FRED WINTER HANDICAP HURDLE

The Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle is open to juvenile (four-year-old) hurdlers only.

It honours Fred Winter, who won 17 Festival races as a jockey and 28 as a trainer.

Grade 3 | 4yo only | Tuesday 16.40
2 miles ½ furlong | 8 hurdles | Old Course
Weight: 10st - 11st 10lb (handicap)
Prize money: £80,000 (2025)

Introduced in 2005, it is run over the same course / distance as the Supreme Novices' Hurdle and Champion Hurdle.

It offers an alternative for young horses not considered quite good enough to run in the more prestigious Triumph Hurdle.

From 2018 until 2024, the race was known as the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle.

FRED WINTER HURDLE TRENDS

Gordon Elliott has trained 3 of the last 7 winners
He trained the 1-3-4 finishers in 2020 (from 5 runners)
Paul Nicholls saddled the first two home in 2015 & 2016
10/20 winners started their career in France
1/20 winners were the top weight
7 of the last 13 winners had an SP of 25/1 or more
3/20 favourites won
Updated to include 2024 renewal

Since its inception, the Fred Winter has been dominated by French-bred juveniles or juveniles who had first ran in France.

In 2023, the first and third-placed horses were French-bred (from 7 of the 21 runners).

However, 5 of the previous 8 winners were bred in Ireland (albeit French-bred's finished runner-up in five of those).

By contrast, the only British-bred winner was Crack Away Jack in 2008 and even he started his career in France.

In the last 13 years there have been two winners at 25/1, three at 33/1, one at 40/1 and one at a monster 80/1.

Four of the last five winners ran at the preceding Christmas Festival at Leopardstown.

It is one of the few Cheltenham Festival races that Willie Mullins has yet to win (just 4 placed from 22 runners down the years).

Despite that, he has saddled the three of the last four favourites: Tekao (3/1f) in 2023, Gaelic Warrior (13/8f) in 2022 and Saint Sam (9/2f) in 2021.

Of the 21 runners in 2023, four were wearing cheekpieces for the first time (p1). Those four horses finished 1-2-4-5 at odds of 18/1, 6/1, 18/1 & 40/1 respectively.

FRED WINTER HURDLE ODDS

LAST 5 WINNERS’ DATA

YEAR
AGE
OFFICIAL RATING
WEIGHT
2024
4
122
11-0
2023
4
125
10-6
2022
4
137
11-9
2021
4
125
10-8
2020
4
138
11-8

PREVIOUS WINNERS

YEAR
WINNER
JOCKEY / TRAINER
SP
2024
Lark In The Mornin
J J Slevin / Joseph O'Brien
9/1
2023
Jazzy Matty
Michael O'Sullivan / Gordon Elliott
18/1
2022
Brazil
Mark Walsh / Padraig Roche
10/1
2021
Jeff Kidder
Sean Flanagan / Noel Meade
80/1
2020
Aramax
Mark Walsh / Gordon Elliott
15/2
2019
Band of Outlaws
JJ Slevin / Joseph O'Brien
7/2f
2018
Veneer of Charm
Jack Kennedy / Gordon Elliott
33/1
2017
Flying Tiger
Richard Johnson / Nick Williams
33/1
2016
Diego Du Charmil
Sam Twiston-Davies / Paul Nicholls
13/2
2015
Qualando
Nick Scholfield / Paul Nicholls
25/1
2014
Hawk High
Brian Hughes / Tim Easterby
33/1
2013
Flaxen Flare
Davy Condon / Gordon Elliott
25/1
2012
Une Artiste
Jeremiah McGrath / Nicky Henderson
40/1
2011
What A Charm
Paul Townend / Arthur Moore
9/1
2010
Sanctuaire
Ruby Walsh / Paul Nicholls
4/1f
2009
Silk Affair
Tom O'Brien / Mick Quinlan
11/1
2008
Crack Away Jack
Paul Carberry / Emma Lavelle
14/1
2007
Gaspara
Andrew Glassonbury / David Pipe
9/2jf
2006
Shamayoun
Paddy Brennan / Charles Egerton
40/1
2005
Dabiroun
Nina Carberry / Paul Nolan
20/1

Lark In The Mornin 2024

Jazzy Matty 2023

Brazil became the first top-weight to win the Boodles Juvenile Hurdle in 2022 - a first Festival success for trainer Padraig Roche:

Jeff Kidder won at 80/1 in 2021, the longest-priced Festival winner for 30 years - since 100/1 Norton's Coin in the 1990 Gold Cup.

Aramax won in 2020 for Gordon Elliott, who also trained the 3rd and 4th home:

Band of Outlaws was heavily backed in 2019 and the favourite obliged to give Joseph O'Brien his first Festival winner:

Veneer of Charm was another Gordon Elliott winner in 2018, at odds of 33/1:

Flying Tiger 2017

There was late drama in 2016, when both Voix du Reve and Campeador crashed out at the last.

The result was a Paul Nicholls' 1-2, with Diego Du Charmil just holding off Romain De Senam in a race record time of 3 mins 49.40 secs.

Nicholls had also saddled the Fred Winter 1-2 a year earlier, with Qualando finishing ahead of stablemate Bouvreuil.

Hawk High 2014

Flaxen Flare 2013

Une Artiste 2012

What A Charm 2011

Sanctuaire 2010

Silk Affair 2009

In 2007, Gaspara spead-eagled the field under an aggressive ride by 4lb claimer Andrew Glassonbury to give him and trainer David Pipe their first Festival successes.

The winner was owned by David's father Martin Pipe and earned them a £75,000 bonus, coming three days after the unexposed filly won the Imperial Cup at Sandown:

‘IT SEEMS THE HANDICAPPER WAS RIGHT TO PUT HER UP 12LB, BUT I TOLD EVERYONE SHE WAS WAS 13LB WELL IN TODAY’

The first ever winner, Dabiroun, was ridden by Nina Carberry, the first time in 18 years that a female jockey had won a Festival race.

Fred Winter won two Cheltenham Gold Cup's as a jockey and one as a trainer + three Champion Hurdle's as a jockey and four as a trainer

FRED WINTER JUVENILE HURDLE FAQ’s