To stand a chance of featuring in the Pertemps Final, runners needed to have finished in the top six in any of the qualifying races that were held earlier in the season. It’s a rather unique event in this aspect but it’s something which means this race consistently has a jam-packed field.
Taking place for the first time in 1974, this handicap hurdle was promoted to Grade 3 level in 2018 having previously being Listed class.
Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle Course Map (New Course)
Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle Past Winners
| Year | Winner | SP | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Third Wind | 25/1 | Hughie Morrison | Tom O'Brien |
| 2021 | Mrs Milner | 12/1 | Paul Nolan | Bryan Cooper |
| 2020 | Sire Du Berlais | 10/1 | Gordon Elliott | Barry Geraghty |
| 2019 | Sire Du Berlais | 4/1 | Gordon Elliott | Barry Geraghty |
| 2018 | Delta Work | 6/1 | Gordon Elliott | Davy Russell |
| 2017 | Presenting Percy | 11/1 | Pat Kelly | Davy Russell |
| 2016 | Mall Dini | 14/1 | Pat Kelly | Davy Russell |
| 2015 | Call The Cops | 9/1 | Nicky Henderson | Andrew Tinkler |
| 2014 | Fingal Bay | 9/2 | Philip Hobbs | Richard Johnson |
| 2013 | Holywell | 25/1 | Jonjo O'Neill | Richie McLernon |
| 2012 | Cape Tribulation | 14/1 | Malcolm Jefferson | Denis O'Regan |
| 2011 | Buena Vista | 20/1 | David Pipe | Conor O'Farrell |
| 2010 | Buena Vista | 16/1 | David Pipe | Hadden Frost |
| 2009 | Kayf Aramis | 16/1 | Venetia Williams | Aidan Coleman |
| 2008 | Ballyfitz | 18/1 | Nigel Twiston-Davies | Paddy Brennan |
| 2007 | Oscar Park | 14/1 | David Arbuthnot | Tom Doyle |
| 2006 | Kadoun | 50/1 | Michael O'Brien | Tom Ryan |
| 2005 | Oulart | 10/1 | Dessie Hughes | Paul Carberry |
| 2004 | Creon | 50/1 | Jonjo O'Neill | Timmy Murphy |
| 2003 | Inching Closer | 6/1 | Jonjo O'Neill | Barry Geraghty |
About the Pertemps Final Hurdle: Hugely Competitive Stayers Handicap
The organisers of the Cheltenham Festival understandably make a big deal of the fact that there are fourteen Grade 1 races taking place across the four days of action. Race goers love the chance to see the very best horses across the various divisions compete against one another but punters always enjoy getting their teeth stuck into a competitive betting heat and in that regard there is nothing quite like a handicap.
The Pertemps Final Hurdle is one such race that always provides plenty of opportunity for punters. Not only is this three mile contest a handicap but it is one that all the competitors must qualify for earlier on in the National Hunt season.
There are 16 different opportunities in Britain and Ireland for connections to get their horses into the Pertemps Final Hurdle and have a crack at a winner’s prize that was over £56,000 in 2022. These are held at various courses in Britain and Ireland and horses must finish in the top six in at least one of them to have a chance of a place amongst the big field of the series final. The top six horses from the latest qualifiers can be found here.
Never Easy To Unravel
You might think that the presence of such a structured route to the Pertemps Final Hurdle would mean that predicting the winner is relatively easy. That is not the case. Horses who go off at odds of 20/1 or longer regularly claim places whilst winners at double figures are commonplace and winning favourites rare.
When picking through the form to try and pull out a potential winner the qualifying places do seem to be the most obvious place to start. Punters will certainly get some important insights from those them but it is well worth noting that only a small percentage of recent winners actually won the race that got them a place at Cheltenham.
Punters who want specific races to cast an eye over should look at October’s Cheltenham Qualifier and the Heroes Handicap run at Sandown in February even though it is not one of the qualifiers.
There are some important trends to consider for the Pertemps Final though. The race is open to horses aged five and older but Delta Work became only the second five-year-old to win since the race was introduced to the Cheltenham Festival in 1974. The key spell in terms of age is between six and nine so punters must have very good reasons for backing any horse who falls outside of this range.
