• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Cheltenham Betting Offers

  • Home
  • Free Bets
  • Meetings
    • New Year’s Day Meeting
    • Festival Trials Day
    • Cheltenham Festival
    • April Meeting
    • Race Night
    • Showcase Meeting
    • November Meeting
    • International Meeting
  • News
  • Articles
    • Stats & Trends

St. James’s Place Foxhunter Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase – Gold Cup Day

4-10pmEvery day of the Cheltenham Festival has its own premier race that it builds up to. Day Four is special, for this features the race that only the day itself builds up to, but also the one that the Festival as a whole centres around. Once the Gold Cup is finished there’s a danger than the race which follows it could suffer from ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’ syndrome. That’s why the Festival organisers have cleverly put the Foxhunter Challenge Cup next on the schedule, to keep the attention of racegoers by offering them something technically identical to the Gold Cup, yet different enough to be interesting.

The Foxhunter Challenge Cup is sometimes referred to as the Foxhunter Chase and, at the time of writing, is sponsored by St. James’s Place. That means that more than a few people will refer to it by its sponsored title of the St. James’s Place Foxhunter Chase. Established in 1904, it gained its first sponsor in 1972 when Sun Alliance and London took on the honour for two years, before a five-year absence of sponsorship. Christie’s Auctioneers took on the role from 1979 until 2012, then in 2013 the Country Gentleman’s Association took over. St. James’s Place has sponsored it since 2016.

Race Facts

Course
New Course
Grade
Class 2 Chase
Fences
22
Distance (m)
3m 2f 70y (5295m)
Winner / Purse
£24,445 / £48,125

foxhunter challenge cup race board at cheltenham gold cup dayThe Foxhunter Challenge Cup is essentially the Gold Cup for amateurs. It is run left-handed over the same distance as the Gold Cup, following the same three mile, two and a half furling route and featuring the same twenty-two fences that must be jumped. The only difference, in fact, is that this is only open for amateur jockeys and the horses that enter it must meet a set criteria in order to qualify. They need to have either won two point-to-point races or have one point-to-point victory alongside a first or second place finish in a hunter chase. If not then they must have come either first or second in two hunter chases.

The horses must be five or older, with five-year-olds given a weight of eleven stone twelve pound and those older than five twelve stone exactly. There’s a seven pounds allowance in place for mares.  The pot for this race is under £45,000, the lowest of any event during that year’s Cheltenham Festival.

Records For Most Wins

Record Type No of Wins Record Holder
Horse 2 Multiple
Trainer 4 Richard Barber & Paul Nicholls
Jockey 3 Colman Sweeney

Race Trends: Winners Since 2000

Average Odds
15.75
Average Age
9.45
Percent Mares
0%
Percent Favourite
32%

Race Trivia

welcome to cheltenham sign outside Cheltenham racecourse 2

The race was first run in 1904, yet records for it only go back as far as 1946. Because it’s a remarkably tricky race to run, essentially following the same circuit as the Gold Cup before it, it’s tricky for a horse to win it several times. In fact, no horse has ever won the race more than twice. The Callant, Whinstone Hill, College Master, Double Silk, Fantus, Earthmover, Salsify, On The Fringe and Pacha du Polder are the nine horses that have managed double victories, with Earthmover’s wins in 1998 and 2004 the most distant from each other.

The rider of Whinstone Hill in both 1958 and 1960, Bobby Brewis is one of several jockeys who have managed two wins in this race. The others are Dick Woodhouse, John Scott-Aiton (on The Callant in 1956 and 1957), John Thorne, Laurie Morgan (in 1961 and 1962 on College Master), Nina Carberry (Thanks to On The Fringe in 2015 and 2016), Oliver Sherwood, Richard Shepherd and Ron Treloggen (with Double Silk in 1993 and 1994). The record for wins as a jockey, however, goes to Colman Sweeney, winning with Sleeping Night in 2005 and Salsify in 2012 and 2013.

winning post at cheltenham

Where there’s a horse than wins more than once, there’s normally a trainer achieving the same thing. Arthur Stephenson, Bobby Brewis, Dick Woodhouse (riding the horses he’d trained), Laurie Morgan (also riding the horse as well as training it), Reg Wilkins and Roger Sweeney have all notched up double wins, with Stewart Wight, Fred Winter and Enda Bolger all managing to win it three time. The record, though, goes jointly to Richard Barber for his four wins between 1992 and 1998 and Paul Nicholls for his four victories between 2004 and 2018.

