The Ultima Handicap Chase is run over about 3 miles 1 furlong on the Tuesday of the Festival. It’s the first handicap chase of the meeting, typically drawing a field of 20+ runners. Corach Rambler’s back-to-back wins in 2022-23 proved this race can produce a star.
Recent Winners
| Year | Winner | Trainer | Jockey | Age | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Myretown | Lucinda Russell | P W Wadge | 8 | 15/2 |
| 2024 | Chianti Classico | K C Bailey | David Bass | 7 | 6/1 |
| 2023 | Corach Rambler | Lucinda Russell | D R Fox | 9 | 6/1 |
| 2022 | Corach Rambler | Lucinda Russell | D R Fox | 8 | 10/1 |
| 2021 | Vintage Clouds | Mrs Sue Smith | R Mania | 11 | 28/1 |
| 2020 | The Conditional | D G Bridgwater | B Powell | 8 | 17/2 |
| 2019 | Beware The Bear | N Henderson | J McGrath | 9 | 10/1 |
| 2018 | Coo Star Sivola | Nick Williams | L Kelly | 6 | 5/1 |
| 2017 | Un Temps Pour Tout | D E Pipe | T Scudamore | 8 | 9/1 |
| 2016 | Un Temps Pour Tout | D E Pipe | T Scudamore | 7 | 11/1 |
Key Trends
Age profile: Eight-year-olds have won 5 of 11 renewals (45%). Seven and nine-year-olds have 2 wins each. The oldest winner was Vintage Clouds at 11 in 2021, and the youngest Coo Star Sivola at 6 in 2018.
Favourite record: The favourite has won 3 of 11 (27%), with 7 placings from 15 total favourite runners. The average favourite SP of about 7/1 shows the market is often uncertain in this handicap.
Trainers: Lucinda Russell leads with 3 wins from just 6 runners — a 50% strike rate that stands out. David Pipe has 2 wins (both Un Temps Pour Tout) from 9 runners. Kim Bailey has 1 from 6.
Going: Good to Soft accounts for 6 of the 11 winners, Soft for 4, and Heavy for 1. No edition in our sample has been run on Good ground.
What the Data Says
The standout stat is Lucinda Russell’s record: 3 wins from 6 runners. Corach Rambler won twice and Myretown once. Scottish-trained horses rarely dominate at Cheltenham, making this an unusual angle. Russell clearly knows how to prepare a horse for this particular race.
The average winning SP of about 11/1 makes this one of the more approachable handicaps at the Festival — not as volatile as the Coral Cup or County Hurdle. Six of the 11 winners went off between 5/1 and 11/1, so single-figure prices are often involved.
Un Temps Pour Tout’s consecutive wins in 2016-17 and Corach Rambler’s in 2022-23 show that repeat winners are possible in this race, despite the handicapper’s best efforts. Both were raised in the weights and won again.
The eight-year-old trend is worth considering. Nearly half the winners have been that age, and the average winning OR of 143 suggests these are horses with enough quality to carry decent weights but not so much that they’re burdened.
One caution: the sample is only 11 editions, so all these trends should be treated with appropriate care.
All Cheltenham Festival races are run at Cheltenham racecourse. See our Cheltenham course guide for trainer and jockey statistics, going analysis, and betting angles.