Ultima Handicap Chase Betting Tips – Expert Predictions

Ultima Handicap Chase – Expert Tips & Predictions

The Ultima Handicap Chase is the opening handicap contest of the Festival and often provides punters with a competitive betting heat to dig their teeth into. With so much to decipher, our experts have picked out their winning predictions, to give you the best chance of finding the winner.


Ultima Handicap Chase Bookmaker Odds – Race 2, Tuesday 14th March 2:50

Horse/FormSilksJockey/TrainerOdds
Corach Rambler
4U1-54
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Derek Fox
T: Lucinda Russell
6/1
Into Overdrive
11-121
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Jamie Hamilton
T: Mark Walford
7/1
Nassalam
21-563
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Jamie Moore
T: Gary Moore
7/1
Fastorslow
02-255
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: J J Slevin
T: Martin Brassil
10/1
Oscar Elite
P-50P1
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Harry Cobden
T: Joe Tizzard
10/1
The Big Breakaway
23P-22
 J: Brendan Powell
T: Joe Tizzard
12/1
Happygolucky
121/30
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: David Bass
T: Kim Bailey
12/1
The Goffer
-41231
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Davy Russell
T: Gordon Elliott
12/1
Monbeg Genius
1-4111
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Jonjo O’Neill Jr
T: Jonjo O’Neill
12/1
Threeunderthrufive
16-3U6
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: A P Heskin
T: Paul Nicholls
14/1
Remastered
9-121P
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: David Noonan
T: David Pipe
16/1
Tea Clipper
44-234
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Stan Sheppard
T: Tom Lacey
16/1
Cloudy Glen
/1P9-3
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Charlie Deutsch
T: Venetia Williams
20/1
Harpers Brook
21-215
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Tom Cannon
T: Ben Pauling
25/1
Top Ville Ben
2P-353
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Thomas Dowson
T: Philip Kirby
28/1
Fanion D’Estruval
34-734
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Lucy Turner (5)
T: Venetia Williams
33/1
Good Boy Bobby
7P-74P
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Daryl Jacob
T: Nigel Twiston-Davies
33/1
Fantastikas
P-60P3
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Sam Twiston-Davies
T: Nigel Twiston-Davies
33/1
Karl Philippe
12-127
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Jack Hogan (5)
T: Fergal O’Brien
33/1
Iceo Madrik
-366UF
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Jack Tudor
T: David Pipe
33/1
The Wolf
-20864
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Paddy Brennan
T: Olly Murphy
40/1
Laskalin
5-1328
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Shane Quinlan (3)
T: Venetia Williams
50/1
Glamorgan Duke
43932U
Horse Profile - Jockey ColoursJ: Danny Gilligan (7)
T: Paul John Gilligan
66/1

All About The Ultima Handicap Chase in 2023

The Ultima Handicap Chase is one of the leading staying handicaps of the jumps season. Its place as the first handicap race of the Festival serves as a punter’s favourite puzzle, with more runners and more competition than the races surrounding it.

Run over three miles and a furlong of the old course, the 2022 field will only begin to take shape as the season progresses. Until declarations are announced it’s difficult to know which horses are going to line up here.

Currently, Into Overdrive is one of those towards the head of the betting, having won two of his three races this season. The defeat came at the hands of L’Homme Presse, which is easy to forgive!

Last year’s winner Corach Rambler could be set to line up and defend his crown. He might find that a tough task however, considering only one horse has won back-to-back renewals of the race this millennium.

Other names prominent in the market include Threeunderthrufive, The Goffer and Thunder Rock.

Last year’s winner Corach Rambler could bid to try and retain his crown.

Any horse aged five or over can compete in the race and they must have earned a handicap mark. No five-year-olds have won this from the end of the Second World War though, as that age group would routinely find this too tough a stamina test.

Unusually, however, though age often brings with it staying power, Vintage Clouds was the first horse aged 10 or above to win this race since 2010, ensuring a decade’s gap in between.

It also pays to mix things up in looking for the winner. When Un Temps Pour Tout won his second Ultima Handicap Chase in 2017, he was the first horse to repeat his initial victory since Scot Lane in 1983. He broke a second unwritten rule in the race as well: as top-weight, he was the first to carry the heaviest burden since Arkloin in 1966.

Class can often be a positive factor, though. Along with David Pipe’s dual winner, four other horses have won the race carrying 11st 3lb or more since 2014, while only two horses have carried fewer than 10st 5lb since 2006. Those at the bottom of the handicap often find these deeper waters more difficult to swim in, although that wasn’t the case for Corach Rambler last year, winning off just 10st 2lbs.