Willie Mullins in fact only won this race for the first time in 2022 with Billaway, so maybe look to other horses in general and stick with Mullins for the other races.

CBO Rating | 6/10

willie mullins get a trophyAny race that immediately follows the most important race of the day is always likely to suffer in comparison to its forerunner, yet the similarities between the Foxhunter Chase and the Gold Cup are what make this one worth watching. Your average punter might think that the end of the day’s premier event means that the fun is over at Cheltenham for another year, but your more knowledgeable racegoers will know that this race could tell you a lot about the future.

How do the amateur jockeys handle the pressure of riding the ‘mini Gold Cup’? Equally as important, how do the horses handle it? One thing you might want to make note of is the presence of any female jockeys entering the race. The Foxhunter Challenge Cup produced the Cheltenham Festival’s first ever winner when Caroline Beasley rode Eliogarty to victory in 1983, with seven races being won by women since then. That includes 2015 and 2016 victories for Nina Carberry and 2017’s win by Bryony Frost. In the previous 7 years to date the race has been won by a female jockey on five occasions.

Conclusion

Presume a case of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’ if you wish, but you’d be wrong to think that this is an unexciting race. Given that eight of the last twelve winners have had a starting price of 14/1 or higher, this could be an opportunity for a canny bettor to win themselves some decent money.

Primary Sidebar

Cheltenham Free Bets

Races on This Day

  • 13:30
    JCB Triumph Hurdle
  • 14:10
    County Handicap Hurdle
  • 14:50
    Spa Novices' Hurdle
  • 15:30
    The Cheltenham Gold Cup
  • 16:10
    Foxhunter Challenge Cup
  • 16:50
    Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase
  • 17:30
    Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle

Meetings at Cheltenham

  • Cheltenham Festival
    • Champion Day
    • Ladies Day
    • St Patrick’s Thursday
    • Gold Cup Day
  • Festival Trials Day
  • New Year’s Day
  • November Meeting
    • Countryside Day
    • Gold Cup Day
    • November Meeting Sunday
  • Race Night
  • Showcase Meeting
    • The Showcase Friday
    • The Showcase Saturday
  • The April Meeting
    • April Meeting Day One
    • April Meeting Day Two
  • The International Meeting
    • International Friday
    • International Saturday

Race Types

  • Amateur Races
  • Championship Races
  • Conditions Races
  • Cross Country Races
  • Cup Races
  • Fillies' Races
  • Grade 1 Races
  • Grade 2 Races
  • Grade 3 Races
  • Handicap Races
  • Hurdle Races
  • Juvenile Races
  • Listed Races
  • Maiden Races
  • Mares' Races
  • Novices' Races
  • Standard Open Flat Races
  • Steeplechase Races
  • Trial Races
  • Trophy Races
  • Discontinued Races

Latest News

  • Cheltenham Festival 2022 - The Pick Of The Stats
  • Is Cheltenham Safe Enough Following Four More Horse Deaths At The 2022 Festival?
  • The 2022 Cheltenham Festival Set A Record Attendance Every Day
  • Cheltenham Festival 2022 Review: Blackmore Makes Gold Cup History, Mullins & The Irish Dominate Again
  • 2022 Cheltenham Festival Big Favourites: Over-Priced Or Guaranteed Winners?

