The BHA has announced two chances for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, and the rumours are swirling that there is more to come, something that so far hasn’t been confirmed or denied.
Both changes are the same type, with a graded race becoming a handicap in a bid to increase the field size.
My opinion is that both are moves for the better and one, in particular, should see an improvement not only in the race in question but also in other races during Cheltenham week.
Turners Novice Chase Becomes Handicap
The biggest of the two changes is undoubtedly this one, where the Turners Novice Chase, formerly a Grade One over 2m4f, will now be a handicap contest.
This is a big move, a huge drop for the race, but one that should help increase the field of this race, plus also help both the Arkle Chase and Brown Advisory Chase.
Since its inception, Cheltenham has had three novice chase races at 2m, 2m4f and 3m. That was expected to be overkill, and it’s been proven, with the Turners attracting small fields, plus the other two attracting some of the smallest fields ever recorded since the Turners were added.
This should also bring an end to trainers waiting until the last minute to declare which race their horse would run in, something antepost punters will be pleased about.
There are now two Grade One events to choose from for novice chasers, one over 2m and one over 3m. The top runners will all have a clear path to one of those.
The 2m4f race in the middle is now open to anyone as a handicap, and while we may see some high-quality horses in this, it’s unlikely to attract the very best and should give us a full field, or close to one, every single season.
It should be the home for horses who are very good but not quite top-level, and there are plenty of those around. Being a middle distance, we will get the 2m4f horses here, but could also see 2m horses stepping up and 3m horses dropping back, further widening the options for runners and increasing the field size.
I think this move will be a big positive and will be welcomed by all.
Cross Country Chase Becomes Handicap
The second move is another race turning into a handicap. This time, it’s the Cross Country Chase. I think there will be a little opposition to this, which I’ll mention shortly, but first, the positive first.
This race should now be far more competitive and sit better in the calendar. One of the odd quirks of this race is that all other cross-country races leading up to the festival are handicaps, but at the festival, it wasn’t.
Due to this, we’d struggle putting form lines together, and those running well in the build-up, would then hit the festival and have no chance of winning.
Field sizes haven’t been too much of a problem, but what we have seen is 10+ runners go to post, and only 3 or 4 have a legitimate chance of winning. Now, we should have a race where most have a chance at the weights, even if something good heads them up and pushes some runners outside of the handicap.
But there is a negative to this move, which has to be mentioned. The switch to a handicap means that the Cross Country is likely to stop being a prep run for the Grand National. Those good enough for the National will be given a lot of weight here, making it a big ask so close to Aintree.
Therefore, horses like Tiger Roll, are unlikely to be challenging for both and trying to win the double, and the quality angle of this race is likely to be lost a little.
But for me, the positives outweigh the negatives here, this race may be a littler lower in quality, but it sits better in the schedule and should be a more competitive affair on the back of this change.
The key for me, is Cheltenham are listening. We want bigger fields and more competitive racing, they’ve made two chances to try and combat that, especially with the change to the Turners.
We’ll see in March how much of an impact this has, but on paper, the changes should really work to push the Festival forward again, away from the stale feeling it’s had for a couple of years now, and there could be even more to come.