The other range to carefully consider concerns the weights. Horses with an official rating of over 150 find it very difficult to make their class show with the amount of weight that they are forced to carry. Backing a horse carrying less than 11st is ideal but the unpredictable nature of the Pertemps Final Hurdle is reflected in the fact that even the top weighted horse has won previously. The latest to do so was Sire Du Berlais who won his second successive Pertemps Final in 2020 saddling 11st 12lbs.
This weigh carried by Sire Du Berlais was in fact the joint heaviest by any winning horse in the history of the race alongside Fingal Bay in 2014, 1lb more than the next highest weighted winner, Presenting Percy, who carried a hefty 11st 11lbs to victory in 2017. The lightest runners to win the race were Rogers Princess in 1989 and Creon in 2004, both of whom were carrying 10st 0lbs.
Pertemps Final Series Qualifiers Results
Below we have the top six finishers in each of the latest Pertemps Final Qualifiers. Fourteen are from the UK and two from Ireland.
Cheltenham, 16:05, Saturday 23rd October 2021
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Kansas City Chief | 20/1 | 9st 13lbs | Neil Mulholland | Victoria Malzard |
| 2nd | Born Patriot | 18/5 | 11st 4lbs | Peter Fahey | Kevin Sexton |
| 3rd | Haul Away | 25/1 | 11st 8lbs | Nicky Henderson | Nico de Boinville |
| 4th | Panic Attack | 12/1 | 10st 7lbs | David Pipe | Tom Scudamore |
| 5th | Tullybeg | 11/4 | 11st 9lbs | Gordon Elliott | Jordan Gainford |
| 6th | Jersey Wonder | 11/1 | 10st 13lbs | Oliver Sherwood | Jonathan Burke |
Newbury, 14:30, Thursday 4th November 2021
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Stoney Mountain | 16/1 | 11st 6lbs | Jamie Snowden | Gavin Sheehan |
| 2nd | Didtheyleaveuoutto | 10/3 | 10st 11lbs | Nick Gifford | Niall Houlihan |
| 3rd | One For You | 11/2 | 10st 5lbs | Philip Hobbs | Tom O’Brien |
| 4th | Spiritofthegames | 8/1 | 11st 7lbs | Dan Skelton | Harry Skelton |
| 5th | Dell’Arca | 17/2 | 10st 7lbs | David Pipe | Fergus Gillard |
| 6th | Polish | 5/2 | 11st 5lbs | Fergal O’Brien | Paddy Brennan |
Aintree, 13:08, Saturday 6th November 2021
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Koshari | 80/1 | 11st 12lbs | David Christie | Jonathan Moore |
| 2nd | Deise Aba | 25/1 | 10st 12lbs | Philip Hobbs | James Best |
| 3rd | Remastered | 9/2 | 10st 10lbs | David Pipe | Tom Scudamore |
| 4th | Pileon | 17/2 | 10st 9lbs | Philip Hobbs | Ben Jones |
| 5th | The Worlds End | 15/2 | 11st 7lbs | Olly Murphy | Adrian Heskin |
| 6th | Aquila Sky | 13/2 | 10st 4lbs | Sam Allwood | Harry Skelton |
Kempton, 15:00, Monday 8th November 2021
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Calva D’Auge | 4/1 | 11st 5lbs | Paul Nicholls | Angus Cheleda |
| 2nd | Umndeni | 9/1 | 10st 9lbs | Philip Hobbs | Tom O’Brien |
| 3rd | Stoner’s Choice | 3/1 | 11st 11lbs | Fergal O’Brien | Max Kendrick |
| 4th | Annsam | 9/1 | 10st 12lbs | Evan Williams | Adam Wedge |
| 5th | Boreham Bill | 4/1 | 11st 4lbs | Emma Lavelle | Tom Bellamy |
| 6th | Jersey Wonder | 3/1 | 10st 8lbs | Oliver Sherwood | Jonathan Burke |
