2026 William Hill County Handicap Hurdle Betting Tips
Perhaps Fortune De Mer is the one to beat based on current form, with the horse having demonstrated an ability to run well at Cheltenham. Sent off at 16/5, the runner obliged in a handicap hurdle over two miles and one furlong in December. It was a half-length success although the horse was always doing enough to keep the field at bay.
Previously to that, there had been some other encouraging efforts, including an appearance at Cheltenham in October where the runner obliged at 14/1. That came in a Grade 2 Novices' Hurdle and there was also a bright display when finishing second in the Ascot Partners Handicap Hurdle. The horse is able to run well on a frequent basis and explains why he is likely to be the long time market leader.
Alexei also has bold claims and the Joe Tizzard-trained six-year-old has two wins from his previous three outings. There was an early November success at Ascot where the 13/8 favourite got the job done over nearly three miles. Then came a six-length win at Cheltenham in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle where the horse travelled strongly throughout before acting well on a soft ground finish.
More recently, the runner was unable to oblige as the 85/40 favourite when finishing third in a handicap hurdle at Ascot, with Un Sens A La Vie also a viable each-way contender based on exploits so far. The Nigel & Willie Twiston-Davies-trained runner was able to recently succeed at Ludlow in December when scoring as the short priced favourite.
2025 County Hurdle Tips
If you’re looking for a winner of the County Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, then it’s firstly worth noting that trainers Dan Skelton and Willie Mullins have had plenty of success in the race. Indeed, nine of the previous ten renewals have been won by one of these handlers, with seven of the past eleven to win have previously won at Cheltenham.
It’s actually Emmet Mullins that trains Mclaurey, with the six-year-old having shown plenty of ability to win a couple of races in Ireland this season. Last time out, the runner was able to oblige in a field of eighteen horses at Leopardstown when sent off as the 3/1 favourite, with this coming after a success at Limerick in December.
Kitzbuhel represents Willie Mullins’ best chance of training the 2025 County Hurdle, with the five-year-old obliging at Punchestown in December when landing the spoils by nearly four lengths. That is the only piece of Irish form we have to feed off although the fact that the trainer is such a crack shot at the Festival will mean he has plenty of support.
Lark In The Mornin and Absurde come next in the betting, with the latter able to win the 2024 race and that form alone will mean the horse will have his backers. Twelve months ago, the horse obliged at odds of 12/1 and the seven-year-old performed well at Flemington in the Melbourne Cup at Flemington in November.
2024 County Handicap Hurdle Tips
The County Hurdle is one of the more difficult races in order to find a winner, with plenty of runners and riders in with a chance of landing a success. Iberico Lord recently caught the eye at Newbury when landing a victory against twenty other runners, with this success coming in the Betfair Hurdle when the horse recovered from a sloppy start to win.
That victory was over two miles on heavy ground, so it might be that the Nicky Henderson-trained runner will want some rain in order to perform best. Nico de Boinville is likely to be on board a runner who was able to land a success in the Greatwood Hurdle and we can therefore know that the horse can run well at the Cheltenham track.
Daddy Long Legs is another lively contender, with Willie Mullins saddling a five-year-old who was somewhat off the pace when running at Leopardstown in a novice hurdle. Perhaps the horse will come on for that run, with Down Memory Lane meriting respect after a third-placed finish at Leopardstown during the festive season.
Previously to this, there was a Maiden Hurdle success for the same horse, with King Of Kingsfield having won at Leopardstown on Boxing Day and that runner has to be considered for the shortlist. There was a third-placed finish in a novice hurdle during the Dublin Racing Festival and trainer Gordon Elliott will be confident of a decent showing here.
2023 County Handicap Hurdle Betting Tips
The build-up to the Cheltenham Gold Cup continues on Day Four of the Festival when we take in the County Hurdle and it’s a race which is jam-packed with quality horses competing over two miles and one furlong. It’s an encounter where many familiar runners are in action and some of them might be able to cheat the handicapper, having previously run well at the meeting.
Filey Bay certainly ticks plenty of boxes and that explains why the JP McManus-owned runner is trading as favourite. The seven-year-old is one of trainer Emmet Mullins’ best hopes of landing a winner at the meeting, with the horse having won consecutive races before a second-placed finish in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury Racecourse.
Pembroke has the added advantage of having run well at Cheltenham this season. He’s also trained by Dan Skelton who knows what it takes to land a County Hurdle win at the Cheltenham Festival, with the horse finishing second in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Prestbury Park in late January and this runner could be poised to strike.
Gin Coco is another horse that has run well at Cheltenham Racecourse, with the Harry Fry-trained runner having finished second in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle. That was over a similar distance and the horse could certainly be one for the shortlist, with the horse having also hit the frame when running in a handicap hurdle at the Punchestown Festival last year.
