Countryside Day 13th November 2026 – November Meeting Day One

Race 1 - Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle - 13:10

The November Meeting starts off with a middle-distance race open to a large field and is a conditional handicap hurdle that takes place over two miles, five furlongs and twenty-six yards (2m 5f 26y).

It’s a Class 3 race that counts as a qualifier for the series final of the The Challenger Staying Hurdle later in the season.

The field for this one is normally quite big, with around twenty horses entering the race even if not all of them finish it.  Last year 18 ran with all of them making it over the 10 hurdles to the end on good ground.

Race 2 - Middle Distance Veterans' Handicap Chase (Qualifier) - 13:45

This race was added to Countryside Day in 2025 to replace the Cross-Country chase, which was cancelled due to the cross-country course being unsuitable fore racing. This was due to the ground being too hard following a particularly dry summer.  While the cross-country is a crowd pleaser and a big draw for racing fans its loss won't be too bad because fans also love Veteran's races too, so it is a good replacement.

It is a highlight of the day and it is a gruelling race for older horses with a lot of Stamina.  This race was due to be run at Wincanton on 26th October but that meeting was abandoned.  Therefore, while we have lost the popular cross-country at least it has meant this Veteran's chase will still get an outing.

This race is for 10 year old plus horses, hence Veterans', and goes over two and a half miles with 16 fences to be jumped, hence the title 'Middle Distance'.  The class 2 race allows runners with an official rating between 0-150 to enter.  In 2025 the combined age of this race saw all eight horses together added up to 83!

It is hardly going to be the fastest race of the week, although that is part of the point with the nature of the ground.  Still it should be fun to see some old names you many recognise from previous Grand Nationals, such as Eldorado Allen (2025 winner) and Mister Coffey.  Being a veterans race expect it to take over 5 minutes but with plenty of action.

Race 3 - Cross Country Handicap Chase (GBB Race) - 13:50

This race was rescheduled last year to Trials Day in January and hence the race will have two entries for 2026.  The race was moved from the November meeting last year due to a dry summer the left the course too hard and firm to run such a gruelling race on for safety reasons.  Course officials had focused on the Old Course prior to the Showcase meeting in October and by the time they turned their attention to the cross-country course for this race it was too late to get it watered and ready for this meeting.

This is not the first time that has happened either. The race was moved from the November meeting in 2022 to Trails Day in 2023 owing to a lack of rain and dry ground at the time of Day 1 of the November meeting and then the exact same thing happened in 2025 with the race moving to Trials Day in 2026.  If it has been a dry November, therefore, this race can sometimes fall victim.  If it is moved it tends to be replaced with a similarly popular veterans race.

When it does go ahead  it is the longest race of the day by some distance and naturally, as the name suggests, it takes place on the Cross Country Course and lasts for about three miles, five furlongs and fifty-six yards (3m 5f 56y).  Being a race of stamina it features 31 cross-country obstacles ranging from small hedges and water jumps to cheese wedges and ditches.  It is race that looks and feels a lot like the Grand National and it will be no surprise to see previous and future National runners taking part in this.

It’s open to horses aged five and older and the field normally contains ten or more horses. It’s an exciting one to watch that will tell you plenty about the horses that have got some staying power for the coming season. The fourth handicap race of the day, it’s a Class 2 and takes a good 8 minutes to complete on good ground.

The nature of the race means the favourite is often at least 3/1 with a fairly evenly spread range of odds for the others.

Race 4 - Novices' Chase (GBB Race) - 14:20

The third race of the first day is one where the name tells you everything you need to know. It’s a steeple chase that’s open to novices that are five or older. It was a Class 2 race but was upgraded to a Listed race in 2023 as part of changes to November meeting. It lasts for three miles and one hundred and ten yards (3m 110y) with 20 fences to jump - taking around 6 minutes 30 seconds in total on good ground.

This will be a race where you’ll want to pick out a winner rather than opt for an Each-Way bet, given that the field is normally very small indeed. Looking back to 2025, there were just five runners and four the year before that with the winners priced 9/4 and 2/1 respectively.

The race moved from the Sunday to the Saturday in 2023 at the same time it was upgraded to a Listed race.  In 2024 it was moved from Saturday to Friday, being the only race to date to have been run on all three days of the meeting.

Race 5 - Shloer Chase (GBB Race) - 14:55

Race number four on Day One is run on the Old Course over a distance of one mile, seven furlongs and one-hundred and ninety-nine yards (1m 7f 199y) with 13 fences to be tackled.

It’s the first Grade 2 race of the meeting and it’s open to horses aged four and over. The field is normally closer to five than to ten and has been taking place at Cheltenham since 2009.  Only 4 to 6 horses ran in the last three years. Naturally the favourite wins a lot and this isn't a race for finding a big odds winner.

The race was first run under the title of the Connaught Chase started out as a conditions race before being upgraded to Listed in 2013.  In 2015 it was upgraded further to Grade 2.  In 2024 as part of a reorganisation the race was moved from Sunday to Friday.

Gauvain won the race twice, back-to-back in the early years of the race (2010 & 2011), a feat matched by Fox Norton (2016 & 2017), Nube Negra (2021 & 2022) and most recently Jonbon (2023 & 2024).  Jonbon nearly made it three in a row in 2025 but finished seccond.

There a five trainers that have trained two winners; Nick Williams, Alan King, Colin Tizzard and Philip Hobbs.  One trainer has three victrories in that, that is Dan Skelton.  In fact, there are more trainers to win this race two or more times than there are who have won it once.  Only one trainer has won the race more than that, though, that trainer being Nicky Henderson with four wins to date including the two with Jonbon.

In terms of Jockeys it is a similar story with three of them doing the double, Daryl Jacob, Barry Geraghty and Aidan Coleman.  Only two have won it more than that and they are Nico de Boinville with three wins, again including the two on Jonbon with Nicky and Harry Skelton with three wins including the two with Nube Negra.

Race 6 - Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (GBB Race) - 15:30

The countryside day draws towards to a close with the biggest race of the day, the Novices’ Hurdle. Featuring ten hurdles and run over two miles, five furlongs and twenty-six yards (2m 5f 26y). It’s a Grade 2 race for novice horses aged four and up.

The field usually contains between five and ten horses and this is the one you’ll want to keep your eye on for clues about the best horse to bet on for the Novices Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival later on in the jump racing season.

Registered as the Hyde Novices' Hurdle it was given its current name when it was upgraded to Grade 2 in 2008.  The race dates back to 1996 and it was sponsored by Ballymore from 2017 until TrustATrader took over in 2023 and then Albert Bartlett in 2024.

Philip Hobbs is the trainer to look for with a record 4 wins in this race. Tony McCoy has the most wins as a jockey with 4, including three back-to-back between 2001-03, Richard Johnson since then has 3 wins to his name.  The only horse to win the race twice was Tarxien, ridden both times by Tony McCoy.

Race 7 - Novices' Handicap Hurdle (GBB Race) - 16:00

The final race of day one is, as the name suggests, for novices. It’s another one that’s run on the Old Course and it’s open to novice horses rated 0-125 aged three-year-olds and up.  You do get some three year olds entering (and they get a 16lb weight-for-age allowance) but the race is predominantly won by 4 and 5 year olds.

The race lasts for two miles and eighty-seven yards (2m 87y). It’s a Class 3 handicap with eight hurdles to be jumped and normally has around fifteen to eighteen horses running in it.  Being the shortest race of the day this one should be all said and done in about 4 minutes on good ground, not too long to hang around if you stay for the last race.