New Course
To stand a chance of featuring in the Pertemps Final, runners needed to have finished in the top four 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. This was reclassified as a Premier Handicap from 2023.
Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle Course Map (New Course)
Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle Past Winners
| Year | Winner | SP | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Good Time Jonny | 9/1 | Tony Martin | Liam McKenna |
| 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 |
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 2023. These are held at various courses in Britain and Ireland and horses must finish in the top four in at least one of them to have a chance of a place amongst the big field of the series final. Previously, horses qualified by finishing in the first six places in these races but this was changed from the 2022/23 jumps season. The top four 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 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 in 2018 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 four finishers in each of the latest Pertemps Final Qualifiers. Fourteen are from the UK and two from Ireland.
Cheltenham, 15:50, Saturday 22nd October 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Shoot First | 9/4 | 10st 7lbs | Charles Byrnes | Philip Byrnes |
| 2nd | Botox Has | 9/2 | 11st 9lbs | Gary Moore | Jamie Moore |
| 3rd | Au Tailliur | 8/1 | 11st 5lbs | Jonjo O’Neill | Jonjo O’Neill Jr |
| 4th | Salvador Ziggy | 12/1 | 12st 0lbs | Gordon Elliott | Jack Kennedy |
Newbury, 15:05, Thursday 3rd November 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Champagne Court | 11/2 | 11st 3lbs | Jeremy Scott | Lorcan William |
| 2nd | Risk And Roll | 15/2 | 11st 0lbs | James Evans | Tabitha Worsley |
| 3rd | Didtheyleaveuoutto | 15/8 | 11st 4lbs | Nick Gifford | Niall Houlihan |
| 4th | Flemcara | 7/1 | 11st 10lbs | Emma Lavelle | Tom Bellamy |
Aintree, 13:01, Saturday 5th November 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Remastered | 8/1 | 11st 4lbs | David Pipe | David Noonan |
| 2nd | Milan Bridge | 3/1 | 10st 9lbs | Paul Nicholls | Tom Buckley |
| 3rd | Ashtown Lad | 13/2 | 11st 7lbs | Dan Skelton | Harry Skelton |
| 4th | Johnson’s Blue | 7/2 | 10st 6lbs | Mark Walford | Jamie Hamilton |
Kempton, 15:05, Monday 7th November 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Call Me Lord | 11/2 | 11st 2lbs | Nicky Henderson | Daryl Jacob |
| 2nd | Captain Morgs | 3/1 | 10st 9lbs | Nicky Henderson | Nico de Boinville |
| 3rd | Fiddlerontheroof | 7/2 | 12st 0lbs | Joe Tizzard | Brendan Powell |
| 4th | Jay Bee Why | 7/2 | 10st 8lbs | Alan King | Tom Cannon |
Market Rasen, 15:05, Thursday 17th November 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Abandoned | – | – | ||
| 2nd | Abandoned | – | – | – | – |
| 3rd | Abandoned | – | – | – | – |
| 4th | Abandoned | – | – | – | – |
Punchestown, 15:15, Sunday 20th November 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Shewearsitwell | 8/1 | 11st 5lbs | Willie Mullins | Paul Townend |
| 2nd | My Immortal | 15/2 | 10st 7lbs | Barry Connell | Michael O’Sullivan |
| 3rd | Captain Conby | 4/1 | 11st 0lbs | Eamon Sheehy | Kevin Sexton |
| 4th | Takarengo | 40/1 | 10st 7lbs | Thomas Mullins | Jonathan Moore |
Sandown, 13:10, Saturday 3rd December 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Dolphin Square | 18/1 | 11st 10lbs | Philip Hobbs | Mr David Maxwell |
