2026 Champion Novice Hurdle Betting Tips
The Champion Novice Hurdle could be won by any number of horses, although perhaps El Cairos boasts the best chance. There was a competent fifth-placed finish in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, with this coming after an excellent victory at Thurles. Gordon Elliott will rate this runner as his best chance of success although there's plenty in the field who could topple him.
That includes King Rasko Grey who has three efforts this season and two of them have been victories. This includes a Cheltenham Festival triumph in the Turners Novices' Hurdle where the six-year-old was able to oblige over two miles and five furlongs. This came after a third-placed finish at Leopardstown when competing in the Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle.
Skylight Hustle has claims for Gordon Elliott and much depends on whether the horse has recovered well from a fall at Cheltenham. There had previously been two successes including a win at Leopardstown at the Dublin Racing Festival. The success in the Future Champions Novice Hurdle could be repeated here if the horse is back on song.
Sober has two wins on the board and is set to run well for Willie Mullins. It was an underwhelming effort in the Turners at Cheltenham but the horse should go better over a shorter distance. Let's not forget that the runner had a string of wins leading into the Festival, while stablemate He's On Fire can't be easily ignored either.
2025 Champion Novice Hurdle Betting Tips
Kopek Des Bordes has achieved a hat-trick of wins this season, with the five-year-old having been a recent winner at the Cheltenham Festival. The 4/6 favourite was able to score in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle when landing the spoils by nearly two lengths. This came after winning at the Dublin Racing Festival and there was lots to like about that Leopardstown showing.
Sent off as the 4/5 favourite in the Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle, there was a stunning thirteen-length success on that occasion. That came after winning a Boxing Day encounter featuring twenty-three runners in a Maiden Hurdle. The bookies think that another big victory could be on the cards here and the horse will be in many an accumulator.
Salvator Mundi has won three of his four showings this term and also has the potential to go well for Willie Mullins. The last time the horse was victorious was at Aintree in early April, with the 7/2 shot winning the Top Novices’ Hurdle and there was lots to like about a seven-length success when fending off Romeo Coolio.
However, the horse needs to find an improvement of eighteen lengths to get onside with the favourite, with Irancy the third of the Mullins runners with the capacity to go well. The seven-year-old has won two of his previous three encounters, with the latest success being at Fairyhouse in April although the horse was well off the pace in the Supreme.