Similarly, given there were handicap winners at the Festival priced 50/1 and 40/1 last season, Vintage Clouds’ 28/1 success in this was an anomaly. Before him, no horse priced above 11/1 had been successful since 2013, so the bookmakers usually have a fair understanding of who is likely to win, albeit Coo Star Sivola and Wichita Lineman are the only favourites, outright or joint, to be victorious since the turn of the millennium.


2023 Ultima Handicap Chase Prize Money

Connections of 2022 winner Corach Rambler landed over £70,000 for last year’s success, with prize money given to the top eight runners. 

The prize pot for the 2023 renewal is £125,000.


Ultima Handicap Chase History

This is a genuine test for handicap chasers, as proven by the fact that only three horses have ever won this race more than once. Combine that with only two jockeys having won the race three times (Robert Thornton and Tom Scudamore), and two trainers having won four each (Fred Rimell and Fulke Walwyn), and you can see how well this prize has been spread around.

This is often seen as an excellent race to take in before a tilt at the Grand National. Five horses have gone on to win a Grand National off the back of this race, although only Seagram has done so in the same season. Team Spirit, West Tip and Rough Quest would have to wait a year before Aintree glory, with Royal Tan’s two years after his win here.

With fewer horses rising through the ranks of handicaps, and indeed fewer Grade 1 horses competing in such races, the Ultima has not produced as many Gold Cup runners/winners as it used to. No fewer than four winners of this race in the 1950s went on to win a Gold Cup, while Charter Party did so in the 1980s. More recently, only Holywell has gone on from this race to go close in a Gold Cup when fourth in 2015.

Unlike so many races to have fallen their way in recent history, there has remarkably been no Irish winner of this race for 16 years. Dun Doire was the last to do so for Tony Martin back in 2006, only a year more recently than one of few French winners at the Festival, Kelami for the now retired Francois Doumen.

Un Temps Pour Tout (nearest) winning the race in 2016 from former winner Holywell. He would be victorious again the following year.

Winners since 2000

YearHorseJockey/TrainerOdds
2000MarlboroughJ: Mick Fitzgerald
T:Nicky Henderson
11/2
2001VOIDJ:N/A
T:N/A
VOID
2002Frenchman’s CreekJ:Paul Carberry
T:Hughie Morrison
8/1
2003YoulneverwalkaloneJ:Barry Geraghty
T:Christy Roche
7/1
2004Fork LightningJ:Robert Thornton
T:Alan King
7/1
2005KelamiJ:Robert Thonrton
T:Francois Doumen
8/1
2006Dun DoireJ:Ruby Walsh
T:Tony Martin
7/1
2007Joes Edge J:Davy Russell
T:Ferdy Murphy
50/1
2008An Accordion J:Tom Scudamore
T:
David Pipe
7/1
2009Wichita LinemanJ:Tony McCoy
T:Jonjo O’Neill
5/1F
2010Chief Dan GeorgeJ:Paddy Aspell
T:James Moffatt
33/1
2011BensalemJ:Robert Thornton
T:Alan King
5/1
2012Alfie SherrinJ:Richie McLernon
T:Jonjo O’Neill
14/1
2013Golden ChieftainJ:Brendan Powell Jr
T:Colin Tizzard
28/1
2014HolywellJ:Richie McLernon
T:Jonjo O’Neill
10/1
2015The Druids NephewJ:Barry Geraghty
T:Neil Mulholland
8/1
2016Un Temps Pour ToutJ:Tom Scudamore
T:
David Pipe
11/1
2017Un Temps Pour ToutJ:Tom Scudamore
T:
David Pipe
9/1
2018Coo Star SivolaJ:Lizzie Kelly
T:Nick Williams
5/1F
2019Beware The BearJ:Jeremiah McGrath
T:Nicky Henderson
10/1
2020The ConditionalJ:Brendan Powell Jr
T:
David Bridgwater
15/2
2021Vintage CloudsJ:Ryan Mania
T:
Sue Smith
28/1
2022Corach RamblerJ:Derek Fox
T:
Lucinda Russell
10/1

Cheltenham Festival Racing Schedule – Day 1

TimeRaceTips
1:30Supreme Novices’ HurdleRead Tip
2:10Sporting Life Arkle ChallengeRead Tip
2:50Ultima Handicap Steeple ChaseRead Tip
3:30Unibet Champion Hurdle ChallengeRead Tip
4:10Close Brothers Mares’ HurdleRead Tip
4:50Boodles Juvenile HandicapRead Tip
5:30National Hunt Challenge ChaseRead Tip