The runners & entries for the Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle (also known as the Dawn Run Mares Novices’ Hurdle) for this year's Cheltenham Festival can all be found below.
This is a full list of entries, but there will be declarations 5 days before the race, and final declarations 48 hours before.
This is where all of our tips will be for the Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle , we also have you covered with daily tips.
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28/10/23 | DON | 8 | Hy | 9-3 | 1 |
| 14/10/23 | NMK | 8 | Sft | 9-3 | 1 |
| 29/07/23 | ASC | 7 | Gd | 9-5 | 3 |
| 24/06/23 | NMK | 7 | Gd | 9-10 | 1 |
| 09/06/23 | HAY | 7 | GF | 9-7 | 1 |
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20/09/23 | YAR | 10 | Gd | 8-13 | 3 |
| 17/05/23 | YOR | 10.5 | Gd | 9-2 | 3 |
| 05/05/23 | NMK | 10 | Gd | 9-2 | 1 |
| 21/10/22 | DON | 8 | Sft | 9-2 | 2 |
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23/03/24 | DON | 8 | Sft | 9-5 | 3 |
| 06/12/23 | KEM | 8 | St/Slw | 9-5 | 1 |
| 15/10/23 | GOO | 8 | Sft | 9-11 | 3 |
| 16/05/23 | SAN | 8 | GS | 9-2 | 2 |
| 22/04/23 | NBY | 7 | Sft | 9-2 | 8 |
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15/09/23 | DON | 5 | Sft | 9-3 | 5 |
| 25/08/23 | YOR | 6 | GF | 9-2 | 6 |
| 02/08/23 | GOO | 5 | Sft | 9-3 | 3 |
| 07/07/23 | SAN | 5 | Gd | 9-4 | 1 |
| 21/06/23 | NCS | 5 | St | 9-7 | 1 |
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27/04/24 | DON | 6 | Sft | 9-7 | 12 |
| 06/04/24 | KEM | 6 | St/Slw | 9-0 | 11 |
| 23/09/23 | YOR | 5 | GS | 9-2 | 16 |
| 07/09/23 | WOL | 6 | St | 8-13 | 10 |
| 20/08/23 | SAN | 5 | Gd | 9-3 | 1 |
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14/10/23 | YOR | 8 | Sft | 9-9 | 1 |
| 20/09/23 | SAN | 8 | GS | 9-7 | 3 |
| 11/08/23 | HAY | 8 | Gd | 9-7 | 3 |
| 29/07/23 | NMK | 7 | Gd | 9-7 | 2 |
The Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle is the penultimate race on Thursday and is the newest race at the Cheltenham Festival.
The race was introduced in 2016, as part of a new programme for mares. It was given Grade 2 status, which it still retains and is ran over 2 miles with eight hurdles for the mares to contend with.
There is prize money of £50,000 to the winner and the race is open to novice mares who are aged four and above.
This race has been a strong point for trainer Willie Mullins, who has dominated the event since its inception.
The Mares' Novices' Hurdle debuted in 2016, expanding the Cheltenham Festival to its longest-ever format with 28 races. This addition created more championship opportunities for female horses. The race honors the legendary Dawn Run, the only horse to have captured both the Champion Hurdle (1984) and the Cheltenham Gold Cup (1986).
The first three runnings were sponsored by Trull House Stud and therefore up until 2018, the race was known as the Trull House Stud Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.
This race quickly became a showcase for the powerhouse duo of trainer Willie Mullins and jockey Ruby Walsh. They achieved a remarkable winning streak, particularly with the phenomenal mare Quevega, claiming six consecutive victories from 2009 to 2014.
Mullins' dominance extended beyond Quevega, as he went on to train other winners like Limini (2016), Let's Dance (2017), Laurina (2018), and Eglantine du Seuil (2019)
Trainers from England have occasionally broken through, with wins like Roksana (2019) for the Skelton team and Marie's Rock (2022) for Nicky Henderson.
From 2020-2023, the brilliant Honeysuckle, also trained by Willie Mullins, stamped her authority on this race with four consecutive victories.
The race has been run four times, and astonishingly, each victory has belonged to trainer Willie Mullins. Strikingly, all his winners have been five-year-old mares.
Willie Mullins:
Limini (2016)
Let’s Dance (2017)
Laurina (2018)
Eglantine Du Seuil (2019)
Mullins’ four victories in the race came with Ruby Walsh on board two of them and he’s the only jockey to have had more than one success in the race, making him the most successful to date. He may have had a third but lost his 2018 ride on Laurina due to injury and therefore that was Paul Townend’s gain and Townend will likely ride Mullin’s main hope in 2020.
Eglantine Du Seuil's 50/1 victory in 2019 gave jockey Noel Fehily a memorable final Festival win before his retirement.
Ruby Walsh:
Limini (2016)
Let’s Dance (2017)
With the 2024 Cheltenham Festival approaching, it's always exciting to speculate on Willie Mullins' potential entries for the Mares' Novices' Hurdle. Mullins has a history of dominating this race, so keep an eye on all his runners. While Paul Townend often rides his best contender, don't overlook some of Mullins' longer-priced horses, as they could offer surprising value.
Previous Mares' Novices' Hurdle Winners
| Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | You Wear It Well | Gavin Sheehan | Jamie Snowden |
| 2022 | Love Envoi | Jonathan Burke | Harry Fry |
| 2021 | Telmesomethinggirl | Rachael Blackmore | Henry de Bromhead |
| 2020 | Concertista | Daryl Jacob | Willie Mullins |
| 2019 | Eglantine Du Seuil | Noel Fehily | Willie Mullins |
| 2018 | Laurina | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| 2017 | Let's Dance | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins |
| 2016 | Limini | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins |
If you’re looking for our thoughts on who you should back in the Mares' Novices Hurdle take a look at our Day 3 Tips page to see everything, we’re backing for this race at the Cheltenham Festival.
You can also see all the latest odds for this race on our Mares' Novices Hurdle Odds page allowing you to see which bookmakers are offering the best price on each horse in the race.