Punchestown, 15:15, Sunday 14th November 2021
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Sassy Yet Classy | 14/1 | 10st 3lbs | Gordon Elliott | Conor Maxwell |
| 2nd | Dallas Des Pictons | 22/1 | 11st 2lbs | Gordon Elliott | Davy Russell |
| 3rd | Whatsnotoknow | 6/1 | 9st 10lbs | Michael Morris | Shane O’Callaghan |
| 4th | De Name Escapes Me | 25/1 | 10st 12lbs | Noel Meade | Mark Walsh |
| 5th | Mars Harper | 16/1 | 10st 5lbs | Gordon Elliott | Lisa O’Neill |
| 6th | Folcano | 11/1 | 10st 7lbs | Gordon Elliott | Bryan Cooper |
Market Rasen, 13:22, Thursday 18th November 2021
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Teescomponents Lad | 11/2 | 11st 0lbs | Gillian Boanas | Tom Midgley |
| 2nd | Jesuitique | 6/4 | 10st 1lb | Dr Richard Newland | Cillin Leonard |
| 3rd | Small Present | 12/1 | 11st 10lbs | Sue Smith | Ryan Mania |
| 4th | Flashing Glance | 18/1 | 11st 5lbs | Tom Lacey | Thomas Doggrell |
| 5th | The Sweeney | 12/1 | 10st 7lbs | Emma Lavelle | Adam Wedge |
| 6th | Potters Hedger | 16/1 | 11st 4lbs | Lucy Wadham | Jack Quinlan |
Sandown, 15:35, Friday 3rd December 2021
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Pileon | 5/2 | 10st 8lbs | Philip Hobbs | Ben Jones |
| 2nd | The Cob | 12/1 | 10st 13lbs | Ben Pauling | Daryl Jacob |
| 3rd | South Terrace | 6/1 | 10st 2lbs | Dr Richard Newland | Charlie Hammond |
| 4th | Al Dancer | 8/1 | 11st 2lbs | Sam Thomas | Thomas Doggrell |
| 5th | Mr Harp | 11/1 | 10st 0lbs | Thomas Gallagher | Jack Quinlan |
| 6th | Stoner’s Choice | 15/2 | 11st 5lbs | Fergal O’Brien | Max Kendrick |
Carlisle, 14:10, Sunday 12th December 2021
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Flight Deck | 13/2 | 11st 2lbs | Jonjo O’Neill | Jonjo O’Neill Jnr |
| 2nd | Wowsham | 22/1 | 10st 12lbs | Stuart Crawford | Brian Hughes |
| 3rd | Teescomponents Lad | 17/2 | 10st 12lbs | Gillian Boanas | Tom Midgley |
| 4th | Captain Zeebo | 5/1 | 11st 5lbs | John Dixon | Mr John Dixon |
| 5th | Bass Rock | 6/4 | 11st 1lb | Sandy Thomson | Ryan Mania |
| 6th | Small Present | 6/1 | 11st 2lbs | Sue Smith | Henry Brooke |
Wincanton, 14:38, Sunday 26th December 2021
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Orbys Legend | 7/2 | 11st 3lbs | Philip Hobbs | Tom O’Brien |
| 2nd | Saint Sonnet | 9/1 | 10st 12lbs | Paul Nicholls | Lorcan Williams |
| 3rd | Flemcara | 5/1 | 11st 7lbs | Emma Lavelle | Tom Ballamy |
| 4th | If The Cap Fits | 7/2 | 11st 8lbs | Harry Fry | Lorcan Murtagh |
| 5th | William Henry | 10/1 | 11st 10lbs | Sam Thomas | Ben Jones |
| 6th | Dame De Compagnie | 16/1 | 11st 2lbs | Nicky Henderson | Nathan Brennan |
Leopardstown, 13:10, Tuesday 28th December 2021
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Panda Boy | 16/1 | 10st 9lbs | Martin Brassil | J J Slevin |
| 2nd | Winter Fog | 8/1 | 10st 9lbs | Emmet Mullins | Danny Mullins |
| 3rd | Futurum Regem | 22/1 | 9st 10lbs | Hugh Paul Finegan | Neil Ryan |
| 4th | A Great View | 6/1 | 10st 6lbs | Denis Cullen | Mark Walsh |
| 5th | Dunboyne | 18/1 | 10st 9lbs | Gordon Elliott | Jack Kennedy |
| 6th | Pour Pavore | 18/1 | 10st 3lbs | Gavin Cromwell | Conor Maxwell |
