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 Top Novices Hurdle Preview
The Top Novices Hurdle has had a Grade 1 status since being upgraded in 2016, it is scheduled to take place in April of each year at the Aintree racecourse.
It is run during the Grand National meeting and it is open to runners aged four or older who are novices', this means no wins over hurdles before the start of the current season.
The race is run over a trip of two miles and half a furlong in which the runners will have to contend with a total of nine hurdles.
Top Novices Hurdle Information:
- Top Novices Hurdle Past Winners
- Top Novices Hurdle Trainer Statistics
- Top Novices Hurdle Jockey Statistics
Our dedicated Aintree tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the Top Novices Hurdle but will also have predictions for each meeting at Aintree throughout the season so be sure to head over there. 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.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Top 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 107%. The race in 2018 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 123%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Top Novices Hurdle, the over-round has been 116%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £116 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Top 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 Top Novices Hurdle Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Top Novices Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:
- Salvator Mundi (3:56.84) in 2025
- General Miller (3:57.80) in 2010
- Pierrot Lunaire (3:58.30) in 2008
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 Top Novices Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 6 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -3.29. Remember to bookmark the racing tips page to access the OLBG racing picks easily daily.
When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 3:56.84 was set by Salvator Mundi in 2025, which is the quickest time over that period, the runner was trained by W P Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend. The slowest winning time was set in 2018 when Lalor won in a time of 4:15.80, booked to ride was Richard Johnson by the trainer Kayley Woollacott.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
Top Novices Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the Top 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 Top Novices Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 3:56.84 | Salvator Mundi (FR) 5yo 11-7 7/2 | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2024 4:11.57 | Mystical Power (IRE) 5yo 11-7 11/10F | Mark Walsh W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2023 4:06.90 | Inthepocket (GB) 6yo 11-7 3/1F | Rachael Blackmore Henry De Bromhead (IRE) |
| 2022 3:58.39 | Jonbon (FR) 6yo 11-4 1/1F | Aidan Coleman Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2021 4:03.47 | Belfast Banter (IRE) 6yo 11-4 9/1 | Kevin Sexton Peter Fahey (IRE) |
| 2019 4:02.50 | Felix Desjy (FR) 6yo 11-4 7/2 | Jack Kennedy Gordon Elliott (IRE) |
| 2018 4:15.80 | Lalor (GER) 6yo 11-4 14/1 | Richard Johnson Kayley Woollacott (GB) |
| 2017 4:03.20 | Pingshou (IRE) 7yo 11-4 16/1 | Robbie Power Colin Tizzard (GB) |
| 2016 4:04.50 | Buveur DAir (FR) 5yo 11-4 11/4 | Noel Fehily Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2015 4:00.10 | Cyrus Darius (GB) 6yo 11-4 8/1 | Brian Hughes Malcolm Jefferson (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Top Novices Hurdle have been based:
- GB: 15 winners with an additional 24 placings from 166 runners
- IRE: 5 winners with an additional 11 placings from 35 runners
Top Novices Hurdle Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Top Novices Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Nicky Henderson who has won the race six times with those six winners coming from General Miller (2010), Darlan (2012), My Tent Or Yours (2013), Josses Hill (2014), Buveur DAir (2016) and Jonbon (2022). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the Top Novices Hurdle is W P Mullins (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Top 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 | 21-6-9 | -0.64 | -2.60 |
| W P Mullins | 9-2-7 | -2.40 | +6.47 |
| Paul Nicholls | 15-1-5 | -9.00 | -7.43 |
| Gordon Elliott | 7-1-4 | -2.50 | -0.43 |
| Henry De Bromhead | 5-1-1 | -1.00 | -2.20 |
| Lucy Wadham | 4-1-1 | +11.00 | +5.40 |
| John Quinn | 2-1-1 | +13.00 | +7.40 |
| Peter Fahey | 2-1-1 | +8.00 | +4.40 |
| Kayley Woollacott | 1-1-1 | +14.00 | +8.40 |
| Henry Daly | 1-1-1 | +3.00 | +1.88 |
Top Novices Hurdle Jockey Statistics
Here are some of the top Top 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Hughes | 7-1-2 | +2.00 | -0.48 |
| Paul Townend | 4-1-3 | +0.50 | +3.00 |
| Kevin Sexton | 2-1-1 | +8.00 | +4.40 |
| Jack Kennedy | 2-1-2 | +2.50 | +1.97 |
| Mark Walsh | 2-1-1 | +0.10 | -0.31 |
| Rachael Blackmore | 1-1-1 | +3.00 | +1.80 |
| Nico de Boinville | 6-0-2 | -6.00 | -4.40 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 6-0-1 | -6.00 | -4.80 |
| Harry Skelton | 4-0-0 | -4.00 | -4.00 |
| Harry Cobden | 4-0-0 | -4.00 | -4.00 |
2026 Top Novices Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 2, 1, 3, PU, 2, 2, 3, 1, 1, 1, 4, 3, (2, 5), 6, 2, (3, 4), 1, 1, 1, 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 (64%) - No bigger than 16/1
- 20 / 20 (68%) - Within the first 7 of the market
- 20 / 20 (72%) - Highest Won is not G1/LST/Cl2/Cl6
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Ran in England (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Achieved an RPR of 127+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Carried 130 - 161lbs (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Break of 16 - 118 days (Last Place)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Not on HY/GF/FM/STD-SLW/STD (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - No bigger than 33/1 (Career)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Highest Placed is not G3/LST
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Off a break of 13 - 61 days
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Furthest Won 2m - 2m4f
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Not in FRA/DEU/SCO (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Ran in 2 - 6 races (180 Days)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Ran in 1 - 3 races (90 Days)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Aintree racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Top 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 Top Novices Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.
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Top Novices Hurdle Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +10.25 is when runners ran on Good To Soft ground last time out.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran over 1m on debut, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-25.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Top Novices Hurdle is Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 13 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 20 winners from a total of 192 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 9 runners.
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Pingshou in 2017, winning for Colin Tizzard at odds of 16/1 under the guidance of Robbie Power. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 7 winning favourites in the race. Before placing your bet on the 2026 Top Novices Hurdle head over to see which other runners today are being backed by the best racing tipsters today.
Route to the Top Novices Hurdle
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Top Novices Hurdle, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Salvator Mundi Cheltenham - 5th of 11 (14/1) | Supreme Novices Hurdle |
| 2024 - Mystical Power Cheltenham - 2nd of 11 (10/3) | Supreme Novices Hurdle |
| 2023 - Inthepocket Cheltenham - 4th of 14 (9/1) | Supreme Novices Hurdle |
| 2022 - Jonbon Cheltenham - 2nd of 9 (5/1) | Supreme Novices Hurdle |
| 2021 - Belfast Banter Cheltenham - 1st of 25 (33/1) | County Handicap Hurdle |
| 2019 - Felix Desjy Cheltenham - 5th of 16 (11/1) | Supreme Novices Hurdle |
| 2018 - Lalor Newbury - 13th of 24 (14/1) | Newbury Handicap Hurdle |
| 2017 - Pingshou Cheltenham - 10th of 14 (25/1) | Supreme Novices Hurdle |
| 2016 - Buveur DAir Cheltenham - 3rd of 14 (10/1) | Supreme Novices Hurdle |
| 2015 - Cyrus Darius Hexham - 1st of 10 (2/7) | SIS Novices Hurdle |
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 Top 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