Articles

  • Origins Of Jockey Silks In Horse Racing & Rules
  • Can A Jockey Remount A Horse?
  • What Happens If No Horse Wins A Race?
  • Why Do Horses Jump Fences?
  • How High and Far Can A Horse Jump?
  • Use Of The Whip In Horse Racing
  • What Are The Different Types Of Racehorses?
  • Who Sponsors Cheltenham Races
  • How Do Racehorse Owner Syndicates Work?
  • How Much Do Racehorses Weigh?
  • How Does Travelling Affect Racehorse Performance?
  • What PPE Do Jockeys Wear And Why?
  • Can Racehorses Overheat?
  • Benefits Of Owning Race Horses
  • What Is The Top Speed Of A Racehorse?
  • Do Racehorses Have Special Diets & Nutrition?
  • How Are Racehorses Transported & What Are The Rules
  • What Happened To All-Weather Jumps Racing?
  • What Was Tic Tac? The Sign Language For On-Course Bookmakers
  • The Road To Cheltenham
  • Retraining of Racehorses
  • What Happens To Retired Racehorses?
  • Horse Racing Mix-Ups
  • Youngest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • What Are Blinkers & Why Do Race Horses Wear Them?
  • How Long Do You Have To Claim A Winning Bet At A Racecourse?
  • Female Jockey Pioneers
  • Oldest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • Record Jockey Wins For Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Record Trainer Wins For Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Cheltenham Festival Races Record Horse Wins
  • Biggest Prize Money Races At The Cheltenham Festival
  • The Life Of A Racing Jockey
  • Races With The Most Fences At The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Often Do Mares' Win At The Cheltenham Festival
  • Average Winner Age Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Longest Races At The Cheltenham Festival
  • Cheltenham Festival's Newest Races
  • How Often Does the Favourite Win at the Cheltenham Festival?
  • Average Winner Odds Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Cheltenham Festival Stats & Trends
  • Veganism & Horse Racing
  • Horse Doping In Horse Racing
  • Most Feared Fences In Horse Racing
  • Jockey Injuries
  • How To Become A Jockey
  • Horse Injuries
  • What Is Going In Horse Racing
  • Richest Races In Horse Racing
  • What Is The Starting Price In Racing
  • When Is The Best Time To Bet Ante-Post
  • Impact Of Wetter Winters On UK Jump Racing
  • How Long Do Racehorses Live For?
  • How Much Do Jockeys Weigh?
  • Rules For Naming Race Horses
  • What Is A Dead Heat In Horse Racing?
  • Who Would Win A Race Between A Horse And A Dog?
  • What Makes A Good Jump Stayer?
  • What Is A Stewards Enquiry?
  • Why Are Horses Disqualified and Who Decides?
  • Courses At Cheltenham: Old, New and Cross Country
  • How Are Jump Horses Trained Differently To Flat Horses?
  • Longest Odds Winners In Horse Racing History
  • How Much Money Is Bet At Cheltenham?
  • How Much Is Cheltenham Worth To The Economy?
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Owners
  • Accessibility At Cheltenham The Cheltenham Festival
  • Cheltenham Festival's Oldest Race Still Running
  • Biggest Female Trainers
  • Celebrity Race Horse Owners
  • Can Jockeys, Trainers & Owners Bet?
  • British vs Irish Trainers And Stables At Cheltenham
  • Things To Do & Places To Visit In Cheltenham
  • The Royal Family And The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Much Does It Cost To Be An On-Course Bookmaker?
  • How Much Money Do Race Horse Owners Make?
  • How Much Money Do Trainers Make?
  • Cheltenham Race Types
  • Cheltenham Hotels & Cheltenham Festival Accommodation
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Trainers
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Jockeys
  • Top 10 Cheltenham Festival Horses
  • How Much Money Do Jockeys Make?
  • Richest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • Getting To Cheltenham Racecourse
  • Cheltenham Festival vs Grand National, Which Is Better?
  • Cheltenham Racecourse History
  • Why Is The Cheltenham Festival So Big?
  • Cheltenham Festival History
  • The Prestbury Cup
  • Cheltenham Festival Quiz
  • Cheltenham Festival Top Trainer
  • Cheltenham Festival Top Jockey
  • Cheltenham Racecourse During The War
  • Ante-Post Betting - Risk vs Reward
  • Jump Racing Distances
  • How to Read a Race Card
  • How To Bet On Horse Racing
  • Disqualification, Non-Runners and Rule 4
  • Age, Sex and Weight in Horse Racing
  • History And About National Hunt Racing
  • A-Z Glossary Of Horse Racing Terms
  • Horse Racing News, Statistics & Blogs
  • Live Streaming of Horse Racing
  • Live Betting In Play On Horse Racing
  • Cash Out And Partial Cash Out On Horse Racing
  • Grades and Classes In National Hunt Jump Racing

Offers

  • Extra Places Each-Way & Enhanced Each Way Terms Cheltenham Festival 2023
  • Horse Racing Loyalty Free Bet Clubs
  • Horse Racing Money Back
  • Best Odds Guaranteed For The Cheltenham Festival
  • Tote and Totepool Betting
  • Lucky Bets and Bonuses For Horse Racing
  • Non-Runner No Bet
  • Free Bets And Bonuses For Winners
  • Best Odds Guaranteed For Horse Racing
  • Faller & Fail To Finish Insurance For Horse Racing

Copyright © 2022 CheltenhamBettingOffers.com | 18+ Gamble Aware | Privacy & Cookie Policy