Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle (David Nicholson) – St Patrick’s Thursday

Mares are able to run against the boys if they wish, in any race at the Cheltenham Festival. But as part of the mares’ program, there are three races at the festival specifically for mares only.

The Mares’ Hurdle, a Grade One contest, is the biggest of those three, and the one everyone wants to win across the entire national hunt calendar.

Launched in 2008, it’s a race that has actually raced on three of the four festival days, so it’s fair to say it hasn’t quite found its place on the calendar just yet. For now, it takes place as the sixth race on day three, St Patrick’s Day, which is quite fitting, given how much the Irish have dominated this race over the years.

Ran over 2m4f, it’s half a mile longer than the Champion Hurdle, but we often see horses choosing between that and running here. In fact, the quality of this race is often determined by whether the top mares come here or go for the Champion Hurdle.

When established, the race was given Grade Two status, and that remained until 2014. From the 2015 renewal until the present day, it has held Grade One status.

It was initially run under the title of the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle (the races registered name), but that changed in 2011 when OLBG.com started sponsoring it, in 2020 Close Brothers took over. The trophy is still named after David Nicholson, though, dedicated to the memory of a man who won five times as a jockey at the Festival and a further seventeen times as a trainer.

Race Facts

This Grade 1 hurdle race is run left-handed on the New Course, as all Day Three races are. It lasts for just under two miles and four furlongs, with ten hurdles needing to be cleared during its running. It is open for fillies and mares that are four or older and the weight limit is ten stone seven pound. Horses over five can be eleven stone five pounds.

2019’s winner was Roksana, the Irish horse trained by Dan Skelton and ridden by brother Harry Skelton. That broke up the monopoly of Ruby Walsh and Willie Mullins, as we’ll mention in a moment.  Who have won the race together 8 out of the first 11 years of the race.

Willie Mullins was again prevented from winning more in 2020 and 2023, beaten by Henry De Bromhead trained Honeysuckle, ridden by Rachael Blackmore; again in 2021 by the Black Tears trained by Denise Foster standing in for Gordon Elliott and once more by the Nicky Henderson 18/1 shot Marie’s Rock in 2022.

Many may have though Mullin’s his dominance had ended, however, he disproved that by winning for a tenth and eleventh time with Lossiemouth ridden by Paul Townend in 2024 and 2025.

This race despite being young has been won by the favourite 12 times out of 19 editions, that is 63% of the time, and so it’s worth looking at who is the most fancied in this race.

Previous Winners

Race Trivia

This race was originally run on the New Course on the final day of the Festival, switching to the Old Course on Day One in 2009. It then switched back to the New course in 2025 as it was moved to the third day.  This race, therefore, has now taken place on three of the four days of the festival. It was also a Grade 2 race until 2015, when it was upgraded to become a Grade 1 event. The race’s trophy may well be dedicated to the memory of David Nicholson, but it could almost be given over to Ruby Walsh, such is the amount of times he’s won it. Run for the first time in 2008, the Mares’ Hurdle has taken place every year since. That means that it has been run 15 times between then and our typing this, with Walsh winning it on eight occasions.

In 2008 Whiteoak romped home, ridden well by Jason Maguire and trained by Donald McCain, Jr. For the next six years, however, there was only one winner. Quevega, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Ruby Walsh, won it consecutively between 2009 and 2014, beating Golden Miller’s record of five wins at the Festival. Admittedly Golden Miller’s wins came in the Gold Cup, but Quevega’s performance is no less impressive in its own.

In 2015 Walsh failed to win the race for the first time since its inaugural year, with Glens Melody coming home thanks to Paul Townend’s riding. It meant another win for Willie Mullins as trainer, however. Mullins won for the eighth time in 2016 when Vroum Vroum Mag came home and the ninth time in 2018 with Benie Des Dieux. Who was the jockey both times? Our old friend Ruby Walsh, of course! Pretty impressive from Walsh and Mullins, all things considered.

Honeysuckle is another great that is a multiple winner of this race.  When Rachael Blackmore rode the Henry de Bromhead trained horse to win in 2020 she became the first female jockey to win the Mares’ Hurdle.  Honeysuckle then went on to win two Champion Hurdles in 2021 and 2022 before bowing out in style over hurdles by winning this race again in 2023.

Lossiemouth has now brought Mullins back to the fore with back-to-back wins in 2024 and 2025, do we have another Quevega on our hands – time will tell.  Although Lossiemouth went on to win the Champion Hurdle in 2026 so as with Honeysuckle may have moved on to bigger things.

Given Mullins wins this race so much is horses are often favourites and that means since 2008 this race has been won an astonishing 63% of the time by the favourite with the average winner odds just over 9/2.

Race Form Difficult to Compare Over the Years

The general feeling is that the mares are getting better, and therefore, the winners of this race are getting better. However, due to movements on the weekly schedule, there’s not much we can do in terms of comparing this race over the years.

To begin, the race took place on the Friday of the festival, Gold Cup Day, which meant it was run on the new course, but on the second day of action, when the ground is not as fresh.

Then it was moved to day one, to run alongside the Champion Hurdle, a move to try to improve the quality of that day.

With this move, the race moved course and went onto the old course, so that does mean a completely different makeup, as well as offering fresh ground by running on the first day.

However, that also didn’t last long, and now the race takes place on the third day of the meeting. This means it’s back onto the new course for runners, and not only that, but being on the first day of new course racing, the ground should be a little better for the participants.

Put all of that together, and this is one of the toughest races to compare over the years, and impossible to put the winners against each other on the clock.

Willie Mullins Early Dominance with Mares Racing

If you want to know who was at the forefront of early mares racing, then look no further than the results of this race.

While the mares program was being expanded, and trainers were beginning to see the value in racing mares, there was one man completely dominating, because he had been keeping mares in training for years before.

Willie Mullins is the trainer, and to show just how much he was ahead of his time with mares racing, he lost the first renewal of the race in 2008, but then won the next eight in a row, six of them coming with Quevega, more on her exploits below.

The run of wins in this race for Mullins came to an end in 2017, when the Gordon Elliott-trained Apple’s Jade would win the contest. While Mullins still enjoys having some of the best mares in training, other trainers are catching up, to make this race have a much more even feel.

Quevega: A Great of Mares Racing at Cheltenham

One of the greatest mares to ever race in the national hunt sphere, Quevega is an all-time great of the sport, and holds the record for the most Cheltenham Festival wins in the same race, winning the Mares’ Hurdle six times.

This race needed a superstar to get it off the ground, and she came along at exactly the right time. During her career, there were a couple of moments when she was spoken about as a Stayers Hurdle contender, but every time, Willie Mullins brought her back for this race and continued her dominance.

Her first win in this race would come in 2009, and her last in 2014, not only winning it six times, but doing so in consecutive years.

She formed a formidable partnership with Ruby Walsh, who was a stable jockey to Willie Mullins during her career, and he rode her for every Mares Hurdle win. The betting public loved her too, and she was favourite for every one of her wins in this race.

When a new race gets formed, it needs something to capture the imagination of racing fans early, to really kickstart things. What Quevega did ensured that this race grew in popularity, and she was a big reason for the race becoming a Grade One contest.

One of the greats of the game, a great mare for racing, and a real trailblazer for this race, who will forever go down in its history.