The Novices’ Handicap Chase is run as the second race on day three of the Cheltenham Festival and is named after Golden Miller, with its official title.
This is a race that was initially added to the meeting in 2011, so it hasn’t been around for too long. However, it has already seen big changes.
Starting off life as a graded handicap, the race was boosted to become a Grade One contest, but has since been dropped back down to be a premier handicap.
For that reason, we’ve seen a wide variety of winners here, so I wouldn’t read too much into winning times of the past.
It is probably fair to say that this is one Cheltenham Festival race that is still finding its feet and its audience, which has been difficult due to the changes we’ve seen.
Race Facts
This is the second race of the week to be run on the New Course, signalling the switch from the Old Course used on the first two days. It’s left-handed and lasts for two miles and four and a half furlongs, with seventeen fences along the way. It is slightly longer than the previous Grade 1 race and features one more fence.
The former Grade 1 race is for novices aged five or older. Since it has been changed to a handicap the maxium weight is now 11st 12lb with a minimum of 10st 6lb. There is a penalty for any chase winner in the previous three weeks of 5lb. Five year olds get a 2lb weight-for-age allowance too.
Records For Most Wins
| Record Type | No of Wins | Record Holder |
|---|---|---|
| Horse | 1 | Multiple |
| Trainer | 4 | Willie Mullins |
| Jockey | 3 | Ruby Walsh |
Race Trends: Winners Since 2011
Previous Winners
| Year | Winner | Age | Odds | Prize | Jockey / Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Meetmebythesea | 6 | 9/1 | £64,300 |
J: Ben Jones
T: B Pauling
|
| 2025 | Caldwell Potter | 7 | 7/1 | £64,300 |
J: H Cobden
T: P F Nicholls
|
| 2024 | Grey Dawning | 7 | 5/2 J | £98,473 |
J: Harry Skelton
T: Dan Skelton
|
| 2023 | Stage Star | 7 | 15/2 | £98,472 |
J: H Cobden
T: P F Nicholls
|
| 2022 | Bob Olinger | 7 | 6/5 | £98,472 |
J: Rachael Blackmore
T: H De Bromhead
|
| 2021 | Chantry House | 7 | 9/1 | £73,854 |
J: N de Boinville
T: N J Henderson
|
| 2020 | Samcro | 8 | 4/1 | £84,405 |
J: Davy Russell
T: G Elliott
|
| 2019 | Defi du Seuil | 6 | 3/1 F | £88,208.84 |
J: Barry Geraghty
T: Philip Hobbs
|
| 2018 | Shattered Love | 7 | 4/1 | £85,425 |
J: J W Kennedy
T: G Elliott
|
| 2017 | Yorkhill | 7 | 6/4 F | £89,274.82 |
J: Ruby Walsh
T: W P Mullins
|
| 2016 | Black Hercules | 7 | 4/1 J | £74,035 |
J: Ruby Walsh
T: W P Mullins
|
| 2015 | Vautour | 6 | 6/4 F | £68,340 |
J: Ruby Walsh
T: W P Mullins
|
| 2014 | Taquin Du Seuil | 7 | 7/1 | £68,340 |
J: A P McCoy
T: Jonjo O'Neill
|
| 2013 | Benefficient | 7 | 20/1 | £56,950 |
J: B J Cooper
T: A J Martin
|
| 2012 | Sir Des Champs | 6 | 3/1 | £51,255 |
J: Davy Russell
T: W P Mullins
|
| 2011 | Noble Prince | 7 | 4/1 | £51,309 |
J: A P McCoy
T: P Nolan
|
Race Trivia
As is the case with more than a few of the races held over the week of the festival, Willie Mullins’ name has been written in the ‘winner’ column a record number of times for the Golden Miller Novices’ Chase. The return of Yorkhill for the trainer in 2017 meant that he took his total for the race up to four winners, meaning that he’s won the race on half of the occasions that it’s been run.
Mullins owes a good deal of that success to his long-time collaborator Ruby Walsh; three of the Mullins trained horses that have gained him success in the race were ridden by Walsh. In fact, the pair managed to gain a hat-trick of wins in 2015, 2016 and 2017 with Vautour, then Black Hercules and then the latest with Yorkhill. Mullins’ previous win had come courtesy of Davy Russell on the back of Sir Des Champs back in 2012.
None of the other jockeys or trainers who have taken part in the race even come close to the achievement of Mullins and Walsh, with only Tony McCoy, Harry Cobden and Davy Russell winning the race more than once. As trainers, Paul Nolan, Jonjo O’Neill, Henry de Bromhead, Philip Hobbs, Dan Skelton, Ben Pauling and Tony Martin have each managed a solitary victory, Gordon Elliot has won twice, in 2018 and 2020 as has , Paul Nicholls (2023 & 2025).
Rachael Blackmore won with Bob Olinger, trained by Henry de Bromhead, in 2022 to become the first female jockey to win the race. Because it’s a race for novices no horse has won it more than once.
The Changing Face of the Novices’ Handicap Chase
There’s a lot of history in a short period of time when it comes to the makeup of this race.
First off, it was launched in 2011 and run as a handicap with Grade Two status. This lasted for three years.
In 2014, things would change. At the time, there was a lot of talk about adding new races at the meeting, much of it focused on middle-distance races. Much of it was shut down, but the novice chase division was given a race that many had been asking for.
Ran over two and a half miles, this is for horses that need further in trip than the Arkle Chase. Looking at the other end of the scale, it’s a race that is shorter than the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, so ideal for those horses who don’t quite get home over that trip.
It was granted Grade One status and introduced in 2014, much to the delight of trainers.
But while it gave natural two-and-a-half-mile horses somewhere to run, it diluted the fields we saw for the Arkle and the Brown Advisory. Fields became smaller; instead of two well-supported novice chase races over the week, we had three that were being under-supported and failing to attract runners.
The race kept its place on the calendar, but when Cheltenham made further changes, looking at the race program and the lack of runners in particular, this race had to go. Cheltenham decided that the best option was to drop this back to a handicap, forcing graded runners to go to either the Arkle or the Brown Advisory, in a bid to improve field sizes.
The 2025 renewal of this race was the first back as a handicap.