The Spa Novices’ Hurdle, which is known as the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle for sponsorship reasons, is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race that is run on the New Course at Cheltenham, on the Friday of the Cheltenham Festival.
On this race card page, you can discover everything you need to know about the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, including our tips for the race and a list of past winners.
The runners and entries for the Albert Bartlett 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 you’ll find all of our Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle tips. Looking for tips for other races as well? Head over to our daily tips page.
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16/05/23 | SAN | 8 | GS | 9-2 | 3 |
| 10/04/23 | KEM | 8 | St/Slw | 9-6 | 1 |
| 30/11/22 | KEM | 8 | St/Slw | 9-7 | 1 |
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28/09/23 | NMK | 7 | GF | 9-2 | 2 |
| 09/09/23 | THI | 7 | Gd | 9-4 | 1 |
| 18/08/23 | NBY | 8 | GS | 9-7 | 3 |
| 21/07/23 | NBY | 7 | Gd | 9-4 | 2 |
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07/10/23 | ASC | 5 | Gd | 8-12 | 9 |
| 16/09/23 | DON | 5.5 | Sft | 8-6 | 17 |
| 09/09/23 | HAY | 5 | Gd | 8-7 | 2 |
| 25/08/23 | YOR | 5 | GF | 9-13 | 15 |
| 12/08/23 | ASC | 5 | Gd | 9-7 | 9 |
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/03/24 | STH | 7 | St | 9-11 | 1 |
| 20/11/23 | KEM | 7 | St/Slw | 9-7 | 1 |
| 23/09/23 | WOL | 7 | St | 9-4 | 3 |
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29/03/24 | CFD | 6 | St | 9-8 | 1 |
| 06/03/24 | KEM | 6 | St/Slw | 8-13 | 6 |
| 16/10/23 | WDR | 6 | Sft | 9-4 | 8 |
| 19/08/23 | NBY | 7 | GS | 9-7 | 6 |
| 22/07/23 | NBY | 6 | GS | 9-2 | 8 |
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/11/23 | NMK | 7 | Hy | 9-2 | 2 |
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29/03/24 | CFD | 6 | St | 9-7 | 4 |
| 21/03/24 | STH | 7 | St | 8-13 | 6 |
| 24/02/24 | CFD | 6 | St | 8-11 | 1 |
| 01/02/24 | CFD | 6 | St | 9-1 | 6 |
| 06/01/24 | KEM | 6 | St/Slw | 8-6 | 6 |
The Spa Novices’ Hurdle, known affectionately as the Albert Bartlett, is the third race on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival.
The race is run over three miles (2 miles 7 furlongs and 213 yards, or 4,822 metres) over the New Course at Cheltenham and it features 12 hurdles that must be jumped.
The Albert Bartlett is widely regarded as the most difficult novice hurdle of the National Hunt season. It’s open to horses aged five and over who are novice hurdlers and the value of the purse is £135,000.
The race is often seen as a starting point for future staying hurdlers. Penhill won the 2017 race before going on to win the 2018 Stayers’ Hurdle, and Unowhatimeanharry won the Albert Bartlett in 2016 before placing in the 2017 Stayers’ Hurdle.
The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle officially became part of the Cheltenham Festival in 2005, when it expanded to become a four-day event.
Initially, the race was entered into the Festival as a Grade 2 contest and was titled the Brit Insurance Hurdle. This changed in 2008, when it was promoted to Grade 1 status and the sponsorship was taken over by Albert Bartlett, a vegetable growing company.
Initially, the race was open to horses aged four and over. However, this changed in 2023 and now four-year-olds are excluded.
Since its addition to the Festival in 2005, Willie Mullins is the only trainer who’s had three winners in the race: Penhill (2017), Monkfish (2020) and The Nice Guy (2022).
On top of this, only one other trainer has trained multiple winners of the Albert Bartlett. This is Jonjo O’Neill, who trained Black Jack Ketchum (2006) and Wichita Lineman (2007).
For O’Neill’s two victories, both horses were ridden by AP McCoy, who has won the race three times, more than any other jockey (he also won the race in 2013 aboard At Fishers Cross).
The 2019 renewal of the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle was particularly memorable. At massive odds of 50/1, Rachael Blackmore became the second woman to ride a Grade 1 winner at the Festival when she steered Minella Indo to success for Henry De Bromhead.
This table below contains a breakdown of all of the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle winners from the last decade. Can you spot any patterns that will help you pick the winner of this year’s race?
| Year | Winner | Age | SP | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Stay Away Fay | 6 | 18/1 | Paul Nicholls | Harry Cobden |
| 2022 | The Nice Guy | 7 | 18/1 | Willie Mullins | Sean O'Keeffe |
| 2021 | Vanillier | 6 | 14/1 | Gavin Cromwell | Mark Walsh |
| 2020 | Monkfish | 6 | 5/1 | Willie Mullins | Paul Townend |
| 2019 | Minella Indo | 6 | 50/1 | Henry De Bromhead | Rachael Blackmore |
| 2018 | Kilbricken Storm | 7 | 33/1 | Colin Tizzard | Harry Cobden |
| 2017 | Penhill | 6 | 16/1 | Willie Mullins | Paul Townend |
| 2016 | Unowhatimeanharry | 8 | 11/1 | Harry Fry | Noel Fehily |
| 2015 | Martello Tower | 7 | 14/1 | Margaret Mullins | Adrian Heskin |
| 2014 | Very Wood | 5 | 33/1 | Noel Meade | Paul Carberry |
| 2013 | At Fishers Cross | 6 | 11/8 | Rebecca Curtis | A P McCoy |
Looking for the latest and best Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle tips? Head over to our Day 4 Tips page, where you’ll be able to see every horse we’re backing for this race at the Cheltenham Festival.
You can also see all the latest odds for this race on our Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle Odds page. Here you can also se
