The Cheltenham November festival feels like the true start of the jumps season.
Coats on, breath in the air, rain, and that familiar roar as the first flag goes down.
From Friday 14 to Sunday 16 November, the track serves up smart novices, hardened handicappers, and a couple of races that always shape the winter.
Friday eases us in, though the pace soon lifts. The Shloer Chase gives the two-mile stars a proper check-up, while the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle tests raw staying power early in the campaign.
Ground is good to soft, good in places, which should help smooth jumpers settle and travel.
Saturday is the crowd-pleaser. The Paddy Power Gold Cup is a puzzle with teeth, usually won by a neat jumper who can finish strong up the hill.
Around it sit clues for March, not least the Arkle Trial, where sharp young chasers learn fast or get found out.
Sunday blends stamina and speed. The long Oddschecker Handicap Chase rewards grit and rhythm over 3m3½f, then the Greatwood Hurdle flips the script with a fast, tactical two miles that often reveals a spring contender.
Three days, three clear storylines, and plenty of form to read for the months ahead.
November Festival: Friday 14
Going: Good to soft, good in places
Rail: +45yds for the 1.10 and 3.30, +63yds 1.45, +84yds 2.20, +42yds 2.55, +30yds 4.00
Weather: Rain
Schedule
- 1.10 Lycetts Insurance Brokers Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle
- 1.45 Unibet Middle Distance Veterans’ Handicap Chase (Qualifier)
- 2.20 Sun’s “Save Our Bets” Novices’ Chase (Listed)
- 2.55 Shloer Chase (G2)
- 3.30 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, The Hyde (G2)
- 4.00 Valda Energy Novices’ Handicap Hurdle
What to watch
The Shloer Chase is a sharp two-mile test that often reveals an early-season star.
Jonbon heads the field and brings top-level 2m chase form back to a track he knows, so he is the clear benchmark for this race on good to soft ground.
If he runs to his spring figures he will take pegging back. L’Eau Du Sud, campaigned over hurdles last season, adds interest if connections let him take his chance at this trip.
In the Sun’s “Save Our Bets” Novices’ Chase at 3m1f, recent course winner Leave Of Absence returns following a tidy novice success here in October and is the form horse at the trip.
Double Powerful has solid placed chase form at Cheltenham and Aintree and looks the one to keep him honest if the tempo lifts from a long way out.
The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle over 2m5f is a proven stepping-stone to the spring festivals.
Profiles are mixed this year. Destination Dubai arrives on the back of a warm-up win and earlier good bumper form, while Fountains Blenhein posted a wide-margin maiden success last month.
With 10 hurdles to jump and a likely honest pace, stamina at the trip should decide it.
Elsewhere on the card, the Veterans’ Handicap Chase at 1.45 should be a crowd-pleaser, and the big-field Conditional Jockeys’ Hurdle at 1.10 often throws up a future winner back at the track later in the season.
Saturday 15 November
Going: Good to soft, good in places.
Rail: +30yds 12.35 and 4.00, +84yds 1.10, +42yds 1.45, +63yds 2.20, +60yds 2.55, +45yds 3.30.
Weather: Cloudy
Schedule
- 12.35 JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle (G2)
- 1.10 Debenhams Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase
- 1.45 Paddy Power Arkle Trial Novices’ Chase (G2)
- 2.20 Paddy Power Gold Cup (Premier H’cap)
- 2.55 From The Horses Mouth Podcast Handicap Hurdle
- 3.30 Paddy Power Intermediate Handicap Hurdle
- 4.00 Mares’ Listed NH Flat Race
What to watch
The meeting’s centrepiece is the Paddy Power Gold Cup over 2m4f. It draws a deep handicap field and usually rewards neat jumping and a strong finish up the hill.
Among those towards the top of the market is Jagwar, who signed off last season with a Cheltenham Grade 3 handicap win at a similar trip and now runs from a lofty mark.
The Other Mozzie, representing Gavin Cromwell, brings Irish handicap chase form and could be suited by a truly-run race round here.
With 16 fences and a tight each-way shape, it looks competitive as ever.
Earlier, the Arkle Trial at 1.45 is a clean two-mile test for smart novices.
Be Aware arrives in form after a tidy Stratford success on his chase debut and has the pace for two miles round the Old course.
Breaking Cover has a likeable profile with a string of wins over hurdles and should be sharper for recent experience, but needs to show the same fluency at his fences.
The day opens with the Triumph Trial for juveniles, which often flags up a spring player. The amateur riders’ 3m1f chase at 1.10 is a proper stamina ask on this track, and the late 3m handicap hurdle at 2.55 can be a slog if they go hard early.
Sunday 16 November
Going: Good to soft, good in places
Rail: +30yds 1.15, 3.30 and 4.00, +63yds 1.45, +42yds 2.20, +84yds 2.55
Weather: Partly cloudy
Schedule
- 1.15 mallardjewellers.com Maiden Hurdle
- 1.45 Bottlegreen Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase
- 2.20 Hine Solicitors Talking Sense Handicap Chase
- 2.55 Oddschecker Handicap Chase (Premier H’cap)
- 3.30 Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle (Premier H’cap)
- 4.00 Three Counties Christmas NH Flat Race (Listed)
What to watch
Sunday is built round two crowd favourites. The marathon Oddschecker Handicap Chase over 3m3½f is a proper staying test with 22 fences.
Top-rated Protektorat gives weight away if he lines up here rather than at graded level, but his back-class brings him right into it and the Dan Skelton yard targets this meeting.
Seasoned stayers such as Sam Brown make the shape of a fierce handicap, and proven stamina is key given the extra yards added by the rail move.
Then comes the Greatwood Hurdle, a fast and tactical 2m handicap that often turns into a springboard to Grade 1 races.
Celtic Dino heads the list after a sharp win at Chepstow and has earned a mid-140s mark, while Gibbs Island returned to form at Chepstow last month and is unexposed at this level.
With a full field of 24, a low-to-mid weight and a smooth run through often prove decisive up the final climb.
The undercard features a useful maiden hurdle at 1.15 that will tell us plenty about this year’s novices, plus a lively 2m chase at 2.20 for nippy types who enjoy the Old course’s rhythm.
The card closes with a Listed bumper for mares and fillies, a race that has thrown up future winners on hurdles’ debut later in the season.
How The Three Days Fit Together
Friday sets the tone with established two-mile chasers in the Shloer and a stayers’ novice chase on the same card, so we get an early look at the two ends of the chasing spectrum.
Saturday is about depth, with the Gold Cup usually the biggest betting race of the weekend and smart novices in the Arkle Trial pointing towards March.
Sunday blends an old-school staying handicap over 3m3½f with the speed and positioning of the Greatwood, which often throws up a Festival horse hiding in plain sight.
Across the meeting, ground on the soft side of good should help jumpers get into a rhythm. Small rail additions add a few strides into and after the turns but will not alter tactics much.
Front-runners can go well on this meeting’s Old course layout, yet you need to see it out up the hill. With rain on Friday and a cloudy spell on Saturday, watch for any late ease in the ground that could tip the balance towards proven stayers and strong travellers.
If you are picking out one race per day to focus on: Shloer for a class view on Friday, Paddy Power Gold Cup for the big handicap puzzle on Saturday, and the Greatwood on Sunday for both betting depth and a potential Festival clue.
Those three contests also carry the meeting’s richest prize pots and the deepest fields.
Note on fields and times: the race times, distances, rail moves and runner numbers above are taken from the official racecards and reflect the latest published information going into the meeting.
Always check for late non-runners or going changes on the day.
