2025 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle Trends

One of the many races at the festival for novices, the Albert Bartlett is often a springboard on to bigger and better things. Here are all the Albert Bartlett trends you need to help narrow the field down Cheltenham Festival betting sites:

The last 10 winners:

• Had not won a Grade 1 hurdle race before
• Had won all outings at Cheltenham
• Last ran at least 29 days ago, but no more than 78
• If they ran in a handicap hurdle last time out, they won it
• Had run at least twice in the last 12 months - the majority had run at least three times

Nine of the last 10 winners:

• Had won at least one hurdle race (Minella Indo was a maiden)
• Had at least placed in a Grade 2 or Grade 3 hurdle (exception, unbeaten The Nice Guy)
• Had won on a course described as galloping (Minella Indo was a maiden)
• Were a double-figure price (Monkfish was 5/1)

Key Trials in the last 10 years

The Grade 2 Classic Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham has not proven a useful trial in the last 10 years, despite it's obvious appeal. No runners have gone on to win the Albert Bartlett. Sixmilebridge won it in 2025, but is not entered in the Albert Bartlett.

The Grade 2 Prestige Novices' Hurdle has not produced a winner or placed finisher in the last 10 years, despite eight of the last nine winners going on to run in the Albert Bartlett. None finished better than fifth. Battle Born Lad won in 2025, but won't be running in the Albert Bartlett.

Traditionally, the 2m4f Grade 2 at Leopardstown was a good trial, but that has been replaced by a 2m6f Grade 1. So far this race has produced two seconds and one winner in Vanillier. The 2025 edition was won by Final Demand.

The winner of the Albert Bartlett tends to not have much Graded race experience, and often comes into the race having just run in an ungraded event. It's not a negative.

Trainer Trends

• Gordon Elliott was due a change of fortune in this race having had four well-fancied horses hitting the frame in recent years. Stellar Story sprung a surprise by winning the race for him last year.
• Willie Mullins bagged his third Albert Bartlett with The Nice Guy in 2022 and has now won three of the last eight renewals, but he has fired an awful lot of darts at this race in the past decade.
• Nicky Henderson has struck once, as has Paul Nicholls, Colin Tizzard and Harry Fry in recent years, but Irish trainers have been the ones to follow since 2014, winning eight of the last 11 editions.
• Colin Tizzard is perhaps the best trainer to follow. He's only 1/10 but has placed twice as well, and if you had bet £1 on all his runners then you'd now be up £23.

Jockey Trends

• Paul Townend and Harry Cobden are the only current jockeys to have won the Albert Bartlett more than once, with seven different jockeys winning it since 2018.

How did the trends do last year?

There wasn't much you could do to find last year's winner, Stellar Story. Trainer Gordon Elliott had failed to win the race with much more fancied runners in recent years, and he came into Cheltenham on the back of a 4th place finish in a six runner race at Leopardstown. That said, he had never won a Grade 1, and had run the optimal number of times before Cheltenham, so those who followed the trends closely may have stumbled onto him. 

He won at 33/1 too, so he was the right price for this race.

2024 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle Result

Who Fits The Trends Best In 2025?

It might seem counter-intuitive to rule out Grade 1 winners, since they have the best possible form, but since no Grade 1 winner has won the Albert Bartlett in the last 10 years, it's best to look past The Yellow Clay and Final Demand. At the time of writing, they're favourite and second favourite for the race, so we're almost immediately into runners at double-digit prices. 

Ireland has dominated this race in recent times, so it should be safe enough to draw a line through the likes of Jet Blue, Wendigo, Derryhassen Paddy and Jax Junior too.

All trends point towards Ballybow for Gordon Elliott. The 6yo is trained in Ireland, will have had 29 days off since his last run, won a Grade 3 last time out, is well into double digit odds, has winning form on a galloping track and has had five runs in total this season. He ticks every box, from a trends perspective.