Centenary Novices' Handicap Chase
The Centenary Novices' Handicap Chase, known for sponsorship purposes as the Close Brothers Novices' Handicap Chase, is a Listed National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs (2 miles 4 furlongs and 44 yards, or 4,064 metres), and during its running there are sixteen fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race for novice chasers with a handicap rating between 0 and 145, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Listed race | |
Location | Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham, England |
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Inaugurated | 2005 |
Race type | Steeplechase |
Sponsor | Close Brothers Group |
Website | Cheltenham |
Race information | |
Distance | 2m 4f 44y (4,064 metres) |
Surface | Turf |
Track | Left-handed |
Qualification | Five-years-old and up |
Weight | Handicap |
Purse | £70,000 (2019) 1st: £39,389 |
2020 | ||
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Imperial Aura | Galvin | Hold The Note |
Previous years | ||
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2019 | ||
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A Plus Tard | Tower Bridge | Ben Dundee |
2018 | ||
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Mister Whitaker | Rather Be | Rocklander |
2017 | ||
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Tully East | Gold Present | Two Taffs |
2016 | ||
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Ballyalton | Bouvreuil | Double Shuffle |
2015 | ||
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Irish Cavalier | Thomas Crapper | Generous Ransom |
2014 | ||
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Present View | Attaglance | Pendra |
2013 | ||
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Rajdhani Express | Ackertac | Ohio Gold |
2012 | ||
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Hunt Ball | White Star Line | Owen Glendower |
2011 | ||
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Divers | Quantitativeeasing | Tullamore Dew |
2010 | ||
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Copper Bleu | Othermix | The Midnight Club |
2009 | ||
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Chapoturgeon | Isn't That Lucky | Crescent Island |
2008 | ||
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Finger Onthe Pulse | Barbers Shop | Possol |
2007 | ||
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L'Antartique | Bob Hall | Wee Robbie |
2006 | ||
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Reveillez | Copsale Lad | Tumbling Dice |
2005 | ||
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King Harald | Lacdoudal | See You Sometime |
The event was established when a fourth day was added to the Cheltenham Festival in 2005. The winning ride by Mattie Batchelor in the inaugural edition subsequently won the Lester Award for Jump Ride of the Year. The race was sponsored by Jewson from 2005 to 2010 and run as the Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase on the third day of the Festival. Jewson transferred their sponsorship to a new race at the 2011 Festival, the Jewson Novices' Chase, which remained on the third day while the Novices' Handicap Chase was moved to become the final race on the opening day of the Festival. The race title commemorated the centenary of the Cheltenham Festival in 2011. In 2012 the race was sponsored by Pulteney Land Investments and from 2013 to 2014 by Rewards4Racing. In 2015 it was sponsored by Chaps Restaurants Barbados and since 2016 the race has been sponsored by Close Brothers Group.
Records
Leading jockey (2 wins):
- Graham Lee - L'Antartique (2007), Divers (2011)
- Brian Hughes – Ballyalton (2016), Mister Whitaker (2018)
Leading trainer (2 wins):
- Ferdy Murphy - L'Antartique (2007), Divers (2011)
Winners
Year |
Winner |
Age |
Weight |
Jockey |
Trainer |
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2005 | King Harald | 7 | 10-04 | Mattie Batchelor | Mark Bradstock |
2006 | Reveillez | 7 | 10-11 | Tony McCoy | James Fanshawe |
2007 | L'Antartique | 7 | 10-11 | Graham Lee | Ferdy Murphy |
2008 | Finger Onthe Pulse | 7 | 10-12 | Barry Geraghty | Tom Taaffe |
2009 | Chapoturgeon | 5 | 10-11 | Timmy Murphy | Paul Nicholls |
2010 | Copper Bleu | 8 | 11-01 | Richard Johnson | Philip Hobbs |
2011 | Divers | 7 | 11-04 | Graham Lee | Ferdy Murphy |
2012 | Hunt Ball | 7 | 12-00 | Nick Scholfield | Keiran Burke |
2013 | Rajdhani Express | 6 | 11-12 | Sam Waley-Cohen[lower-alpha 1] | Nicky Henderson |
2014 | Present View | 6 | 11-07 | Brendan Powell jnr | Jamie Snowden |
2015 | Irish Cavalier | 6 | 11-07 | Paul Townend | Rebecca Curtis |
2016 | Ballyalton | 9 | 11-10 | Brian Hughes | Ian Williams |
2017 | Tully East | 7 | 11-08 | Denis O'Regan | Alan Fleming |
2018 | Mister Whitaker | 6 | 11-02 | Brian Hughes | Mick Channon |
2019 | A Plus Tard | 5 | 11-07 | Rachael Blackmore | Henry de Bromhead |
2020 | Imperial Aura | 7 | 11-05 | David Bass | Kim Bailey |
- amateur jockey