Thirsk Hunt Cup Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

Get ready for the Thirsk Hunt Cup, run at Thirsk over 1m. Here we look back through the race's history, showcasing the most successful trainers and jockeys, and identifying the statistical trends that could help you find the next winner.
Thirsk Hunt Cup Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Expert Guide

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.

2027 Thirsk Hunt Cup Preview

Scheduled to take place in May of each year and being the highlight of the flat season at the Thirsk racecourse is the Thirsk Hunt Cup, a Class 2 handicap that is run over a trip of one mile and is open to runners aged four or older.

Thirsk Hunt Cup Information:

If you are interested in other predictions at Thirsk, then head over to the Thirsk tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG racing tipsters and also compare those predictions to the runners that make the trend shortlist when added below.

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How competitive is the Thirsk Hunt Cup market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2010, when the race had an over-round of 120%. The race in 2009 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 133%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Thirsk Hunt Cup, the over-round has been 126%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £126 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2027 Thirsk Hunt 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 Thirsk Hunt Cup Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Thirsk Hunt Cup races over the last 20 renewals:

  1. Minority Report (1:35.97) in 2006
  2. Flawed Genius (1:36.41) in 2009
  3. Redarna (1:36.63) in 2022

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 Thirsk Hunt Cup next time out, then you would have backed a total of 0 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -19.00. Whilst we wait for the 2027 Thirsk Hunt Cup, remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.

When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 1:35.97 was set by Minority Report in 2006, trained by Luca Cumani and ridden by Nicky Mackay, which is the quickest time over that period. The slowest winning time was set in 2016 when Finn Class won in a time of 1:47.67 for trainer Michael Dods, who booked Tom Eaves in the saddle.

What the expert says...
Four of the winners since 2009 came here having run in the Spring Mile at Doncaster within their last two starts. Another to keep an eye on is the OLBG Spring Cup (Newbury), which has supplied the 2007 & 2013 winners.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Thirsk Hunt Cup Past Winners

Here are the Thirsk Hunt Cup past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the race year, the winning horse, and the horse's age & weight. Also detailed is the stall from which the horse came and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Thirsk Hunt Cup are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

Race Notes: The 2018 renewal was run at the Wetherby Racecourse.

YearHorse (Drawn)Info
2026
1:38.54
Mirsky (GB)
7yo 9-2 (8 of 13) 5/1
Mark Winn
David O'Meara (GB)
2025
1:37.20
Flight Plan (GB)
5yo 9-9 (9 of 13) 8/1
Sam James
K R Burke (GB)
2024
1:43.74
Titan Rock (GB)
6yo 8-7 (5 of 14) 12/1
James Sullivan
John & Sean Quinn (GB)
2023
1:43.06
Northern Express (IRE)
5yo 9-7 (2 of 15) 11/2
Callum Rodriguez
Michael Dods (GB)
2022
1:36.63
Redarna (GB)
8yo 8-13 (15 of 15) 66/1
Paul Mulrennan
Dianne Sayer (GB)
2021
1:36.93
Storting (GB)
5yo 8-11 (7 of 15) 18/1
Tony Hamilton
Mick Channon (GB)
2019
1:37.49
Hayadh (GB)
6yo 8-12 (10 of 16) 14/1
Lewis Edmunds
Rebecca Bastiman (GB)
2018
1:39.52
Original Choice (IRE)
4yo 9-1 (15 of 15) 6/1
Ben Curtis
William Haggas (GB)
2017
1:38.87
Cote DAzur (GB)
4yo 9-1 (17 of 17) 8/1
P J McDonald
Les Eyre (GB)
2016
1:47.67
Finn Class (IRE)
5yo 8-9 (2 of 15) 16/1
Tom Eaves
Michael Dods (GB)

Thirsk Hunt Cup Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Thirsk Hunt Cup over the last 20 renewals is Michael Dods, who has won the race three times, with those three winners coming from Osteopathic Remedy (2010), Finn Class (2016) and Northern Express (2023). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Thirsk Hunt Cup are Kevin Ryan (2 wins) and Richard Fahey (2 wins). One trainer has not had the best of times in the Thirsk Hunt Cup; Tim Easterby has sent a total of 28 runners to the race without recording a win.

