West Yorkshire Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

2024 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

Our dedicated Wetherby tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the West Yorkshire Hurdle but will also have predictions for each meeting at Wetherby throughout the season so be sure to head over there. 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 112%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £112 which is bet.

West Yorkshire Hurdle Trends:

• 2024 West Yorkshire Hurdle Trends
• West Yorkshire Hurdle Trend Analysis

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. Before placing your bet on the 2024 West Yorkshire Hurdle see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.

The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2006 renewal when Redemption I from Nigel Twiston-Davies under the guidance of Timmy Murphy, won in a time of 6:50.60, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Nautical Nitwit, trained by Philip Kirby and ridden by Thomas Dowson set the quickest time of 5:43.20 in the 2018 renewal.

These are the top three quickest-run West Yorkshire Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:

• 2018 - Nautical Nitwit (5:43.20)
• 2016 - Silsol (5:49.90)
• 2014 - Cole Harden (5:52.00)

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 trainer of the horse at the time of winning the West Yorkshire Hurdle as well as the jockey is also displayed along with the starting price the horse was sent off.

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the West Yorkshire Hurdle have been based:

• GB: 20 winners with an additional 26 placings from 127 runners
• IRE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 7 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):

West Yorkshire Hurdle Jockey Statistics

There are two leading jockeys in the West Yorkshire Hurdle over the last 20 renewals with both Paddy Brennan and Harry Skelton who have both won the race two times. Paddy Brennan winners have been with Pettifour (2008) and Colins Sister (2017). Harry Skelton winners have been with 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):

2024 West Yorkshire Hurdle Trends

Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 2, 1, 2, 1, (1, 2), 2, 4, 1, 3, (2, 4), 3, 2, F, (2, 3), 3, 4, 1, 3, 4, (3, 4)

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 (59%) - Within the first 4 of the market
• 20 / 20 (72%) - No bigger than 12/1
• 20 / 20 (80%) - Held an OR of 120+ (Last Win)
• 20 / 20 (80%) - Achieved an RPR of 138+ (Last Win)
• 20 / 20 (82%) - Highest Placed is not G3/LST/Cl3-4
• 20 / 20 (86%) - Achieved a TS of 110+ (Last 5)
• 20 / 20 (86%) - Highest Won is not G3/Cl3/Cl5
• 20 / 20 (87%) - Achieved an RPR of 138+ (Last 5)
• 20 / 20 (89%) - No bigger than 50/1 (Debut)
• 20 / 20 (90%) - Held an OR of 129+ (Last 3)
• 19 / 20 (80%) - Is not FR/USA bred
• 19 / 20 (86%) - Not in FRA/SCO (Debut)
• 19 / 20 (88%) - Not in a G3/LST/Cl2 (Debut)
• 19 / 20 (88%) - Held an OR of 135+ (Career)
• 19 / 20 (89%) - Won within last 7 starts

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 looking to place on a bet this race well in advance of the actual running, then there may be an ante-post market available for you to place your bet. If you are unfamiliar with this type of betting then head over to the OLBG Betting School and read our Ante-Post Horse Racing article which explains how ante-post betting works.

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 +10.30 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 0-19.

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 132 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 6 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. Before placing your bet on the 2024 West Yorkshire Hurdle head over to see which other runners today are being backed by the best racing tipsters today.

Other Principal races at Wetherby racecourse

Here are some other notable races at the Wetherby racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.

Races in November

• Charlie Hall Chase

Races in December

• Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase