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.
2025 West Yorkshire Hurdle Preview
Established in 1990 was the West Yorkshire Hurdle, a Grade Two hurdle that takes place at the Wetherby Racecourse in either late October or early November of each year.
The race is contested over a three-mile trip with runners aged four or older permitted to enter. In the early 2000s, the race was better known as the John Smiths Hurdle as they sponsored the race from 2000-12 and since 2013 has been sponsored by bet365.
West Yorkshire Hurdle Information:
- West Yorkshire Hurdle Past Winners
- West Yorkshire Hurdle Trainer Statistics
- West Yorkshire Hurdle Jockey Statistics
We also have a dedicated Wetherby 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 Wetherby Racecourse section for links to these.
How competitive is the West Yorkshire Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2014 when the race had an over-round of 106%. The race in 2021 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 116%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the West Yorkshire Hurdle, the over-round has been 111%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £111 which is bet.
West Yorkshire Hurdle Trends:
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 West Yorkshire Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 1 winner. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -17.38. Remember to use the racing predictions along with the information on this page to find a bet on the 2025 West Yorkshire Hurdle.
Over the last 20 renewals, it was Nautical Nitwit, trained by Philip Kirby and ridden by Thomas Dowson who set the fastest winning time in the West Yorkshire Hurdle, the runner won the race in a time of 5:43.20 when winning the race in 2018. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies and jockey Timmy Murphy with Redemption I who set the slowest winning time, the race-winning time was 6:50.60 in the 2006 renewal.
These are the top three quickest-run West Yorkshire Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:
- Nautical Nitwit (5:43.20) in 2018
- Silsol (5:49.90) in 2016
- Cole Harden (5:52.00) in 2014
West Yorkshire Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the West Yorkshire 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 West Yorkshire Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 6:05.70 | Beacon Edge (IRE) 10yo 11-2 9/4 | Danny Gilligan Gordon Elliott (IRE) |
| 2023 6:10.87 | Botox Has (FR) 7yo 11-6 15/2 | Caoilin Quinn Gary Moore (GB) |
| 2022 5:57.30 | Proschema (IRE) 7yo 11-2 9/2 | Harry Skelton Dan Skelton (GB) |
| 2021 6:05.19 | Indefatigable (IRE) 8yo 10-7 5/1 | Daryl Jacob Paul Webber (GB) |
| 2020 6:19.28 | Roksana (IRE) 8yo 10-7 13/8F | Harry Skelton Dan Skelton (GB) |
| 2019 6:24.07 | The Worlds End (IRE) 8yo 11-0 7/2 | A P Heskin Tom George (GB) |
| 2018 5:43.20 | Nautical Nitwit (IRE) 9yo 11-0 15/2 | Thomas Dowson Philip Kirby (GB) |
| 2017 6:15.10 | Colins Sister (GB) 6yo 10-10 10/1 | Paddy Brennan Fergal O'Brien (GB) |
| 2016 5:49.90 | Silsol (GER) 7yo 11-1 13/2 | Jack Sherwood Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2015 6:08.00 | Kilcooley (IRE) 6yo 11-9 5/1 | Richard Johnson Charlie Longsdon (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the West Yorkshire Hurdle have been based:
- GB: 19 winners with an additional 25 placings from 123 runners
- IRE: 1 winner with an additional 0 placings from 8 runners
- FR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 4 runners
West Yorkshire Hurdle Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the West Yorkshire Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Paul Nicholls who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Tidal Bay (2012 & 2013) and Silsol (2016). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the West Yorkshire Hurdle are Nigel Twiston-Davies (2 wins), Philip Hobbs (2 wins) and Dan Skelton (2 wins).
Here are some of the top West Yorkshire 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 | 11-3-8 | +5.75 | +5.75 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 10-2-6 | +7.00 | +7.54 |
| Philip Hobbs | 7-2-3 | +4.00 | +1.53 |
| Dan Skelton | 6-2-3 | +2.13 | +1.99 |
| Paul Webber | 3-1-1 | +3.00 | +1.00 |
| Warren Greatrex | 3-1-1 | +0.25 | -2.00 |
| Gordon Elliott | 3-1-1 | +0.25 | -2.00 |
| Fergal O'Brien | 2-1-1 | +9.00 | +5.25 |
| Philip Kirby | 2-1-1 | +6.50 | +3.69 |
| Tom George | 2-1-2 | +2.50 | +3.44 |
West Yorkshire Hurdle Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the West Yorkshire Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Harry Skelton who has won the race two times with those two winners coming from Roksana (2020) and Proschema (2022).
Here are some of the top West Yorkshire 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Skelton | 5-2-3 | +3.13 | +2.99 |
| Daryl Jacob | 3-1-2 | +3.00 | +1.75 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 3-1-1 | +0.75 | -0.28 |
| Thomas Dowson | 2-1-1 | +6.50 | +3.69 |
| Gavin Sheehan | 2-1-1 | +1.25 | -1.00 |
| Caoilin Quinn | 1-1-1 | +7.50 | +4.69 |
| Danny Gilligan | 1-1-1 | +2.25 | +0.00 |
| Harry Cobden | 5-0-2 | -5.00 | -1.27 |
| Dougie Costello | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -3.00 |
| Brian Hughes | 2-0-2 | -2.00 | -0.40 |
2025 West Yorkshire Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 2, 1, (1, 2), 2, 4, 1, 3, (2, 4), 3, 2, F, (2, 3), 3, 4, 1, 3, 4, (3, 4), 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.
- 20 / 20 (60%) - Within the first 4 of the market
- 20 / 20 (73%) - No bigger than 12/1
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Achieved an RPR of 144+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Held an OR of 120+ (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Highest Placed is not G3/LST/Cl3-4
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Achieved an RPR of 144+ (Career)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Not on GF/STD (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Highest Won is not G3/Cl3/Cl5
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Achieved a TS of 110+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Achieved an RPR of 135+ (Last Win)
- 19 / 20 (88%) - No bigger than 40/1 (Debut)
- 17 / 20 (79%) - Placed within last 3 starts
- 17 / 20 (81%) - No more than 1 fall (Career)
- 17 / 20 (82%) - Beaten no more -12l (Debut)
- 16 / 20 (59%) - Achieved an RPR of 151+ (Non-Hcps)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Wetherby racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the West Yorkshire Hurdle. If you are a newcomer to horse racing betting, then the number of types of bets can be scary! Don't let that put you off though, head over to this Types Of Horse Racing Bet article and have a read, you will then have a better knowledge of betting on racing in the future and there are plenty of other articles in the OLBG Betting School too.
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 West Yorkshire Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.
West Yorkshire Hurdle Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +12.55 is when runners had an IRE-bred dam.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners were 5th in the betting market, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-18.
The course which has produced the most winners of the West Yorkshire Hurdle is Aintree, there has been a total number of 6 winners of this race who ran at Aintree last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 5 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 17 winners from a total of 129 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 3 winners from a total of 6 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the West Yorkshire Hurdle:
- Alkalde (2 Wins)
- Flemensfirth (2 Wins)
- Stowaway (2 Wins)
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have been disappointed with multiple attempts but no wins in the West Yorkshire Hurdle, that stallion is Kayf Tara who has failed to produce a winner from 7 runners.
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Redemption I in 2006, winning for Nigel Twiston-Davies at odds of 12/1 under the guidance of Timmy Murphy. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 5 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2025 West Yorkshire Hurdle why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today?
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this West Yorkshire 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
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