The Mares Hurdle is one of the most prestigious hurdling events on the National Hunt calendar and is run on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival.
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The Mares’ Hurdle is a Grade 1 hurdle run over 2m4f and restricted to mares aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (4,005 metres) with ten hurdles to be jumped. It will take place on Tuesday 12th March 2024 | Time 16:10
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In Detail
The Mares Hurdle is fully titled as the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle. It is currently referred to as The Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle due to sponsorship and is open to mares aged four years or older. The Grade 1 National Hunt Race is run on Cheltenham’s Old Course over a distance of 2 miles and three furlongs.
The race was established in 2008 and has ten hurdles for runners to navigate along the way. It is run on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival each year.
The race was initially a Grade 2 but was then upgraded in 2015.
The race and winners trophy is named after David Nicholson. He was a successful jockey and trainer who had five winners as a rider and 17 as a trainer at Cheltenham.
Quevega, trained by Willie Mullins, won this race six times in a row between 2009 and 2014. For the first victory in 2009, connections were awarded £56,220 when beating United by 14 lengths. Quevega was the 2/1 favourite in the race.
When The Mares’ Hurdle was upgraded to a Grade 1 in 2015, Glen Melody was the 6/1 winner. The prize money had only increased by £50 to £56,270.
A hugely prestigious race on the Mares calendar, in 2020 the purse for the race was £120,000. Connections of Honeysuckle, the winner, took £67,524 home. She beat rival Benie Des Dieux, who was the 4/6 favourite, by half a length.
In 2021, the prize fund was reduced due to racing being held behind closed doors. A lack of ticket sales was responsible for the reduction so connections of the winner, Black Tears (11/1) took home £50,643, from the £90K fund.
By 2022 the prize money was back up to £120,000 and Marie’s Rock the race winner earned £67,500 for the win. That was for trainer Nicky Henderson with jockey Nico De Boinville on board.
As The Mares’ Hurdle was initially a Grade 2 race, it didn’t attract the elite mares in training. However, Quevega made a name for herself after winning the race in six consecutive years, the last of which came in 2014 when she was 10-years-old.
Trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Ruby Walsh on all six occasions, they also hold the records for leading jockey and trainer in the race.
In 2017 Apple’s Jade won The Mares’ Hurdle, for trainer Gordon Elliott. She beat the previous year’s winner Vroum Vroum Mag by 1.5 lengths. She has gone on to win 11 Grade 1’s, which makes her one of the most successful mares in jumping history.
Benie Des Dieux won the race in 2018 at the age of seven, beating Midnight Tour and Apple’s Jade who placed third. Benie Des Dieux failed to defend her title in 2019 losing out to Roksana and again in 2020 in a race that was ultimately won by Honeysuckle for trainer Henry De Bromhead and jockey Rachael Blackmore.
The Mares’ Hurdle has only been part of the Cheltenham Festival for 15 years but already there are runaway leaders in the records.
As mentioned previously, Quevega has won the race a record six times. All of the wins were in consecutive years from 2009 to 2014. This record also breaks the record of Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Golden Miller, who won that race five consecutive times.
Ruby Walsh, the all-time leading jockey at the festival, is also the leading jockey in The Mares’ Hurdle. He rode Quevega in all of her six wins and then rode Vroum Vroum Mag (2016) and Benie Des Dieux (2018) to victory to record eight wins in total in the race.
Another record holder at the festival is Willie Mullins. He has trained the most winners in Cheltenham history and has trained nine winners in this race. Mullins trained Quevega, Glens Melody, Vroum Vroum Mag and Benie Des Dieux.
Guide to
Trainer Willie Mullins has won this nine times with Quevega six times, Glens Melody, Vroum Vroum Mag, and Benie Des Dieux. Eight of those wins came with legendary jockey Ruby Walsh on board with Paul Townend winning onboard Glens Melody in 2015.
Established in 2008, there have been a few changes to the race layout over the years. It was initially run on the New Course at Cheltenham and on the final day. However, the following year, 2009, it was moved to opening day and the Old Course. For the first seven renewals, it was listed as a Grade 2 race but that was upgraded to a Grade 1 race in 2015.
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The Mares Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt Hurdle race run on the Old Course.
The Mares Hurdle is run over a distance of two miles and four furlongs (4,005 metres)
During its running there are 10 hurdles to be jumped.
The Hammer & Trowel Syndicate is the leading owner with six wins from Quevega. A record of six consecutive wins at Cheltenham earned connections £281,506.
Marie’s Rock win in 2020, Black Tears won in 2021 with Honeysuckle winning in 2020. Roksana took the honours in 2019.
The Mares Hurdle was worth £120,000 in 2022 with the winner earning £67,524.
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Read On
Mares Hurdle News Cheltenham Festival NewsChampion’s Day
| Time | Race | Distance | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:30 | Sky Bet Supreme Novices Hurdle Race | 2m abt ½f | Hurdle |
| 14:10 | Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase | abt 2m | Chase |
| 14:50 | Ultima Handicap Chase | 3m abt 1f | Chase |
| 15:30 | Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy | 2m abt ½f | Hurdle |
| 16:10 | Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle | 2m abt 4f | Hurdle |
| 16:50 | Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle | Abt 2m ½f | Hurdle |
| 17:30 | National Hunt Challenge Cup | 3m 6f | Chase |
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