Betfair Hurdle Betting Tips, Winners & History

Next Race: TBD

The next renewal of this race has not been scheduled yet. We will update this once the schedule has been released for next season. The race info, trends and tips shown below will be updated for the next renewal once the final declarations have been made.

Betfair Hurdle Betting Tips

Note: The following tips are from the last running of the race. Tips for the next renewal will be added once the final declarations have been made.

With five wins in total, Nicky Henderson is the most successful trainer in the history of this event, making his duo of Never Adapt and Mill Green well worth a second look this time around. Fans of trainer trends will likely also want to consider the Nigel Twiston-Davies trained pair of Sir Valentine and Stolen Silver, with the Naunton handler having claimed top spot three times in the past six years.

It isn’t impossible for the older hurdlers to come home in front in this, with Geos getting the job done for Henderson at nine years of age in 2004. That was something of an exception though, with every edition since having been won by a runner aged either five or six years of age.

Considering just how open and competitive this race generally is, the favourites actually have an excellent recent record. Five wins in the past 10 years for the favourite or joint favourite has resulted in a level stakes profit of 14.25pts for supporters of the market leader.

MACK THE MAN (5/1)

Currently heading the betting for this year’s contest is the hat-trick seeking Mack The Man from the yard of Evan Williams. Zero from five headed into the current season, he seems to have found considerable improvement over the summer months.

A comfortable two-length winner on his return at Warwick, he then absolutely tanked into contention before pulling almost two lengths clear of the useful Protektorat to land a heavy ground Listed event at Sandown last time out. He’s been hit with an eight pound rise on the back of that but, such has been his rate of progression so far this season, he can’t be ruled out.

NOT SO SLEEPY (6/1)

Another runner heading into this looking to register a third win on the spin is Hughie Morrison’s, Not So Sleepy. As an eight year old, this one does have the recent age trend to defy, but if we were to judge the field purely on their most recent run, he may well be the one they all have to beat.

Kept busy on the flat over the summer, this son of Beat Hollow returned to hurdles at Ascot in November to post a solid win in a Class 2 contest. Stepped up into Grade 3 company at that same track last time out, he responded with a mightily impressive nine-length demolition job. The going was heavy that day, but he has won on good ground in the past and is one for the shortlist – despite being fully 17 pounds higher in the handicap than for that latest success.

NEVER ADAPT (7/1)

If Nicky Henderson is to add to his record-setting haul in this race, then the horse most likely to do it – at least according to the betting market – is the five year old mare, Never Adapt. Arriving in Britain from France in October 2018, this JP McManus-owned runner came with a pretty tall reputation, being highly regarded enough to be plunged straight into a Grade 2 for her first start in this country. Running way too freely she could however manage only third that day, before then missing the entirety of the following campaign through injury.

Returning to the track in December 2019 and being dropped into handicap company, she again failed to settle in once again filling third spot. Her effort last time out at Kempton was however much more like it. Coaxed along in behind the leaders by Barry Geraghty, she shot clear once asked to score by three and a quarter lengths. If that is a sign that the penny has finally dropped, then a 10 pound hike may not be enough to stop her. We fancy that her ability to quicken at the business end may stand her in good stead here, and she looks the one to be on.

CIEL DE NEIGE (12/1)

Given the vast squadron of talented hurdlers he has at his disposal, Irish supremo Willie Mullins would appear to have had a few options when it comes to this race, and did in fact hold seven entries at one stage. As such it looks interesting that he has already whittled this list down to just one, prior to the final declarations being made.

That horse is the five year old, Ciel De Niege, who also goes in the famous green and gold of J P McManus. Looking a horse packed with potential when filling third spot behind Band Of Outlaws and Coko Beach in last seasons Triumph Hurdle, he hasn’t yet managed to get his nose in front, but did come very close when going down by just a head at Limerick last time out. A combination of being over-confidently ridden, and the winner getting first run led to his defeat that day, but he was closing all the way to the line, and a strongly run at this trip ought to prove ideal. At a double figure price he looks one of the better each way options in the field.