The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Racecourse in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. It usually coincides with Saint Patrick's Day and is particularly popular with Irish visitors.
The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong, and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for juvenile novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Supreme Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ furlong, and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Baring Bingham Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 5 furlongs, and during its running there are ten hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
John Joseph "Jonjo" O'Neill is an Irish National Hunt racehorse trainer and former jockey. He is a native of Castletownroche, County Cork in Ireland. Based at the Jackdaws Castle training establishment in England. O'Neill twice won the British Champion Jockey title and won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on the mare, Dawn Run who became the only horse to complete the double of winning the Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival. He won 900 races as a jockey.
The Challow Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs, and during its running there are ten hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late December. Prior to 1999 the race was sometimes run in early January. Initially contested as a two mile juvenile hurdle, the race was opened to older horses from the 1981–82 season onwards. After a hiatus during the mid 1990s, juvenile hurdlers are now excluded from the race.
The Spa Novices' Hurdle, known for sponsorship purposes as the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle, is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles, and during its running there are twelve hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Classic Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs, and during its running there are ten hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in January. It was first run in 2005. It is currently sponsored by the Ballymore Group.
A novice in horse racing is an inexperienced racehorse which has not run in a certain number of races of a particular type, or not won in such races. The definition of a novice is determined by the horse racing authority in a particular country or area.
The Sharp Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and half a furlong, and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in October.
Richard Johnson is a retired English National Hunt jockey. Johnson is the second most prolific winner in the history of National Hunt Racing behind Sir Anthony McCoy, a long-time rival of Johnson's, with over 3500 winners. Richard Dunwoody previously held the record with 1874.
The Hyde Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 5 furlongs, and during its running there are ten hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in November.
The Bristol Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles, and during its running there are twelve hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in December.
The Finesse Juvenile Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong, and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in January. The race is currently sponsored by JCB and run under the name of the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle – similar races of the same name also take place at Cheltenham's November and December meetings.
The December Novices' Chase was a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which was open to horses aged four years or older. It was run at Doncaster over a distance of about 3 miles, and during its running there were eighteen fences to be jumped. The race was for novice chasers, and it was scheduled to take place each year in December.
The Summit Juvenile Hurdle is a Listed National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged three years. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of about 2 miles and half a furlong, and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in December.
The Spring Juvenile Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland. It is run at Leopardstown Racecourse in February, over a distance of 2 miles. The race is restricted to four-year-old horses only and is usually contested by horses who go on to run in the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
The Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, known for sponsorship purposes as the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, is a Premier Handicap National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ furlong, and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. It is a handicap race for juvenile hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Dawn Run Mares' Novices' Hurdle, run as the Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle for sponsorship purposes, is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to fillies and mares aged four years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong, and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Safran Landing Systems Fillies' Juvenile Handicap Hurdle is a Grade 3 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to fillies aged four years. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong, and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. It is a handicap race for juvenile novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during April.
