The Arkle Chase is a Grade 1 novice chase over about 2 miles on the Tuesday of the Festival. It’s the championship race for the quickest novice chasers and has been won by some absolute machines — Sprinter Sacre, Douvan, Altior and Shishkin all took this en route to Champion Chase glory.
Recent Winners
| Year | Winner | Trainer | Jockey | Age | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Jango Baie | N Henderson | N de Boinville | 6 | 5/1 |
| 2024 | Gaelic Warrior | W P Mullins | P Townend | 6 | 3/1 |
| 2023 | El Fabiolo | W P Mullins | P Townend | 6 | 11/10 |
| 2022 | Edwardstone | A King | Tom Cannon | 8 | 5/2 |
| 2021 | Shishkin | N Henderson | N de Boinville | 7 | 4/9 |
| 2020 | Put The Kettle On | Henry de Bromhead | A Coleman | 6 | 16/1 |
| 2019 | Duc Des Genievres | W P Mullins | P Townend | 6 | 5/1 |
| 2018 | Footpad | W P Mullins | R Walsh | 6 | 5/6 |
| 2017 | Altior | N Henderson | N de Boinville | 7 | 1/4 |
| 2016 | Douvan | W P Mullins | R Walsh | 6 | 1/4 |
Key Trends
Age profile: Six-year-olds have won 10 of 23 renewals, seven-year-olds 9. Just 2 five-year-olds (Voy Por Ustedes and Well Chief) and 2 eight-year-olds (Edwardstone and Sizing Europe) have won. The sweet spot is clearly 6 or 7.
Favourite record: This is one of the better races at the Festival for market leaders. The favourite has won 11 of 23 renewals (48%), with an average favourite SP of around 2/1. They’ve placed in 16 of 24 cases. If you can identify the right favourite here, history says back them.
Trainers: Mullins leads with 6 wins from 27 runners (22% strike rate). Henderson has 5 from 17 (29%), which is actually the better percentage. Between them, they’ve produced nearly half of all winners. Alan King has 3 wins, de Bromhead 2, and Martin Pipe had 2 back in the earlier years.
Going: Good to Soft has been the most common ground (12 editions), with 5 each on Good and Soft, and just 1 on Heavy. The quality generally tells on any ground in this race.
What the Data Says
The Arkle is one of the most predictable races at the Festival, at least in terms of the favourite. An 48% strike rate for market leaders is significantly above the norm for championship races. The average winning SP of around 5/1 reflects how often short-priced horses win, though Put The Kettle On (16/1 in 2020) and Western Warhorse (33/1 in 2014) are reminders it can throw up a shock.
The Henderson-Mullins duopoly is striking. Those two yards account for 11 of the 23 winners. Henderson’s runners in particular deserve respect: 5 wins and 11 placings from 17 runners is an exceptional record.
The winner’s average official rating of 156 is high, reinforcing the idea that class tends to tell here more than in the handicaps. Edwardstone’s win in 2022 aged 8 was unusual — he’s the oldest winner since Sizing Europe (also 8) back in 2010.
All Cheltenham Festival races are run at Cheltenham racecourse. See our Cheltenham course guide for trainer and jockey statistics, going analysis, and betting angles.