Turners Novices' Hurdle

 Nowadays officially registered as the Baring Bingham Novices' Hurdle, the Turners Novices' Hurdle was inaugurated, as the Aldsworth Hurdle, in 1971 and had various spomsors down the years before the transport company took over in 2025. A Grade 1 contest, run over the intermediate distance of two miles and five furlongs on the Old Course at Cheltenham, the race is currently scheduled as the opening event on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival 2026, a.k.a. Ladies Day.

Open to novice hurdlers aged four years and upwards – although the last four-year-old to win was Crystal Spirit back in 1991 – and currently worth £150,000 in total prize money, Turners Novices' Hurdle is obviously a prestigious and valauble event in its own right. However, it is sometimes used by exceptional novice hurdlers as a stepping stone to more ambitious goals later in their careers. Istabraq (1997), Hardy Eustace (2003) and Faugheen (2014) all returned to Prestbury Park to win the Champion Hurdle the following year and, at the time of writing, The New One (2025) is currently 4/1 favourite for the two-mile hurdling championship at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.

The ubiquitous Willie Mullins, who trained Faugheen, also saddled Fiveforthree (2008), Mikael d'Haguenet (2009), Yorkhill (2016), Sir Gerhard (2022), Impaire Et Passe (2023) and Ballyburn (2024) for a total of seven wins and is the leading trainer in the history of the Turners Novices' Hurdle. Punters may also like to note that eight of the last 10 winners came from the top three in the betting and five of them were sent off outright favourite. At least two wins over hurdles, including at least one at Graded level, have proved to be a pre-requisite in recent years.