Mares Hurdle
15:20 Cheltenham Festival
2025-03-11
Winner: £67,524
Runners: 23
Going: Soft
No. of hurdles: 10
Distance: 2m3f200y
The Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle is a Grade 1 hurdle run over 2m4f and restricted to mares. It is run on day one of the Cheltenham Festival and is a relatively new addition to the meeting, having first been staged in 2008. Irish champion trainer Willie Mullins has dominated the Mares’ Hurdle, having won nine of the 14 runnings including the six in a row with star mare Quevega.
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MARES HURDLE PREVIOUS WINNERS
| Year | Horse | Previous Form | Age | Price | Trainer | Jockey |
| 2024 | Lossiemouth | 1211-1 | 5 | 8-13F | Willie Mullins | Paul Townend |
| 2023 | Honeysuckle | -132 | 9 | 9-4F | Henry De Bromhead | Rachael Blackmore |
| 2022 | Marie’s Rock | 317P1 | 7 | 18-1 | Nicky Henderson | Nico de Boinville |
| 2021 | Black Tears | 22-331 | 7 | 11-1 | Denise Foster | Jack Kennedy |
| 2020 | Honeysuckle | 11-111 | 6 | 9-4 | Henry De Bromhead | Rachael Blackmore |
| 2019 | Roksana | 3-1112 | 7 | 10-1 | Dan Skelton | Harry Skelton |
| 2018 | Benie Des Dieux | 33-1-11 | 7 | 9-2 | Willie Mullins | Ruby Walsh |
| 2017 | Apple’s Jade | 1-2212 | 5 | 7-2 | Gordon Elliott | Bryan Cooper |
| 2016 | Vroum Vroum Mag | 11-111 | 7 | 4-6F | Willie Mullins | Ruby Walsh |
| 2015 | Glens Melody | 4-7521 | 7 | 6-1 | Willie Mullins | Paul Townend |
MARES HURDLE KEY TRENDS AND STATS
Key trends
- Trained in Ireland, 8/10
- Aged between six and seven, 8/10
- Ran to an RPR of 150 or above, 7/10
- Had won on their previous start, 7/10
- Had previously not won at Grade 1 level, 6/10
Other factors
- Lossiemouth (2024) and Apple’s Jade (2017) are the only winning favourites in the last decade.
- Two winners in the last decade, Marie’s Rock (2022) and Glens Melody (2015) won a Listed mares’ hurdle at Warwick beforehand.
We have all the best Cheltenham Betting offers ahead of placing your bets on the 2025 Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR - MARES HURDLE 2024
It may not have had the emotions of Honeysuckle’s poignant win the year before, but it still brought to us the next star mare off the rank when Lossiemouth outclassed her opposition. The five-year-old was viewed as one of the bankers of the week and she duly delivered when obliged by three lengths under Paul Townend. She was the final leg of a glittering big-race treble for Townend and Willie Mullins, following Gaelic Warrior and State Man’s wins. Henry de Bromhead still managed to saddle the second, third and fourth when Telmesomethinggirl, Hispanic Moon and Lantry Lady all ran huge races.