Arkle Chase Betting Tips – Expert Predictions

The Arkle Challenge Trophy is the first race over fences at the Cheltenham Festival. As March closes in, our experts at GG will provide all the information you need in order to find the winner of the race, with tips and predictions aplenty.

Andrew Mount’s Arkle Tips

Awaiting tips…

Matty Sutcliffe’s Arkle Tips

Awaiting tips…

Dave Young’s Arkle Tips

Awaiting tips…

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Arkle Chase Bookmaker Odds – Race 2, Tuesday 11th March 2:10

The Arkle Challenge Trophy field will only become clearer closer to the opening of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival. Below is the field for the 2024 renewal, won by Gaelic Warrior.

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All About The Sporting Life Arkle Challenge Trophy in 2024

Sponsored by the Sporting Life for the second time, the Arkle takes place over two miles of Prestbury Park. A Grade 1 novice chase, with 13 fences to be jumped in all, the combination of obstacles and undulations are a true test for any novice chaser.

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Qualifications/Trends

Only horses of five-years-old and upwards are eligible to compete in the Arkle, and as a novice chase, no runner is eligible if they have won over fences during a previous season.

Mares receive an allowance of 7lb, but there used to be a 5lb allowance for the five-year-olds as the youngest participants. That ended in 2008 and no horse of that age has won the Arkle since, the last being Voy Por Ustedes, with that 5lb allowance, in 2006.

However, it doesn’t pay to follow the older generation either. Since Voy Por Ustedes’ victory, only two horses not aged six or seven has returned to the winners’ enclosure, with those being the brilliant Sizing Europe in 2010 and last year’s winner Edwardstone.

In terms of trainers, you need look no further than two titans of the game. Willie Mullins and Nicky Henderson have won nine of the last 12 runnings between them and it would have been eight had David Pipe’s Western Warhorse not collared the Mullins-trained Champagne Fever on the line in 2014. Henderson himself has trained four of the last 12 winners, and his last four runners in the race have resulted in two winners (Altior in 2017 + Shishkin in 2021) and two runners-up (Brain Power in 2018 and Jonbon in 2023). 

It’s also been a race which favourites have made their domain, having won eight of the last ten renewals. It’s worth paying extra attention if the favourite goes off at odds-on – all five favourites who went off odds-on won. There is the chance of a shock however, with 16/1 and 33/1 winners in the last ten years.

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Prize Money in 2025

Last year’s connections of Gaelic Warrior took home just over £98,500. There was a total pot was just shy of £175,000, ensuring owners of all eight horses who finished the race return with some prize money.

The prize pot for the 2025 renewal is also set to be £175,000.

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Arkle Chase History

The Arkle Challenge Trophy was originally run as the Cotswold Chase. There’s no prizes for knowing after whom it is named now.

Arkle remains a fabled name in the history of jumps racing, winning three Gold Cups in the 1960s without seemingly breaking out of a canter. He received Timeform’s highest ever rating of 212, a mark which no horse apart from his stablemate, Flyingbolt, has got within 20lb of. Ironically, Flyingbolt won this race in 1965, four years before it was renamed in Arkle’s honour.

Despite him being a staying chase specialist, the race named in Arkle’s honour is over the minimum trip at Cheltenham, with emphasis on speed jumping. The first running of the newly-commemorated Arkle Challenge Trophy was in 1969. Appropriately, among the first winning trainers in 1971 was Arkle’s handler, Tom Dreaper.

In all, 12 horses who have won the Arkle have gone on to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the two-mile championship run on the second day of the Festival. Put The Kettle On did just that in 2021.

Gold Cup winners are harder to come by, certainly within the roll of honour. Only Alverton has won both races, with Pendil narrowly failing to beat him to the feat a few years previously. However, in more recent years, Kicking King (2004), and Sizing John (2016), were runner-up in the Arkle before taking the Gold Cup a year later.

The recently-retired pair of Barry Geraghty and Ruby Walsh, the two winningest jockeys at the Festival in its entire history, also lead the way in the Arkle with four victories each. An honourable mention to Jamie Osborne, however, who won the race for three years in succession between 1992-94 for three different trainers. He was very much the man for this occasion.

There are two glaring omissions from the current honours board. Given their success at the Festival elsewhere, neither J.P. McManus, nor the O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud, have owned a winner of the Arkle in its history. Fakir D’oudairies came close three years ago for McManus, while both Petit Mouchoir and Trifolium have hit the frame for Gigginstown.

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Winners since 2000

Year	Horse	Jockey/Trainer	Odds
2000	Tiutchev	J:Mick Fitzgerald T:Nicky Henderson	8/1
2001	VOID	J:N/A T:N/A	VOID
2002	Moscow Flyer	J:Barry Geraghty T:Jessica Harrington	11/2
2003	Azertyuiop	J:Ruby Walsh T:Paul Nicholl	5/4F
2004	Well Chief	J:Tony McCoy T:Martin Pipe	9/1
2005	Contraband	J:Timmy Murphy T:Martin Pipe	7/1
2006	Voy Por Ustedes	J:Robert Thornton T:Alan King	15/2
2007	My Way De Solzen	J:Robert Thornton T:Alan King	7/2
2008	Tidal Bay	J:Denis O’Regan T:Howard Johnson	6/1
2009	Forpadydeplasterer	J:Barry Geraghty T:Tom Cooper	8/1
2010	Sizing Europe	J:Andrew Lynch T:Henry de Bromhead	6/1
2011	Captain Chris	J:Richard Johnson T:Philip Hobbs	6/1
2012	Sprinter Sacre	J:Barry Geraghty T:Nicky Henderson	8/11F
2013	Simonsig	J:Barry Geraghty T:Nicky Henderson	8/15F
2014	Western Warhorse	J:Tom Scudamore T:David Pipe	33/1
2015	Un de Sceaux	J:Ruby Walsh T:Willie Mullins	4/6F
2016	Douvan	J:Ruby Walsh T:Willie Mullins	1/4F
2017	Altior	J:Nico de Boinville T:Nicky Henderson	1/4F
2018	Footpad	J:Ruby Walsh T:Willie Mullins	5/6F
2019	Duc Des Genievre	J:Paul Townend T:Willie Mullins	5/1
2020	Put The Kettle On	J:Aidan Coleman T:Henry de Bromhead	16/1
2021	Shishkin	J:Nico de Boinville T:Nicky Henderson	4/9F
2022	Edwardstone	J:Tom Cannon T:Alan King	5/2F
2023	El Fabiolo	J:Paul Townend T:Willie Mullins	11/10F
2024	Gaelic Warrior	J:Paul Townend T:Willie Mullins	2/1F

Cheltenham Festival Racing Schedule – Day 1

Time	Race	Tips
1:30	Supreme Novices’ Hurdle	Read Tip
2:10	Arkle Challenge Trophy	Read Tip
2:50	Ultima Handicap Chase	Read Tip
3:30	Champion Hurdle	Read Tip
4:10	Mares’ Hurdle	Read Tip
4:50	Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle	Read Tip
5:30	National Hunt Chase	Read Tip