The 2022 Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle: statistics, trends, history and video replays

All you need to know about the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham Racecourse on March 15.

When and where can I watch the Fred Winter? 4.15pm on Tuesday 15 March, live in stunning HD on Racing TV.

Which Grade? Grade Three. Which Course? Old Course. What Distance? 2m 1/2f (8 hurdles)

Prize money: £59,000 Ages: 4yo only Weights & Allowances: Handicap

Key statistics and trends:

Market mania:

Seven of the past 11 winners were sent off 25-1 or bigger, with Jeff Kidder the longest-priced Festival winner in over 30 years with triumph at 80-1 in 2021. Band Of Outlaws in 2019 was the first winning favourite since Sanctuaire in 2010.

Ratings:

14 of the 17 winners of the race were officially rated between 124 and 134 (What A Charm was rated just 115 in 2011). Band Of Outlaws had the highest mark of all the winners off 139! Aramax triumphed in 2020 from a rating of 138. Most recently, Saint Sam was runner-up from a mark of 139 behind the 125-rated Jeff Kidder.

Slow starters:

Only six of the 17 winners had won on either of their first two starts over hurdles for their current stable. Band Of Outlaws had won two of his three starts over timber before victory in 2019.

Teed up:

11 of the past 17 winners had run in the previous 25 days. Jeff Kidder is a notable exception, making his first start of the year when successful in 2021.

Trainer:

Paul Nicholls has targeted this race in recent years (often with French-bred horses) and saddled the first two home in 2016 and 2015, while his Katgary was an unfortunate runner-up in 2014. Gordon Elliott is another to watch, having landed this race in 2018 and 2020 - he had the runner-up in Coko Beach in 2019. Elliott saddled three of the first four home in 2020. Meanwhile, Willie Mullins has drawn a blank in this race - he is 0-16 with his runners - though he had the runner-up mosrt recently with Saint Sam.

Look abroad:

Nine of the 17 winners were either French-bred or imports.

Headgear watch:

Four of the 17 winners wore headgear, but only Flaxen Flare in 2011 (blinkers) had first-time application of headgear or equipment.

Winning machine?:

Band Of Outlaws and Jeff Kidder are the only horses of the 17 winners to have won more than one race in the same season before the Festival. A key stat!

Race history and closing stages:

The Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle also commemorates Fred Winter, one of the greatest figures in the history of Jump Racing, both as a jockey and trainer.

Winter, who died aged 77 in April 2004, was champion jump jockey four times and champion jump trainer on eight occasions. He saddled four Champion Hurdle winners as a trainer (1971 and 1972 Bula, 1974 Lanzarote, 1988 Celtic Shot) and, although the Cheltenham Gold Cup proved elusive for a long while, he finally landed the feature chase in 1978 with Midnight Court.

He saddled a total of 28 Festival winners and holds the unique feat as only man to have both ridden and trained winners of the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle.

The Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, run over an extended two miles, was one of the new races introduced to The Festival in 2005 when the meeting was extended from three to four days.

The inaugural running went to Dabiroun, partnered by amateur rider Nina Carberry. Carberry became the second female jockey to win a Festival race other than the Foxhunter Chase, following on from Gee Armytage.

Trainer David Pipe enjoyed his first Festival success in 2007 with Gaspara, who also netted a £75,000 bonus put up by bookmaker Sunderlands for any horse that landed the Imperial Cup and a race at The Festival. For good measure, his father Martin owned the filly.

Recent renewals of the Boodles:

Jeff Kidder (80-1) ran out the longest-priced Cheltenham Festival winner in over 30 years under jockey Sean Flanagan for trainer Noel Meade.

Always in mid-field, he travelled strongly but needed the gaps to open down the hill and had six rivals ahead of him on the run to the last. Yet he looked his best at the finish to down Saint Sam (9-2F) by two lengths with Elham Valley (66-1) half a length away in third. The fancied Houx Gris (11-2) took fourth.

“I didn’t back him,” said Meade. "I'm not a punter and the prices don't make any difference but he wasn't entitled to be 80-1, he was entitled to be shorter.

“He stays really well on the Flat. Colin Keane had been riding him all year and said 'In time I think he'll win a Cesarewitch for you'. He's a stayer, and that's what you need in this race.”

Flanagan said after his first Festival winner: “I’m delighted for the team and everyone at home.”

