This page shows races at Cheltenham that have been discontinued or moved to other courses. Although these races no longer run we feel it is an important part of the history of one of the the most famous jump racing course in the world and so we’ve kept those summaries and pages here for you to read about.
For current races see our main meeting pages, which covers all active races at Cheltenham year round.
Cheltenham Festival Old Races
Novices' Handicap Chase (Champion Day)
- Grade: Grade 2
- Distance: 2m 4f 44y (4065m)
- Fences: 16
- Course: Old Course
Run over two miles, four furlongs and forty-four yards (2m, 4f, 44y), the Novices' Handicap Chase has sixteen fences for the novice chasers to jump. Qualification is given to horses of five years of age or older that have a handicap rating of between 0 and 140.
Established back in 2005 when a fourth day was added to the Festival’s calendar, this race was discontinued at Cheltenham from 2021 onwards and replaced by the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap, moving from Ladies Day, with a new Mares' Chase being added to Gold Cup Day. The Novice's Chase was moved to the Sandown Imperial Meeting the week before the Festival.
From 2005 until 2010 it was named the Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase, owing to sponsorship, and was held on the third day of the festival. It was renamed in 2011 in honour of Cheltenham Racecourse’s centenary and has had numerous sponsorships since. Given its relative youth, it’s not a surprise that there are no standout winners of this race. Both the leading jockey, Graham Lee, and the leading trainer, Ferdy Murphy, have just two wins to their names.
2020 Winners
- Horse - Imperial Aura
- Jockey - David Bass
- Trainer - Kim Bailey
- Overall Prize Money - £69,000
- For The Winner - £39,389
Cathcart Challenge Cup - Discontinued (Gold Cup Day )
- Grade: Grade 2
- Distance: 2m 5f (4225m)
- Fences: 17
- Course: New Course
A 2 miles and 5 furlongs Garde 2 steeplechase, the Cathcart Challenge Cup was a firm fixture in Cheltenham Festival's schedule for almost 70 years. An important race for intermediate chasers transitioning the early stages of their careers, it was specifically aimed at first and second season horses of 5 years old and above.
The race was named after Frederick Cathcart, a man who arguably made Cheltenham Festival what it is today. He is responsible for the Gold Cup and the Champion Hurdle, two of the biggest races at the festival. The Cathcart Challenge Cup was named in his honour, first run in 1938, 4 years after his death.
The Cathcart was discontinued after the 2004 festival when it went from a 3 day to a 4 day event, making way for the Ryanair Chase.
2004 Winners
- Horse - Our Armageddon
- Jockey - Larry McGrath
- Trainer - Richard Guest
- Overall Prize Money - £80,000
- For The Winner - £46,400
Other Cheltenham Discontinued Races
Dipper Novices’ Chase (New Year's Day Meeting)
- Grade: Grade 2
- Distance: 2m 4f 127y (4140m)
- Fences: 17
- Course: New Course
The third race of the day is the first of three worthy of a little more information. This Grade 2 race is for novices aged five and older, taking place over two miles, four furlongs and one-hundred and sixty-six yards (2m, 4f, 127y).
There are seventeen fences that the horses will have to get over in order to find themselves on the home straight and the race tends to last for about five minutes. The field is often quite small, mainly because it’s a race that lends itself to quick horses that know how to last the distance.
The race was first run in 1980 and traditionally called Newcastle Racecourse its home during the month of November. It was moved to mid-January in 1990 and it was switched to Cheltenham and run on New Year’s Day from 2005.
Only Barry Geraghty, Brian Storey, Chris Grant and Sam Twiston-Davies have won the race more than once as jockeys, with each notching up two wins. The most successful trainer of all time when it comes to this one is Peter Easterby, who’s won it three times; though several trainers, including Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls, have won it twice to date. No horse has won it more than once, of course, as it’s for novices.
The race was discontinued as part of jump racing pattern changes in 2023.
2023 Winners
- Horse - The Real Whacker
- Jockey - Sam Twiston-Davies
- Trainer - Patrick Neville
- Overall Prize Money - £54,104
- For The Winner - £31,323
SSS Super Alloys Handicap Hurdle (Festival Trials Day)
- Grade: Class 2 Chase
- Distance: 2m 179y (3382m)
- Fences: 8
- Course: New Course
Festival Trials Day definitely ends with a bang rather than a whimper, courtesy of this Class 2 race that takes place over two miles and one-hundred and seventy-nine yards (2m, 179y). The race is another handicap affair, meaning that horses carry the weights dictated to them by the handicapper.
There are eight hurdles that they’ll need to cope with if they’re hoping to get home the quickest, with entrants for the race needing to be four or over. The field normally consists of around ten horses, so you’ll be able to get a real sense of which of them can cope with running alongside other animals in a high-profile environment.
2023 Winners
- Horse - Hacker Des Places
- Jockey - Angus Cheleda
- Trainer - Paul Nicholls
- Overall Prize Money - £29,511
- For The Winner - £15,609
Mares' Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race (Festival Trials Day)
- Grade: Listed
- Distance: 2m 179y (3382m)
- Course: New Course
As with many Cheltenham meetings the day ends with a standard open flat race for 4-6 year old horses. Naturally there are no fences to be jumped but at two and a quarter miles it is still a fair distance to run on the flat and this requires horses and jockeys to judge their speed to know when to kick on. The race will take around 4 minutes on good ground.
The class 1 race is the only listed race on Festival Trails Day and due to the higher than usual grade for a flat race the prize money is also decent. The race, established in 2018, usually takes place at Market Rasen but has been moved to Festival Trails Day for 2022 due to the meeting being abandoned on 21st January. It is named in honour of the trainer Alan Swinbank who died in 2017, he trained 25 winners at Market Rasen with a strike rate of 27%.
The addition of a bumper to the card could, however, become a permanent fixture of the meeting, judging by other meetings open flat races are very much liked to end the days at Cheltenham.
2022 Winners
- Horse - Mullenbeg
- Jockey - Mitchell Bastyan
- Trainer - Milton Harris
- Overall Prize Money - £19,674
- For The Winner - £11,390