out.
The race is open to both sexes, with the Male runners having produced a total of 10 winners from a total of 59 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 1 winner from a total of 8 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Select Hurdle:
- Kings Theatre (2 Wins)
- Yeats (2 Wins)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 11 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Blueking d'Oroux in 2025, winning for Paul Nicholls at odds of 10/1 under the guidance of Harry Cobden. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 11 renewals, there have been 7 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2026 Select Hurdle, why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today?
Route to the Select Hurdle
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Select Hurdle, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Blueking dOroux Fontwell - 4th of 5 (5/1) | National Spirit Hurdle |
| 2024 - Impaire Et Passe Aintree - 1st of 8 (1/1) | Aintree Hurdle |
| 2023 - Knappers Hill Fontwell - 3rd of 5 (7/4) | National Spirit Hurdle |
| 2022 - McFabulous Aintree - 3rd of 7 (29/1) | Aintree Hurdle |
| 2021 - Younevercall Cheltenham - 8th of 15 (100/1) | Stayers Hurdle |
| 2019 - Younevercall Ascot - 8th of 11 (20/1) | Long Walk Hurdle |
| 2018 - Call Me Lord Sandown - 2nd of 17 (8/1) | Imperial Cup |
| 2017 - LAmi Serge Ayr - 5th of 16 (8/1) | Scottish Champion Hurdle |
| 2016 - Ptit Zig Cheltenham - 2nd of 7 (7/1) | Cleeve Hurdle |
| 2015 - Polly Peachum Cheltenham - 2nd of 15 (9/1) | Close Brothers Mares Hurdle |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Select 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