Aramax was kept honest after the final flight but ultimately ran out a fairly comfortable winner of this competitive handicap under jockey Mark Walsh to maintain the good record in this race for trainer Gordon Elliott and the fine run over the week for leading owner J P McManus.

Aramax sauntered into contention turning for home and it looked a question of 'how far' on the run to the final flight. He jumped well yet again when it mattered and stayed on strongest to repel the honest challenge of Night Edition (16-1) by a length in second with his stablemate Saint D'Oroux two lengths further back in third. Gordon Elliott had the fourth home for good measure in Recent Revelations.

"Gordon had him in great fettle," said Walsh. "He won well last time at Naas and hes improved again today."

"This is a nice horse and he's going the right way," added Elliott. "He just does what he has to do but we're very happy with him."

Band Of Outlaws was the subject of a sustained gambleand duly delivered. Ridden cold by J J Slevin, the son of Fast Company tanked into contention entering the home straight but was slightly squeezed for room on the run to the final flight

However, that didn’t stop Slevin and his willing companion who demonstrated his fair Flat ability by sprinting up the hill in the style of a smart horse to ultimately record a snug two-length success in the two-mile event.

Band Of Outlaws became a first winner at the Cheltenham Festival for trainer Joseph O’Brien in a week which was overshadowed for the Piltown handler by the death of Sir Erec in the Triumph Hurdle.

The Fast Company gelding boasted plenty of Flat racing experience and, on his fourth start over hurdles, was well on top at the line despite his 33-1 starting price for jockey Jack Kennedy and trainer Gordon Elliott.

The victory brought up a day-two treble for Elliott, who would go on to be top trainer at the Cheltenham Festival for the first time.

“Last night I was trying to get a Ryanair flight home,” said Elliott after a surprising reverse for Apple’s Jade 24 hours earlier in the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle. “I was in bed by 9.30pm, but it won’t be the same tonight.”

2017 - Flying Tiger:

Nick Williams finally got to celebrate his first Cheltenham Festival winner when Flying Tiger went two places better than stablemate Coo Star Sivola had managed the previous season with a barnstorming finish from the home turn to get up close home under a determined Richard Johnson.

Flying Tiger had raced quite freely through the early stages of the contest but once settled, he got the strong pace he thrived off.

Although he was disappointing in the Adonis Hurdle at Kempton the previous month, he finally delivered on the promise he had shown earlier in his career in France as he pipped Divin Bere and Nietzsche.

2016 - Diego Du Charmil:

Diego Du Charmil was having his first start since November and made his debut for Paul Nicholls but there had been a buzz about this horse for some time after he apparently worked very well with leading Triumph Hurdle fancy Zubayr.

Produced to perfection on the day, the French-bred gelding stayed on strongly under Sam Twiston-Davies to hold off the challenge from stablemate Romain De Senam but the result could have been very different had the strong-travelling Voix Du Reve not crashed out when about to launch his challenge at the last.

Diego Du Charmil has gone on to have a reasonable career in handicap hurdles and over fences.

2015 - Qualando:

Qualando had won only an ordinary novices’ hurdle at Exeter in the build up to Cheltenham (hence his 25-1 starting price) but he took a major step forward from anything he had done previously on his first run on a sound surface.

A strong stayer at the trip, Qualando saw his race out best of all from the last to lead home a stable one-two (Paul Nicholls also saddled the fifth) and it looked at that time that he was sure to find further big race success, especially over slightly further, but Qualando has left Ditcheat and is not covering himself in similar glory.

2014 - Hawk High:

Despite a Flat pedigree, jumping was always on the agenda for Hawk High according to trainer Tim Easterby, who said after his Fred Winter success: “I'm delighted. He was bred by his owner and as soon as we got him as a two-year-old I had jumping in mind for him.”

Hawk High avoided the fall of Clarcam at the second-last but a notable sufferer was eventual runner-up Katgary, who had to go down as an unlucky loser.

Hawk High tried his luck in Grade One company at Aintree the following month but was put firmly in his place.

2013 - Flaxen Flare:

Gordon Elliott’s sole success in this race came in 2013 when Flaxen Flare, sporting a pair of blinkers for the first time, produced one of the most dominant performances ever seen in this traditionally competitive contest.

Davy Condon had not asked his mount for any serious effort when the pair found themselves in front just after the second-last and he only needed pushing out to clear away and trounce a competitive field.

It was a performance so emphatic that his mark was subsequently hiked up by a full stone and Graded success looked a formality going forward, but it was not to be.