Centenary Novices' Handicap Chase

The Centenary Novices' Handicap Chase, known for sponsorship purposes as the Close Brothers Novices' Handicap Chase, is a Listed National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (2 miles 4 furlongs and 44 yards, or 4,064 metres), and during its running there are sixteen fences to be jumped. It was a handicap race for novice chasers with a handicap rating between 0 and 145, and it takes place each year in March.

Centenary Novices' Handicap Chase
Listed race
LocationSandown Park Racecourse
Esher, England
Inaugurated2005
Race typeSteeplechase
WebsiteSandown Park
Race information
Distance2m 4f (4,064 metres)
SurfaceTurf
TrackRight-handed
QualificationFive-years-old and up
WeightHandicap
Purse£70,000 (2019)
1st: £39,389
Centenary Novices' Handicap Chase
2020
Imperial Aura Galvin Hold The Note

The event was originally run at Cheltenham Racecourse and was established when a fourth day was added to the Cheltenham Festival in 2005. The winning ride by Mattie Batchelor in the inaugural edition subsequently won the Lester Award for Jump Ride of the Year. The race was sponsored by Jewson from 2005 to 2010 and run as the Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase on the third day of the Festival. Jewson transferred their sponsorship to a new race at the 2011 Festival, the Jewson Novices' Chase, which remained on the third day while the Novices' Handicap Chase was moved to become the final race on the opening day of the Festival. The race title commemorated the centenary of the Cheltenham Festival in 2011. In 2012 the race was sponsored by Pulteney Land Investments and from 2013 to 2014 by Rewards4Racing. In 2015 it was sponsored by Chaps Restaurants Barbados and from 2016 to 2019 the race was sponsored by Close Brothers Group. The race's sponsors in 2020 were Northern Trust.

Cheltenham introduced a new steeplechase for mares from the 2021 Festival and the Centenary Novices' Chase was removed from the Festival programme to make way for it.[1] The race was transferred to the meeting which takes place at Sandown Park a few days before the Cheltenham Festival.[2]

Records

Leading jockey (2 wins):

Leading trainer (2 wins):

  • Ferdy Murphy - L'Antartique (2007), Divers (2011)

Winners
Year
 Winner
 Age
 Weight
 Jockey
 Trainer
2005 King Harald 7 10-04 Mattie Batchelor Mark Bradstock
2006 Reveillez 7 10-11 Tony McCoy James Fanshawe
2007 L'Antartique 7 10-11 Graham Lee Ferdy Murphy
2008 Finger Onthe Pulse 7 10-12 Barry Geraghty Tom Taaffe
2009 Chapoturgeon 5 10-11 Timmy Murphy Paul Nicholls
2010 Copper Bleu 8 11-01 Richard Johnson Philip Hobbs
2011 Divers 7 11-04 Graham Lee Ferdy Murphy
2012 Hunt Ball 7 12-00 Nick Scholfield Keiran Burke
2013 Rajdhani Express 6 11-12 Sam Waley-Cohen[lower-alpha 1] Nicky Henderson
2014 Present View 6 11-07 Brendan Powell jnr Jamie Snowden
2015 Irish Cavalier 6 11-07 Paul Townend Rebecca Curtis
2016 Ballyalton 9 11-10 Brian Hughes Ian Williams
2017 Tully East 7 11-08 Denis O'Regan Alan Fleming
2018 Mister Whitaker 6 11-02 Brian Hughes Mick Channon
2019 A Plus Tard 5 11-07 Rachael Blackmore Henry de Bromhead
2020 Imperial Aura 7 11-05 David Bass Kim Bailey
  1. amateur jockey

See also

References
  1. Dietz, Andrew (7 October 2020). "Nicholls and Walsh back introduction of new mares' chase at Cheltenham Festival". Racing Post. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  2. "Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase to replace Novices' Handicap Chase at The Festival". British Horseracing Authority. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
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