The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. Plate Handicap Chase is a competitive handicap run over an extended 2m4f on day 3 of the Cheltenham Festival. This handicap always attracts a strong and competitive field and was won last year by Coole Cody for trainer Evan Williams. With so many selections to choose from, GG’s experts have analysed this Grade 3 handicap in its entirety so that you can find this year’s winner.
Craft Irish Whiskey Co. Plate Handicap Chase Bookmaker Odds – Race 5, Thursday 16th March 4:10
| Horse/Form | Silks | Jockey/Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| So Scottish 021112 |  | J: Mark Walsh T: Emmet Mullins | 10/3 |
| Haut En Couleurs 6-54F2 |  | J: M O’Sullivan (5) T: Willie Mullins | 6/1 |
| Il Ridoto 83-441 |  | J: Harry Cobden T: Paul Nicholls | 8/1 |
| Midnight River P3-131 |  | J: Harry Skelton T: Dan Skelton | 9/1 |
| Frero Banbou 9-2434 |  | J: Charlie Deutsch T: Venetia Williams | 10/1 |
| Datsalrightgino 213422 |  | J: Gavin Sheehan T: Jamie Snowden | 11/1 |
| Fugitif 48-212 |  | J: Sean Bowen T: Richard Hobson | 12/1 |
| Escaria Ten 829-27 |  | J: A P Heskin T: Gordon Elliott | 16/1 |
| Seddon 8F2311 |  | J: Ben Harvey (5) T: John C McConnell | 16/1 |
| War Lord 42-3P2 |  | J: Brendan Powell T: Joe Tizzard | 12/1 |
| Coole Cody -7P150 |  | J: Adam Wedge T: Evan Williams | 12/1 |
| Shakem Up’Arry 323-15 |  | J: Luca Morgan T: Ben Pauling | 12/1 |
| Champagne Gold 9-4132 |  | J: Aidan Coleman T: Henry De Bromhead | 12/1 |
| Mars Harper 322492 |  | J: Jordan Gainford T: Gordon Elliott | 12/1 |
| Embittered -38726 |  | J: B J Cooper T: Joseph Patrick O’Brien | 12/1 |
| Gemirande (RESERVE) -21212 |  | J: Shane Quinlan (3) T: Venetia Williams | 12/1 |
| Marvel De Cerisy -16F13 |  | J: Rachael Blackmore T: Henry De Bromhead | 12/1 |
| Celebre D’Allen 15-434 |  | J: Michael Nolan T: Philip Hobbs & Johnson White | 12/1 |
| Hereditary Rule 242113 |  | J: Jack Hogan (5) T: John C McConnell | 12/1 |
| Stolen Silver 41-U2P |  | J: Sam Twiston-Davies T: Sam Thomas | 12/1 |
| Two For Gold 112P-5 |  | J: David Bass T: Kim Bailey | 12/1 |
| Bowtogreatness 0-235P |  | J: Kevin Brogan T: Ben Pauling | 12/1 |
| Captain Tom Cat F-27P7 |  | J: Charlie Hammond T: Dr Richard Newland | 12/1 |
| Gevrey 743145 |  | J: Sam Ewing T: Gordon Elliott | 12/1 |
| Born By The Sea 235305 |  | J: Danny Gilligan (7) T: Paul John Gilligan | 12/1 |
| Il Courra (RESERVE) 148414 |  | J: RESERVE T: C W J Farrell | 12/1 |
All About the Craft Irish Whiskey Co. Plate Handicap Chase in 2023
Six of the last ten renewals have been won by horses at double-figure odds, including last year’s winner Coole Code (22/1), so it might pay to look further down the betting in this. However, there is a clear market leader this year, with Emmet Mullins’ So Scottish bidding to maintain his impressive start to his chase career.
Having won comfortably on debut at Tipperary, he was sent over to Carlisle where he ran out a cosy winner, before stepping up in class at Ascot and failing to catch Boothill. That form received a welcome boost when the winner landed the Grade 2 Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase the following month.
The Irish have a solid recent record in the race so it’s no shock to see plenty of Irish-trained runners prominent in the betting. One of their best hopes looks to be Willie Mullins’ Haut En Couleurs, who hasn’t won since his chase debut but has had some excellent efforts in better races.
He finished a respectable fourth behind Gold Cup favourite Galopin Des Champs on seasonal reappearance, before falling when clear in the Hotel Chase at Thurles in January. His most recent effort saw him finish a clear second behind Stablemate Janidil, who has been well supported in the Ryanair Chase in the ante-post betting.
Others Irish runners to note include Adamantly Chosen and Hollow Games, who both raced in Grade 1’s last time out, while the pick of the Irish hopefuls include Balco Coastal, Stage Star and Midnight River.
Qualifications/Trends
The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. Plate Handicap Chase is open to five-year-olds and upwards. Although the Grade 3 contest is open to the five-year-old age group, only one horse has ever been successful at that age which was Martin Pipe’s Majadou in 1999.
The Grade 3 contest is always fiercely competitive and it is those runners carrying under 11st that have faired the best and have remarkably taken seventeen renewals since the turn of the century, with only Non So (2006), Mister McGoldrick (2008), The Storyteller (2018), Simply The Betts (2020) and Coole Cody (2022) being the only previous winners to carry more weight.