Here are some of the top Thirsk Hunt 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):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
Michael Dods18-3-6+14.50+11.69
Kevin Ryan19-2-5-2.50-2.69
Richard Fahey15-2-5-5.00-2.91
David O'Meara29-1-7-23.00-15.79
David Barron8-1-2-3.50-2.56
Ruth Carr7-1-2+3.00+2.13
K R Burke7-1-2+2.00+3.63
Dianne Sayer5-1-1+62.00+37.25
William Haggas4-1-2+3.00+1.88
Rebecca Bastiman2-1-2+13.00+10.75

Thirsk Hunt Cup Jockey Statistics

There are two leading jockeys in the Thirsk Hunt Cup over the last 20 renewals, with both P J McDonald and James Sullivan, who have both won the race twice. P J McDonald winners have been with Osteopathic Remedy (2010) and Cote DAzur (2017). James Sullivan winners have been with Fort Bastion (2014) and Titan Rock (2024). There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the Thirsk Hunt Cup; David Allan has ridden 14 runners in the race without recording any wins.

Here are some of the top Thirsk Hunt 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):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
P J McDonald10-2-4+8.00+6.12
James Sullivan7-2-4+16.00+12.63
Paul Mulrennan8-1-1+59.00+34.25
Sam James8-1-1+1.00-2.00
Tom Eaves7-1-2+10.00+6.25
Tony Hamilton5-1-2+14.00+9.25
Ben Curtis3-1-1+4.00+1.75
Callum Rodriguez3-1-1+3.50+1.44
Mark Winn3-1-2+3.00+2.26
Neil Callan2-1-1+7.00+4.00

Thirsk Hunt Cup Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +59.75, is when runners were GB-bred.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 1 win in the past 180 days, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-46.

Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:

  • 2026: Winner in 8 (11,3) [13 Runners]
  • 2025: Winner in 9 (5,3) [13 Runners]
  • 2024: Winner in 5 (4,2) [14 Runners]
  • 2023: Winner in 2 (7,1) [15 Runners]
  • 2022: Winner in 15 (4,10) [15 Runners]

The course which has produced the most winners of the Thirsk Hunt Cup is Newbury; there have been a total of 5 winners of this race who ran at Newbury last time out. The next best course, which has produced the second most winners, is Thirsk; there have been a total of 4 winners of this race who ran at Thirsk last time out.

The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 292 runners, while female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 7 runners.

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Thirsk Hunt Cup despite multiple attempts:

  • Invincible Spirit (0 Wins from 10 runners)
  • Dark Angel (0 Wins from 8 runners)
  • Dutch Art (0 Wins from 7 runners)
  • Danehill Dancer (0 Wins from 6 runners)
  • Kings Best (0 Wins from 6 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Redarna in 2022, winning for Dianne Sayer at odds of 66/1 under the guidance of Paul Mulrennan. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 3 winning favourites in the race. Before placing your bet on the 2027 Thirsk Hunt Cup, head over to see which runners the best racing tipsters are tipping today.

Route to the Thirsk Hunt Cup

Many trainers target races as preparation for the Thirsk Hunt Cup. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2026 - Mirsky
Musselburgh - 3rd of 12 (11/1)
Sky Bet For The Fans Holyrood Handicap
2025 - Flight Plan
Thirsk - 4th of 6 (7/2)
British EBF Michael Foster Conditions Stakes
2024 - Titan Rock
Newcastle (AW) - 9th of 12 (9/1)
BetMGM: Its Showtime Handicap
2023 - Northern Express
Musselburgh - 5th of 11 (7/1)
tote.co.uk Bet£5Get£20 Musselburgh Silver Arrow Handicap
2022 - Redarna
Newmarket (Rowley) - 6th of 9 (14/1)
888Sport Whats Your Thinking Handicap
2021 - Storting
Newbury - 6th of 16 (41/1)
Dubai Duty Free Millenium Millionaire Handicap
2019 - Hayadh
Musselburgh - 2nd of 10 (11/2)
Silver Arrow Handicap
2018 - Original Choice
Doncaster - 10th of 20 (5/1)
Spring Mile
2017 - Cote DAzur
Pontefract - 5th of 9 (6/1)
Watch Racing UK On 3 Devices Handicap
2016 - Finn Class
Doncaster - 5th of 21 (50/1)
Spring Mile

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 Thirsk Hunt Cup Preview are Andy and James. 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 Flat racing.

James Banting

James Banting

Expert Guide

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Association provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Expert Guide

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for flat racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful flat racing blogs for OLBG.

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