The Dawn Run Mares' Novices' Hurdle is the penultimate race on St Patricks Day 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.
The race was first run in 2016, which made the Cheltenham Festival it’s longest ever, with 28 races.
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.
Trull House Stud then combined with other breeders to make a group led by Tatterstalls for 2019, who are now the overall sponsor of the race.
The race has been run four times and remarkedly each and every one has been won by Willie Mullins; who’s four wins have all come with mares aged five. Mullin’s dominance of the race is with the following horses:
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.
2019 winner Eglantine Du Seuil won at odds of 50/1 and have Noel Fehily a last festival winner before retirement. Walsh’s record is as followed:
Ruby Walsh:
Limini (2016)
Let’s Dance (2017)
Looking ahead to the 2020 running, it is difficult to predict just how many runners Mullins will throw at the race but won’t be a surprise to anyone should he yet again win the race, so it’s worth looking at all his runners regardless of price and maybe having a few darts at his longer priced ones, although Paul Townend will most likely be on the shortest of the lot.
