Aintree Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Grand National Meeting)

Updated: 1760 Horse Racing

See which trainers and jockeys have performed well in this fact-packed blog for the Aintree Hurdle. This is a race that is hosted at Aintree during the Grand National Meeting with the race being run over a distance of 2m4f, see which trends the past winners of the Aintree Hurdle have set for this year.

Aintree Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Grand National Meeting)
In this article: Preview
Andy Powell Content Editor

Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.

2024 Aintree Hurdle Preview

Run at the Grand National meeting in April of each year at the Aintree racecourse is the Aintree Hurdle, a Grade 1 hurdle that is open to runners who are aged four or older. The race is run over a trip of two miles and four furlongs in which eleven hurdles will have to be safely dealt with.

The race was first run in 1976 and it is worth noting those coming from the Champion Hurdle, Buveur d'Air won both races in 2017 and Constitution Hill also did the double in 2023.

Aintree Hurdle Information:

Our dedicated Aintree tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the Aintree Hurdle but will also have predictions for each meeting at Aintree throughout the season so be sure to head over there. We cover every race at the Aintree Grand National Meeting and below you can find links to all of the races for each of Thursday, Friday & Saturday.

How competitive is the Aintree Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2012 when the race had an over-round of 109%. The race in 2009 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 119%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Aintree Hurdle, the over-round has been 114%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £114 which is bet.

Aintree Hurdle Trends:

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the Aintree Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 9 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of +2.08. Ahead of the 2024 Aintree Hurdle why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today?

When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 4:45.30 was set by Oscar Whisky in 2011, which is the quickest time over that period, the runner was trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty. The slowest winning time was set in 2022 when Epatante won in a time of 5:10.42, booked to ride was Aidan Coleman on this Nicky Henderson trained runner.

These are the top three quickest-run Aintree Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:

  1. Oscar Whisky (4:45.30) in 2011
  2. Al Eile (4:48.40) in 2007
  3. Jezki (4:48.80) in 2015
What the expert says...
The last thirteen winners of this race, that is every winner since 2010 came having run at the Cheltenham Festival last time out, ten of those in the Champion Hurdle with the other three running the Stayers Hurdle and only three of those won at the festival which were Annie Power (2016), Buveur D'Air (2017) and Constitution Hill (2023).

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Aintree Hurdle Past Winners

Here are the Aintree Hurdle past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. The trainer of the horse at the time of winning the Aintree Hurdle as well as the jockey is also displayed along with the starting price the horse was sent off.

YearHorseInfo
2023
5:03.09
Constitution Hill (GB)
6yo 11-10 2/15F
Nico de Boinville
Nicky Henderson (GB)
2022
5:10.42
Epatante (FR)
8yo 11-0 2/1
Aidan Coleman
Nicky Henderson (GB)
2021
4:58.15
Abacadabras (FR)
7yo 11-7 5/1
Jack Kennedy
Mrs Denise Foster (IRE)
2019
5:10.00
Supasundae (GB)
9yo 11-7 15/2
Robbie Power
Mrs John Harrington (IRE)
2018
5:05.20
LAmi Serge (IRE)
8yo 11-7 5/1
Daryl Jacob
Nicky Henderson (GB)
2017
4:55.80
Buveur DAir (FR)
6yo 11-7 4/9F
Barry Geraghty
Nicky Henderson (GB)
2016
5:06.00
Annie Power (IRE)
8yo 11-0 4/9F
R Walsh
W P Mullins (IRE)
2015
4:48.80
Jezki (IRE)
7yo 11-7 3/1
A P McCoy
Mrs John Harrington (IRE)
2014
4:54.80
The New One (IRE)
6yo 11-7 4/9F
Sam Twiston-Davies
Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB)
2013
5:03.90
Zarkandar (IRE)
6yo 11-7 11/2
R Walsh
Paul Nicholls (GB)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Aintree Hurdle have been based:

  • GB: 10 winners with an additional 21 placings from 120 runners
  • IRE: 10 winners with an additional 10 placings from 46 runners
  • FR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 3 runners
  • GER: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner

Aintree Hurdle Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Aintree Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Nicky Henderson who has won the race six times with those six winners coming from Oscar Whisky (2011 & 2012), Buveur DAir (2017), LAmi Serge (2018), Epatante (2022) and Constitution Hill (2023). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Aintree Hurdle are John Queally (3 wins), Nigel Twiston-Davies (2 wins) and Mrs John Harrington (2 wins).

Here are some of the top Aintree Hurdle trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
Nicky Henderson25-6-11-3.18-1.80
John Queally5-3-3+23.75+13.45
Nigel Twiston-Davies9-2-3-3.06-3.76
Mrs John Harrington4-2-3+8.50+5.18
Paul Nicholls14-1-2-7.50-8.20
W P Mullins11-1-6-9.56-1.24
Jonjo O'Neill7-1-2-3.50+1.00
E J O'Grady3-1-2+7.00+4.17
Thomas Mullins3-1-1+2.00+0.40
C Byrnes1-1-1+6.00+3.00

Aintree Hurdle Jockey Statistics

Here are some of the top Aintree Hurdle jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
Sam Twiston-Davies8-1-2-6.56-5.95
Aidan Coleman4-1-2-1.00-0.25
Daryl Jacob3-1-1+3.00+1.00
Paddy Brennan3-1-1+1.50+0.19
Nico de Boinville3-1-1-1.87-1.92
Robbie Power2-1-2+6.50+4.30
Jack Kennedy2-1-1+4.00+2.00
Paul Townend5-0-3-5.00-1.62
Graham Lee4-0-1-4.00-3.28
Harry Cobden3-0-1-3.00-1.50

Aintree Hurdle Trend Analysis

The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +12.38 is when runners had 3 places in the past 180 days. The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 1 place in the past 180 days, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-37.