Runners with Handicap ratings in the 140’s have proven to be a useful tool in solving this tricky handicap in recent years with last year’s winner Coole Cody becoming the ninth successive winner to be rated 140 or higher.
This is a handicap that has normally gone the way of the British trained runners in the past and has been a race that Somerset trainer David Pipe has targeted and landed three times between 2010-2014 after his father Martin enjoyed four victories in dove renewals between 1997 and 2002. Despite the British runners enjoying plenty of success, the Irish have now won four of the last seven runnings in recent seasons.
In the past, this Grade 3 event was a race that favourites had a particularly poor record in with only David Pipe’s Salut Flo (2012) being the only market leader to win since 1999, where Martin Pipe landed the prize with A P McCoy and Majadou. However, punters have enjoyed much more more success in the last few seasons with the last three out of five renewals going the way of the favourites.
As well as recent renewals going the way of the favourites, Novices’ have also landed the event in four of the past six seasons with the only exceptions being Siruh Du Lac in 2019 and last year’s winner Coole Cody.
Craft Irish Whiskey Co. Plate Handicap Chase Prize Money in 2023
£118,000 was on offer in last year’s Craft Irish Whiskey Co. Plate Handicap Chase, winning connections of Coole Cody took home just over £67,500. There was prize money on offer for those placed 8th or better.
The prize pot for the 2023 renewal is £120,000.
Craft Irish Whiskey Co. Plate Handicap Chase History
The inaugural race took place in April 1951 as the festival was scheduled a month later due to the course being waterlogged in March. The race was originally titled the Mildmay Of Flete Handicap Chase in memory of an amateur national hunt jockey who rode three winners at The Cheltenham Festival.
The Racing Post took over sponsorship of the grade 3 contest from 2006 to 2008 before the 2009 race was run in memory of Freddie Williams, a renowned Scottish bookmaker who had a pitch on course at Cheltenham. Construction firm Byrne Group later took over the sponsorship from 2010-2014 and Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable supported the event from 2015-2020. Leading bookmaker Paddy Power sponsored the race in 2021 before Craft Irish Whiskey Co. took over sponsorship in 2022 and remain the current sponsor of the day 3 contest.
Only The Tsarevich (1985 & 1986) and Elfast (1992 & 1994) have won this contest more than once, though several past winners including Mister McGoldrick (2008) have returned to be placed in this event.
Trainer Nicky Henderson shares the leading trainer record in this event with Bobby Renton and Martin Pipe with four wins each, though Nicky Henderson hasn’t saddled a winner in this grade 3 feature contest since 2006, where jockey Mick Fitzgerald partnered the eight-yer-old Non So to success.
Jockey Bryan Cooper remains the only jockey in the modern era to ride back to back wins in this event as he partnered Empire of dirt and Road To Respect to victory in the 2016 and 2017 renewals.
Winners since 2000
| Year | Horse | Jockey/Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Dark Stranger | J:Richard Johnson T:Martin Pipe | 8/1 |
| 2001 | VOID | J:N/A T:N/A | VOID |
| 2002 | Blowing Wind | J:Ruby Walsh T:Martin Pipe | 20/1 |
| 2003 | Young Spartacus | J:Richard Johnson T:Henry Daly | 6/1F |
| 2004 | Tikram | J:Timmy Murphy T:Gary Moore | 50/1 |
| 2005 | Liberthine | J:Sam Waley Cohen T:Nicky Henderson | 10/1 |
| 2006 | Non So | J:Mick Fitzgerald T:Nicky Henderson | 50/1 |
| 2007 | Idole First | J:Alan O’Keeffe T:Venetia Williams | 14/1 |
| 2008 | Mister McGoldrick | J:Dominic Elsworth T:Sue Smith | 18/1 |
| 2009 | Something Wells | J:Will Biddick T:Venetia Williams | 16/1 |
| 2010 | Great Endeavour | J:Danny Cook T:David Pipe | 16/1 |
| 2011 | Holmwood Legend | J:Keiran Burke T:Patrick Rodford | 20/1 |
| 2012 | Salut Flo | J:Tom Scudamore T:David Pipe | 14/1 |
| 2013 | Carrickboy | J:Liam Treadwell T:Venetia Williams | 25/1 |
| 2014 | Ballynagour | J:Tom Scudamore T:David Pipe | 9/2F |
| 2015 | Darna | J:David Bass T:Kim Bailey | 9/1 |
| 2016 | Empire Of Dirt | J:Bryan Cooper T:Colm Murphy | 14/1 |
| 2017 | Road To Respect | J:Bryan Cooper T:Noel Meade | 11/1 |
| 2018 | The Storyteller | J:Davy Russell T:Gordon Elliott | 6/1 |
| 2019 | Siruh Du Lac | J:Lizzie Kelly T:Nick Williams | 4/1F |
| 2020 | Simply The Betts | J:Gavin Sheehan T:Harry Whittington | 10/1 |
| 2021 | The Shunter | J:Jordan Gainford T:Emmet Mullins | 12/1 |
| 2022 | Coole Cody | J:Adam Wedge T:Evan Williams | 22/1 |