The Foxhunter Chase (Hunters’ Chase) is run over about 3 miles 2½ furlongs on Friday of the Festival, exclusively for hunter chasers ridden by amateur jockeys. The Gold Cup course, amateur riders, and big fields make this a uniquely unpredictable race.
Recent Winners
| Year | Winner | Trainer | Jockey | Age | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wonderwall | S Curling | Mr R James | 9 | 28/1 |
| 2024 | Sine Nomine | F Needham | Mr J Dawson | 8 | 8/1 |
| 2023 | Premier Magic | Bradley Gibbs | Mr B Gibbs | 10 | 66/1 |
| 2022 | Billaway | W P Mullins | Mr P W Mullins | 10 | 5/2 |
| 2021 | Porlock Bay | Will Biddick | L Williams | 10 | 16/1 |
| 2020 | It Came To Pass | E M O’Sullivan | Miss M O’Sullivan | 10 | 66/1 |
| 2019 | Hazel Hill | Philip Rowley | Mr A Edwards | 11 | 7/2 |
| 2018 | Pacha Du Polder | P F Nicholls | Miss H Tucker | 11 | 25/1 |
| 2017 | Pacha Du Polder | P F Nicholls | Miss B Frost | 10 | 16/1 |
| 2016 | On The Fringe | E Bolger | Ms N Carberry | 11 | 5/2 |
Key Trends
Age profile: Ten-year-olds lead with 7 wins from 22 renewals. Nine-year-olds have 5 wins, eleven-year-olds 3, and eight-year-olds 3. Earthmover won at 13 in 2004. This is a race for seasoned, older horses — the youngest winner was Kingscliff at 6 back in 2003.
Favourite record: The favourite has won 7 of 22 (32%), placing 12 times from 24 total favourite runners. The average favourite SP of about 3/1 suggests the market often knows who the best hunter chasers are.
Trainers: Nicholls has 4 wins from 29 runners (though most were trained primarily for other targets and ran here as a side project). Enda Bolger had 2 from 13. Rodger Sweeney had 2 (both Salsify).
Going: Good ground has produced 9 winners, Good to Soft 7, Soft 5, Heavy 1. A wide spread.
What the Data Says
Premier Magic at 66/1 in 2023 and It Came To Pass at 66/1 in 2020 highlight how volatile this race can be. The average winning SP of about 18/1 is high, and the amateur-rider factor adds a layer of unpredictability that doesn’t exist in professional races.
Pacha Du Polder’s back-to-back wins (2017-18) and Salsify’s (2012-13) show that proven course specialists can repeat. On The Fringe also won twice (2015-16). If a horse has won the Foxhunter before, they clearly deserve respect.
The ten-year-old trend (7 of 22 winners) makes sense — these are experienced hunter chasers in the prime of their careers. Nothing younger than 7 has won in the last 20 years.
Mullins’ sole win was with Billaway, ridden by his son Patrick. The point-to-point and hunter chase circuit operates somewhat independently of the professional training yards, which is why smaller operations can compete here. Bradley Gibbs trained and rode Premier Magic, and Fiona Needham trained Sine Nomine — these aren’t names you’ll find in the Champion Hurdle.
All Cheltenham Festival races are run at Cheltenham racecourse. See our Cheltenham course guide for trainer and jockey statistics, going analysis, and betting angles.