The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is the traditional Cheltenham Festival curtain-raiser, the first race on the Tuesday of the meeting, sent off to the sound of the famous Cheltenham roar as the packed grandstands herald the start of another Festival.
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle: The HUGE Roar to start The Cheltenham Festival
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle: Race Overview
The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is the Grade 1 opening event at the Cheltenham Festival. It is run on Cheltenham’s Old Course, as all races on the first two days of the meeting are over the same course and distance as the Champion Hurdle later on day one. The race is run over a trip of two miles and 87 yards, with eight hurdles to be cleared along the way.
The race is open to horses aged four-years and up, with a novice status over hurdles, and the runners carry 11st 7lb, with a 7lb allowance for fillies/mares and a 10lb concession for four-year-olds. The Supreme has been run in its current guise since 1972. Formerly, the race was split into separate divisions. Now, it is run as a true Grade 1 contest and, very often, is the first chance in the season to see the best novices’ in Britain and Ireland facing off.
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle: Leading Trainer
Willie Mullins, the most successful trainer in the history of the Cheltenham Festival, has won this particular race a record seven times. The Closutton powerhouse gained his first Festival winner with Tourist Attraction in 1995 and has since sent out Ebaziyan (2007), Champagne Fever (2013), Vautour (2014), Douvan (2015), Klassical Dream (2019) and Appreciate It (2021) to win. More recently, the likes of Facile Vega and Mystical Power have finished second behind Marine Nationale and Slade Power respectively.
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle: Leading Jockey
Ruby Walsh is the most decorated Cheltenham Festival jockey of all-time with 59 winners and he has landed six wins in the opening race at the meeting. He partnered Noland (2006) and Al Ferof (2011) to glory for Paul Nicholls before scoring on Champagne Fever (2013), Vautour (2014), Douvan (2015) and Klassical Dream (2019) for Mullins – the last-named proving to be his final Festival winner before he retired.
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle: Famous Winners
Hors La Loi III is one of only two four-year-old Supreme winners since 1973, scoring for Martin Pipe and Tony McCoy in 1999. He went on to win the Champion Hurdle in 2002 and the only horse to match that feat since is the mighty Constitution Hill.
Nicky Henderson’s star broke the track record when beating Jonbon in this race in 2022 and won the two-mile Championship race a year later. Many Supreme winners go straight over fences the following season, with the likes of Vautour, Douvan, Altior and Shishkin amongst those to do so in brilliant fashion this century.
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle: 2025 Contenders
Willie Mullins has the leading contender this year after Kopek Des Bordes won in scintillating fashion at the Dublin Racing Festival in February. His stablemate Salvator Mundi is another strong candidate, while the Irish challenge also includes Gordon Elliott’s Romeo Coolio and Henry de Bromhead’s Workahead. British hopes could be carried by Country Mile for Dan Skelton, though the Irish challenge looks strong as they go for a ninth win in 13 years.
By Enda McElhinney
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