The 2022 County Hurdle betting odds are predictably wide open and the first port of call is to look at Top Bandit who is trading as short as 11/2 to land a victory. The top Cheltenham betting sites clearly respect a runner who has won on his past three outings and it appears that Gordon Elliott is going to send the six-year-old to this race on Day Four of the meeting.
Top Bandit won a Novice Hurdle at the beginning of December at Punchestown, with the horse obliging as the 5/6 betting favourite to win. Despite not jumping particularly fluently, the runner still had too much for the rest of the horses in the field, having previously won another novice hurdle at the same course after a maiden hurdle win at Cheltenham.
However, some Cheltenham betting tips will be for a horse at bigger Festival odds and Echoes in Rain is a leading contender. The horse hasn’t registered a win in three outings this National Hunt season, although the runner ran in esteemed company when finishing third in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle.
The horse was sent off at betting odds of 25/1 and actually finished a credible seven lengths behind the legendary Honeysuckle, with the horse having also run in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown Racecourse. It’s entirely possible that the runner will have a brilliant each-way chance against lesser rivals.
West Cork is available at similar Cheltenham Festival betting odds, with Dan Skelton bidding to saddle another County Hurdle betting tip and there is plenty to recommend an eight-year-old who has already got a Cheltenham win to his name this season. This is a horse that won the Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle on 14 November 2021 despite the jockey dropping his whip.
Goven has never run at Cheltenham Racecourse, although Willie Mullins will be hoping for a big run from a six-year-old who was the 6/4 winner of a Maiden Hurdle on 12 February. However, the horse clattered a few hurdles when obliging at Naas and will need to cut out those mistakes this time around.
It’s notoriously difficult to find a winner in the Randox Health County Handicap Hurdle and we’ve seen plenty of big-priced winners over the past few years. Ch’tibello obliged at odds of 12/1 in 2019, while we saw a massive 33/1 winner in 2018 when Mohaayed claimed the spoils and that was a good outcome for the bookies.
We tend to get a big field for the County Hurdle which is a Grade 3 race and that is run over a distance of two miles and one furlong. Front View has caught the eye over the past few appearances, with the horse winning a Flat race at the Punchestown Festival last April.
In November, Envoi Allen was the unexpected winner of a Maiden Hurdle at Down Royal, although it was Front View who finished second to a potential superstar and Joseph O’Brien will feel confident that his horse can make an impressive showing.
The five-year-old then claimed a victory of his own when winning another Maiden Hurdle at Navan and we could see this horse trading short, especially with Barry Geraghty on board.
Thatsy is another horse to watch and this is another Gordon Elliott charge who has enjoyed plenty of racing this season although he’s not always been successful when making an appearance.
After winning a Maiden Hurdle over two miles and four furlongs, the six-year-old went up a grade and found life tougher going when finishing fourth place at Leopardstown before a ninth-placed finish at the same track in early February.
County Handicap Hurdle FAQ
The County Hurdle is on Day Four of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, with this encounter taking place over two miles. It is scheduled to go off at 2pm on Friday 14 March 2025, with BetMGM having recently sponsored a race which is the first handicap of the day.
The betting market is typically wide open for the 2025 County Hurdle, with Kargese and Kitzbuhel among the latest favourites to claim a victory. This certainly looks like an each-way sort of race, with the best horse racing betting sites offering a large number of places.
In order to bet on the County Hurdle, you will need to have a registered betting account. You will also need to have a funded balance and you can then place cash bets on the Cheltenham racing action. Select the horse you want to back and stake a set amount of money.
As you might expect, the favourites don’t win the County Hurdle very often. That is because it’s a competitive betting market where a number of horses are all trading at a similar price. Two of the past eighteen winners have been market leaders and it’s worth looking at the entire field.
Absurde was the winner of the 2024 County Hurdle, with the horse sent off at odds of 12/1. The six-year-old triumphed for trainer Willie Mullins, with that coming twelve months after 33/1 shot Faivoir was able to oblige. 11/4 favourite State Man was the winner the year before.
Betting each-way on the County Hurdle is highly recommended, with the bookmakers offering a large number of places on this handicap race. There are horse racing betting sites that might offer six places and that means a potential return if your runner hits the frame.
Watching the County Hurdle is really easy. Log into your sports betting account and bet on the horse race. You can then view the live stream of the race in question, with the top bookmakers offering live streams of the Cheltenham races at the Festival.
It’s not easy to pick the winner of the County Hurdle, although we recommend going through the racecard and looking at the various handicaps. Some of the horses might be favourably weighted for the two-mile encounter and they can be added to the shortlist.