| 2nd | Call Me Lord | 4/1 | 11st 7lbs | Nicky Henderson | Ben Bromley |
| 3rd | Wilde About Oscar | 20/1 | 11st 7lbs | Dan Skelton | Kielan Woods |
| 4th | Halo Des Obeaux | 11/4 | 10st 12lbs | Paul Nicholls | Freddie Gingell |
Carlisle, 14:10, Sunday 11th December 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Abandoned | – | – | – | – |
| 2nd | Abandoned | – | – | – | – |
| 3rd | Abandoned | – | – | – | – |
| 4th | Abandoned | – | – | – | – |
Wincanton, 15:13, Monday 26th December 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Steal A March | 4/1 | 11st 3lbs | Nicky Henderson | James Bowen |
| 2nd | Stellar Magic | 11/2 | 11st 6lbs | Philip Hobbs | Ben Jones |
| 3rd | Barbados Buck’s | 9/2 | 11st 3lbs | Paul Nicholls | Lorcan Williams |
| 4th | Copperhead | 7/1 | 11st 1lb | Joe Tizzard | Conor Ring |
Leopardstown, 13:10, Wednesday 28th December 2022
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Maxxum | 11/4 | 10st 5lbs | Gordon Elliott | Jack Kennedy |
| 2nd | Eric Bloodaxe | 7/1 | 11st 1lb | Gordon Elliott | Mr Robert James |
| 3rd | Good Time Jonny | 28/1 | 11st 2lbs | Tony Martin | Liam McKenna |
| 4th | Perceval Legallois | 8/1 | 10st 11lbs | Gavin Cromwell | Conor Maxwell |
Warwick, 15:35, Saturday 14th January 2023
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Glimpse Of Gala | 7/4 | 9st 13lbs | Charlie Longsdon | Bradley Roberts |
| 2nd | Ashtown Lad | 2/1 | 10st 9lbs | Dan Skelton | Harry Skelton |
| 3rd | Level Neverending | 9/1 | 10st 2lbs | Gordon Elliott | Sam Ewing |
| 4th | Lieutenant Rocco | 8/1 | 10st 4lbs | Syd Hosie | Tom Scudamore |
Huntingdon, 15:35, Friday 27th January 2023
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Itchy Feet | 20/1 | 12st 0lbs | Olly Murphy | Sean Bowen |
| 2nd | The Changing Man | 11/4 | 10st 13lbs | Joe Tizzard | Brendan Powell |
| 3rd | Scarpia | 40/1 | 10st 10lbs | Nicky Henderson | James Bowen |
| 4th | Hector Javilex | 10/3 | 11st 7lbs | Charlie Longsdon | Lilly Pinchin |
Musselburgh, 14:55, Sunday 5th February 2023
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Brandy McQueen | 5/2 | 9st 11lbs | H. Graham & G. Rutherford | Edward Austin |
| 2nd | Coltor | 40/1 | 11st 7lbs | Roger Fell | Kevin Brogan |
| 3rd | The Bosses Oscar | 40/1 | 11st 7lbs | Gordon Elliott | Corey McGivern |
| 4th | Wakool | 9/1 | 11st 12lbs | Nick Alexander | Conor O’Farrell |
Exeter, 16:00, Sunday 12th February 2023
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Walking On Air | 15/8 | 11st 7lbs | Nicky Henderson | Nico de Boinville |
| 2nd | Sabrina | 5/1 | 9st 13lbs | Paul Nicholls | Freddie Gingell |
| 3rd | Moka De Vassy | 7/2 | 10st 13lbs | Jane Williams | David Noonan |
| 4th | Burrows Park | 15/2 | 11st 1lbs | Venetia Williams | Charlie Deutsch |
Haydock, 15:18, Saturday 18th February 2023
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Johnson’s Blue | 17/2 | 10st 12lbs | Mark Walford | Jamie Hamilton |
| 2nd | The Changing Man | 4/1 | 11st 1lb | Joe Tizzard | Brendan Powell |
| 3rd | Mill Green | 14/1 | 11st 13lbs | Nicky Henderson | Daryl Jacob |
| 4th | Hardy Bloke | 9/2 | 10st 10lbs | Emmet Mullins | Donagh Meyler |
Chepstow, 15:07, Saturday 25th February 2023
| Pos. | Horse | Odds | Weight | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Thanksforthehelp | 9/2 | 10st 5lbs | David Pipe | Kevin Brogan |
| 2nd | My Bobby Dazzler | 12/1 | 10st 7lbs | Mel Rowley | Alex Edwards |
| 3rd | Bells Of Peterboro | 14/1 | 11st 0lbs | Tim Vaughan | William Kennedy |
| 4th | Bear Ghylls | 20/1 | 11st 13lbs | Nicky Martin | Sean Bowen |