The County Hurdle is the premium 2m handicap run at the Cheltenham Festival. The race often attracts a competitive field and winners must be able to handle the hustle and bustle of what is traditionally one of the largest fields of the week. Our experts at GG have produced their County Handicap Hurdle tips and predictions for the race to aid you in your search for the winner.
Joe Napier’s County Hurdle Tips
14:00 William Hill County Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race)
Result
10th 16/1
After a good run in the Triumph Hurdle last season and with the ground in his favour, Joe Napier is hoping for a big run from Hello Neighbour.
Matty Sutcliffe’s County Hurdle Tips
14:00 William Hill County Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race)
T: W P Mullins
Result
6th 4/1F
Matty Sutcliffe believes that Paul Townend’s decision to ride Karbau is too noteworthy to avoid. He is the only handicap mount of the week for Townend, who has won this race for the last two years.
County Handicap Hurdle Bookmaker Odds – Race 2, Friday 13th March 2:00
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All About The County Handicap Hurdle in 2027
Sponsored by the McCoy Contractors for the second time, the County Hurdle takes place over 2m1f of Cheltenham’s New Course. The race tends to attract a strong field of 20+ runners, with a combination of experienced handicappers and unexposed novices making it one of the toughest puzzles of the week to decipher.
Whilst it is tough to predict exactly who will be making the line-up until final declarations are declared, the nature of the handicap often sees horses who have progressed throughout the season taking on less experienced types who may have a bit more in hand off their ratings.
The Dan Skelton team have enjoyed notable success in the County Hurdle in recent years, sending out Superb Story (2016), Mohaayed (2018), Ch’tibello (2019) and Faivoir (2023) to land the contest.
Qualifications/Trends
The McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle is open to horses aged 5yo or older and – barring incident – requires the field to jump eight hurdles over the 2m1f distance of the New Course.
Cheltenham’s New Course is traditionally seen to provide a greater stamina test than that of the Old Course, and it can see horses that go for home too soon swallowed up in the dash to the line – as such, anything held up for a late run should be feared.
The Willie Mullins and Dan Skelton yards have proven particularly potent in the County Hurdle in recent years, with all but one renewal from 2015-2024 going to Skelton or Mullins.
Irish trainer Peter Fahey broke that sequence when sending out Belfast Banter to score in 2021, and this is a race where the Irish have done well down the years – with Saint Roi (2020), State Man (2022) Absurde (2024) and Kargese (2025) all scoring for the Irish-based yard of Willie Mullins.
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Although 2021 winner Belfast Banter sneaked into the race off a bottom weight of just 10st, weight hasn’t proved a barrier to the success in the County Hurdle, with 2017 winner Arctic Fire scoring off top weight in 2017. Four of the last eight renewals have been won by horses weighing 11st or higher.
Favourites had previously had a particularly poor record in the County Hurdle, with no horse that occupied favouritism going on to land the spoils since 4/1J Desert Quest took the race for Paul Nicholls and Ruby Walsh in 2006. However, that changed in 2022 as State Man justified his short odds to win emphatically.
This is a race that can throw up a big odds winner though, with recent winners of the race coming home at 25/1, 33/1 and even a huge 50/1!
Apprentice and conditional riders value for their claim can be seen to big race success at the Cheltenham Festival, yet the County Hurdle has been a race traditionally more for the professionals, with only Bridget Andrews (Mohaayed, 2018) and Katie Walsh (Thousand Stars, 2010) scoring for claiming riders in recent years.
County Handicap Hurdle History
The County Handicap Hurdle is one of the longest standing handicaps at the Festival, having been incepted as far back as 1920.
The race was for many years contested as the last race of the entire Festival and therefore for many gained a reputation for being the ‘getting out stakes’. The County Handicap Hurdle has held many sponsors throughout the years and is now run in the name of McCoy Contractors, an engineering company based in Warwickshire.
For over twenty years the race was run in the name Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle, in name of the legendary Irish trainer, who trained no fewer than six Derby winners, three successive Grand Nationals and 23 Cheltenham Festival winners.
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The County Handicap Hurdle is seen by many as a springboard to future Graded success, and therefore it is no real surprise that no horses has managed to win the race more than once.
Cheltenham Festival specialist rider Ruby Walsh is the winning most jockey in the history of the County Handicap Hurdle, having taken four renewals from 2004 to 2011 his victories coming aboard Sporazene, Desert Quest, American Trilogy and Final Approach. Paul Townend could equal that record if he wins this year’s renewal.
All three of Paul Townend’s winners were trained by Willie Mullins (as well as one of Ruby Walsh’s winners), so it’s no surprise to see that he has trained the most winners in the history of the race. He pulled further clear with a seventh win in the race last year, as Absurde stayed on strongly under a cunning Paul Townend ride to win going away.
Winners since 2000
| Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Master Tern | Tony Dobbin | Jonjo O’Neill | 9/2F | |
| 2001 | VOID | VOID | VOID | VOID | |
| 2002 | Rooster Booster | Richard Johnson | Philip Hobbs | 8/1 | |
| 2003 | Spirit Leader | Barry Geraghty | Jessica Harrington | 10/1 | |
| 2004 | Sporazene | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls | 7/1J | |
| 2005 | Fontanesi | Timmy Murphy | Martin Pipe | 16/1 | |
| 2006 | Desert Quest | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls | 4/1J | |
| 2007 | Pedrobob | Philip Carberry | Tony Mullins | 12/1 | |
| 2008 | Silver Jaro | Noel Fehily | Tom Hogan | 50/1 | |
| 2009 | American Trilogy | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls | 20/1 | |
| 2010 | Thousand Stars | Katie Walsh | Willie Mullins | 20/1 | |
| 2011 | Final Approach | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins | 10/1 | |
| 2012 | Alderwood | Tony McCoy | Thomas Mullins | 20/1 | |
| 2013 | Ted Veale | Bryan Cooper | Tony Martin | 10/1 | |
| 2014 | Lac Fontana | Daryl Jacob | Paul Nicholls | 11/1 | |
| 2015 | Wicklow Brave | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | 25/1 | |
| 2016 | Superb Story | Harry Skelton | Dan Skelton | 8/1 | |
| 2017 | Arctic Fire | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | 20/1 | |
| 2018 | Mohaayed | Bridget Andrews | Dan Skelton | 33/1 | |
| 2019 | Ch’tibello | Harry Skelton | Dan Skelton | 12/1 | |
| 2020 | Saint Roi | Barry Geraghty | Willie Mullins | 11/2 | |
| 2021 | Belfast Banter | Kevin Sexton | Peter Fahey | 33/1 | |
| 2022 | State Man | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | 11/4F | |
| 2023 | Faivoir | Bridget Andrews | Dan Skelton | 33/1 | |
| 2024 | Absurde | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | 12/1 | |
| 2025 | Kargese | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | 3/1F | |
| 2026 | Wilful | Jonjo O’Neill Jnr | Jonjo O’Neill | 14/1 |
Cheltenham Festival Racing Schedule
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