The Mares Novices Hurdle is a Grade 2 race confined to fillies and mares over an extended two miles at the Cheltenham Festival. It was introduced in 2016 as The Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle in honour of the Champion Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup winner.
The race was monopolised by Trainer Willie Mullins for the first five seasons; Limini (2016), Let’s Dance (2017), Laurina (2018), Eglantine Du Seuil (2019) and Concertista (2020). His domination was halted, and since 2022, British trainers have been in the ascendancy, although Henry De Bromhead snared it for Ireland again with Air Of Entitlement in 2025.
The Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Odds for 2026 are set to be very competitive once again.
Latest Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Odds
After a massive field of 24 contested the 2025 renewal, the odds for the 2026 running will likely be highly competitive right until the off.
Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Odds and Entries 2026
There’s set to be another big field for this year’s renewal of the Dawn Run. Willie Mullins may not have own this since 2020, but he will surely play the strongest hand even beyond his biggest hope.
Betting on the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle
The Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle was added to the Cheltenham Festival programme in 2016 when the meeting was extended to 28 races. For the first five years it was pointless to look beyond Trainer Willie Mullins for a bet on the Mares Novices Hurdle. He finally released his grip on the race when Henry de Bromhead’s Telmesomethinggirl won in 2021 and British trainers got on the board last year with Harry Fry’s Love Envoi.
The first three renewals were all won by heavily-backed favourites in Limini (2016), Let’s Dance (2017) and Laurina (2018). In 2019 the race was won by 50-1 chance Eglantine Du Seuil, again trained by Mullins but completely overlooked in the Mares Hurdle betting. She defeated 66-1 stable companion Concertista. The Irish trainer continued his monopoly of the race in 2020 when the runner-up returned to go one better at odds of 9-2.
Five-year-olds won the first four renewals while the last five have all gone to six-year-olds. The best trials have been the Solerina Mares’ Hurdle at Fairyhouse and the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle at Leopardstown, each featuring two subsequent Mares’ Hurdle winners.
Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle News
The Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle often attracts a strong field, with top trainers and jockeys competing for the prize, and 2026 looks no exception.
The entries for the race will be announced very soon, at which point we will bring you the latest news about who is likely to be involved.