Warwick, 15:35, Saturday 15th January 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Sporting John | 3/1 | 11st 5lbs | Philip Hobbs | Aidan Coleman |
| 2nd | The Jam Man | 10/1 | 10st 11lbs | Ronan McNally | Kevin Brogan |
| 3rd | Third Wind | 15/2 | 11st 0lbs | Hughie Morrison | Tom Cannon |
| 4th | Sire Du Berlais | 14/1 | 11st 12lbs | Gordon Elliott | Tom Scudamore |
| 5th | Alaphilippe | 7/2 | 10st 8lbs | Fergal O’Brien | Paddy Brennan |
| 6th | Keeper Hill | 33/1 | 10st 8lbs | Warren Greatrex | Adrian Heskin |
Huntingdon, 15:10, Friday 28th January 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Risk And Roll | 33/1 | 9st 11lbs | James Evans | Tabitha Worsley |
| 2nd | Gazette Bourgeoise | 9/4 | 10st 5lbs | Ben Case | Harry Bannister |
| 3rd | Who Dares Wins | 25/1 | 11st 1lb | Alan King | Tom Cannon |
| 4th | Tip Top Cat | 5/2 | 10st 2lbs | Fergal O’Brien | Liam Harrison |
| 5th | Honest Vic | 18/1 | 11st 12lbs | Henry Daly | Richard Patrick |
| 6th | Bells Of Peterboro | 11/4 | 10st 8lbs | Tim Vaughan | Alan Johns |
Musselburgh, 14:40, Sunday 6th February 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | The Big Galloper | 17/2 | 10st 3lbs | Charles Byrnes | Adam Wedge |
| 2nd | Wakool | 5/2 | 10st 12lbs | Nick Alexander | Conor O’Farrell |
| 3rd | Brorson | 9/4 | 10st 11lbs | Martin Keighley | Sean Bowen |
| 4th | Go Another One | 25/1 | 11st 7lbs | John McConnell | Kieren Buckley |
| 5th | One Night In Milan | 14/1 | 10st 10lbs | Keith Dalgleish | Brian Hughes |
| 6th | Ratfacemcdougall | 11/1 | 11st 1lb | Fergal O’Brien | Max Kendrick |
Exeter, 15:30, Sunday 13th February 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Emmpressive Lady | Evens | 10st 13lbs | Sue Gardner | Sean Houlihan |
| 2nd | Coeur Serein | 8/1 | 11st 10lbs | Jonjo O’Neill | Jonjo O’Neill Jnr |
| 3rd | Art Approval | 7/2 | 11st 3lbs | Fergal O’Brien | Paddy Brennan |
| 4th | Eminent Poet | 16/1 | 11st 9lbs | Venetia Williams | Charlie Deutsch |
| 5th | Silver Sheen | 9/1 | 11st 9lbs | Jessica Harrington | Robbie Power |
The sixth runner at Exeter, Riggs, was pulled up and as a result did not qualify from this race.
Haydock, 15:15, Saturday 19th February 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Foillan | 10/1 | 10st 0lbs | Dr Richard Newland | Charlie Hammond |
| 2nd | Mill Green | 28/1 | 10st 13lbs | Nicky Henderson | Nathan Brennan |
| 3rd | No Hiding Place | 50/1 | 9st 11lbs | James Moffatt | William Shanahan |
| 4th | Bill Baxter | 4/1 | 10st 3lbs | Warren Greatrex | Brian Hughes |
| 5th | Tokyo Getaway | 5/1 | 10st 8lbs | James Moffatt | Charlotte Jones |
| 6th | Small Present | 10/3 | 10st 12lbs | Sue Smith | Thomas Willmott |
Chepstow, 14:18, Saturday 26th February 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ballyandy | 4/1 | 11st 2lbs | Nigel Twiston-Davies | Finn Lambert |
| 2nd | Jepeck | 9/2 | 10st 1lb | Anthony Honeyball | Cameron Iles |
| 3rd | Brinkley | 11/2 | 11st 9lbs | David Pipe | Tom Scudamore |
| 4th | Belargus | 16/1 | 10st 8lbs | Nick Gifford | Niall Houlihan |
| 5th | Bells Of Peterboro | 9/4 | 10st 9lbs | Tim Vaughan | Alan Johns |
| 6th | Mr Muldoon | 20/1 | 10st 3lbs | Dr Richard Newland | Cillin Leonard |