The course which has produced the most winners of the Aintree Hurdle is Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 16 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out.

The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 17 winners from a total of 159 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 3 winners from a total of 11 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Aintree Hurdle:

  • Alzao (3 Wins)
  • Kings Theatre (2 Wins)
  • Oscar (2 Wins)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Al Eile in 2007, winning for John Queally at odds of 12/1 under the guidance of Timmy Murphy. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 6 winning favourites in the race. Remember to use the best racing tipsters along with the information on this page to find you a bet on the 2024 Aintree Hurdle.

Schedule for Thursday at the Aintree Grand National Meeting

The three-day Grand National meeting kicks off on Thursday with four Grade 1 events on the seven-race card which features both the Aintree Hurdle and the Bowl Chase.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
13:45 Aintree
Manifesto Novices Chase
Banbridge (IRE)
7yo - 2/1
Joseph Patrick O'Brien
J J Slevin
14:20 Aintree
Anniversary 4YO Juvenile Hurdle
Zenta (FR)
4yo - 5/4
W P Mullins
Mark Walsh
14:55 Aintree
Bowl Chase
Shishkin (IRE)
9yo - 7/4
Nicky Henderson
Nico de Boinville
15:30 Aintree
Aintree Hurdle
Constitution Hill (GB)
6yo - 2/15
Nicky Henderson
Nico de Boinville
16:05 Aintree
Foxhunters Chase
Famous Clermont (FR)
8yo - 9/2
C R Barber
Mr William Biddick
16:40 Aintree
Red Rum Handicap Chase
Dancing On My Own (IRE)
9yo - 15/2
Henry De Bromhead
Rachael Blackmore
17:15 Aintree
Nickel Coin Mares Bumper
Dysart Enos (IRE)
5yo - 13/2
Fergal O'Brien
Paddy Brennan

Schedule for Friday at the Aintree Grand National Meeting

Day 2 of the Grand National meeting is Ladies Day or Fabulous Friday, the highlights on the track being the Melling Chase plus there is the Topham Chase over the Grand National fences.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
13:45 Aintree
Mildmay Novices Chase
Gerri Colombe (FR)
7yo - 4/6
Gordon Elliott
Davy Russell
14:20 Aintree
William Hill National Festival Handicap Hurdle
Fennor Cross (IRE)
6yo - 8/1
John C McConnell
Ben Harvey
14:55 Aintree
Top Novices Hurdle
Inthepocket (GB)
6yo - 3/1
Henry De Bromhead
Rachael Blackmore
15:30 Aintree
Marsh Chase
Pic DOrhy (FR)
8yo - 4/1
Paul Nicholls
Harry Cobden
16:05 Aintree
Topham Chase
Bill Baxter (IRE)
7yo - 20/1
Warren Greatrex
Sam Twiston-Davies
16:40 Aintree
Sefton Novices Hurdle
Apple Away (IRE)
6yo - 16/1
Lucinda Russell
Stephen Mulqueen
17:15 Aintree
Lydiate Handicap Hurdle
Punctuation (GB)
6yo - 40/1
Fergal O'Brien
Liam Harrison

Schedule for Saturday at the Aintree Grand National Meeting

The Grand National is obviously the showpiece of the Aintree meeting and day 3 also includes three Grade 1 events, the feature of those being the Liverpool Hurdle.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
13:20 Aintree
Bridle Road Handicap Hurdle
West Balboa (IRE)
7yo - 9/2
Dan Skelton
Harry Skelton
13:55 Aintree
Mersey Novices Hurdle
Irish Point (FR)
5yo - 5/1
Gordon Elliott
Davy Russell
14:30 Aintree
William Hill National Festival Handicap Chase
Midnight River (GB)
8yo - 15/2
Dan Skelton
Harry Skelton
15:05 Aintree
Liverpool Hurdle
Sire Du Berlais (FR)
11yo - 8/1
Gordon Elliott
Mark Walsh
16:00 Aintree
Grand National
Corach Rambler (IRE)
9yo - 8/1
Lucinda Russell
Derek Fox
17:00 Aintree
Maghull Novices Chase
Jonbon (FR)
7yo - 2/11
Nicky Henderson
Aidan Coleman
17:35 Aintree
Champion Standard Open NH Flat Race
Florida Dreams (IRE)
5yo - 18/1
Nicky Richards
Danny McMenamin

Article Contributor Information

We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Aintree Hurdle Preview are at hand, Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.

Darren Brett

Darren Brett

Tipster competition manager

Darren has worked in the horse racing industry for decades bringing to OLBG for the last 20 years a wealth of knowledge, creating much of our content on these sports. Darren also manages our Grand National Guide and is the go-to font of knowledge for the world's greatest steeplechase.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Content editor

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for jump racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful national hunt racing blogs for OLBG.

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