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.
2026 Cleeve Hurdle Preview
Established in 1983, this Grade 2 hurdle is scheduled to take place in January of each year at the Cheltenham racecourse is the Cleeve Hurdle, it is run over a trip of just shy of three miles and is open to runners who are aged five or older.
The race takes place on trials day before the festival and serves as a trial for the Stayers Hurdle, Paisley Park (2019) was the last runner to win this race and then go on to win the Stayers Hurdles next time out, a feat also achieved by Thistlecrack (2016), Big Bucks (2012 & 2009) and also Inglis Drever (2008) over the past twenty years.
Uncover Cleeve Hurdle winning strategies through our deep dive into past race patterns and trainer performance, and supercharge your bets with these top free bets for Cheltenham.
Cleeve Hurdle Information:
We also have a dedicated Cheltenham tips page that will cover this race as well as all of the other races on the day of the race, see which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are predicting to win this race and the others on the cards. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Schedule for the Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Cleeve Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2022 when the race had an over-round of 108%. The race in 2020 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 125%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Cleeve Hurdle, the over-round has been 115%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £115 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Cleeve Hurdle Trends, see which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal, we also have a section that looks at the Cleeve Hurdle Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Cleeve Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:
- Noble Yeats (5:06.56) in 2024
- Fire Dragon (5:54.20) in 2006
- Big Bucks (5:57.90) in 2012
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 Cleeve Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 5 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -3.41. Remember to use the racing predictions along with the information on this page to find a bet on the 2026 Cleeve Hurdle.
Over the last 20 renewals, it was Noble Yeats, trained by Emmet Mullins and ridden by Harry Cobden who set the fastest winning time in the Cleeve Hurdle, the runner won the race in a time of 5:06.56 when winning the race in 2024. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Paul Nicholls and jockey R Walsh with Big Bucks who set the slowest winning time, the race-winning time was 6:39.18 in the 2009 renewal.
Cleeve Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the Cleeve 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 horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Cleeve Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 6:11.03 | Gowel Road (IRE) 9yo 11-2 5/2F | Sam Twiston-Davies Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB) |
| 2024 5:06.56 | Noble Yeats (IRE) 9yo 11-2 3/1 | Harry Cobden Emmet Mullins (IRE) |
| 2023 6:00.23 | Gold Tweet (FR) 6yo 11-2 14/1 | Johnny Charron Gabriel Leenders (FR) |
| 2022 5:58.53 | Paisley Park (IRE) 10yo 11-6 5/1 | Aidan Coleman Emma Lavelle (GB) |
| 2020 6:25.81 | Paisley Park (IRE) 8yo 11-6 4/6F | Aidan Coleman Emma Lavelle (GB) |
| 2019 5:59.20 | Paisley Park (IRE) 7yo 11-6 100/30F | Aidan Coleman Emma Lavelle (GB) |
| 2018 6:25.60 | Agrapart (FR) 7yo 11-6 9/1 | Lizzie Kelly Nick Williams (GB) |
| 2017 5:59.90 | Unowhatimeanharry (GB) 9yo 11-8 10/11F | Barry Geraghty Harry Fry (GB) |
| 2016 6:26.20 | Thistlecrack (GB) 8yo 11-8 4/5F | Tom Scudamore Colin Tizzard (GB) |
| 2015 6:07.80 | Saphir Du Rheu (FR) 6yo 11-4 3/1 | Sam Twiston-Davies Paul Nicholls (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Cleeve Hurdle have been based:
- GB: 18 winners with an additional 32 placings from 171 runners
- IRE: 1 winner with an additional 0 placings from 6 runners
- FR: 1 winner with an additional 0 placings from 4 runners
Cleeve Hurdle Trainer Statistics
There are two leading trainers in the Cleeve Hurdle over the last 20 renewals with both Paul Nicholls and Emma Lavelle who have both won the race three times. Paul Nicholls winners have been with Big Bucks (2009 & 2012) and Saphir Du Rheu (2015). Emma Lavelle winners have been with Paisley Park (2019, 2020 & 2022). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the Cleeve Hurdle is Nick Williams (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Cleeve 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):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Nicholls | 17-3-5 | -7.25 | -7.04 |
| Emma Lavelle | 7-3-5 | +5.00 | +3.97 |
| Nick Williams | 6-2-3 | +6.88 | +3.53 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 11-1-2 | -7.50 | -7.49 |
| David Pipe | 10-1-2 | -7.00 | -6.49 |
| Alan King | 9-1-3 | +6.00 | +2.47 |
| Harry Fry | 4-1-1 | -2.09 | -2.45 |
| Jonjo O'Neill | 3-1-1 | +14.00 | +7.60 |
| Sue Smith | 3-1-1 | +6.00 | +2.80 |
| Gabriel Leenders | 1-1-1 | +14.00 | +8.75 |
Cleeve Hurdle Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Cleeve Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Sam Twiston-Davies who has won the race two times with those two winners coming from Saphir Du Rheu (2015) and Gowel Road (2025).
Here are some of the top Cleeve 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):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 4-2-3 | +3.50 | +2.82 |
| Harry Cobden | 6-1-2 | -2.00 | -1.68 |
| Brian Hughes | 3-1-1 | +12.00 | +6.40 |
| Johnny Charron | 1-1-1 | +14.00 | +8.75 |
| Gavin Sheehan | 3-0-1 | -3.00 | -0.50 |
| Adam Wedge | 2-0-1 | -2.00 | +3.50 |
| Jonathan Burke | 2-0-1 | -2.00 | -0.80 |
| Rex Dingle | 2-0-1 | -2.00 | -1.13 |
| Tom Bellamy | 2-0-1 | -2.00 | -1.16 |
| Jonjo O'Neill Jr | 2-0-1 | -2.00 | -1.43 |
2026 Cleeve Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 4, 2, 5, 1, 2, PU, 1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 1, 1, PU, 1, 1, 2, 3, 2, (1, 4)
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well.
- 20 / 20 (71%) - No bigger than 10/1 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (73%) - Not on GD/STD (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (77%) - Within the first 7 of the market
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Beaten no more -20l (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Furthest ran 2m6f - 4m2½f
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Achieved an RPR of 137+ (Season)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Not in a G3/Cl4-5 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Not BL/BR/CH in colour
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Ran in 2 - 8 races (1 Year)
- 19 / 20 (73%) - Placed within last 2 starts
- 19 / 20 (80%) - No bigger than 8/1 (Last Win)
- 18 / 20 (55%) - No bigger than 14/1
- 18 / 20 (81%) - No older than a 9yo
- 18 / 20 (81%) - Achieved a TS of 131+ (Career)
- 18 / 20 (83%) - No bigger than 62/1 (Debut)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Cheltenham racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Cleeve Hurdle. Did you know that we have an OLBG Betting School section on OLBG? It is a place to help you improve your betting experience with articles covering numerous topics.
Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the Cleeve Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.
101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
Cleeve Hurdle Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +69.38 is when runners ran on Good To Soft ground when last winning.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran on Good ground when last winning, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-48.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Cleeve Hurdle is Ascot, there has been a total number of 7 winners of this race who ran at Ascot last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 4 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 20 winners from a total of 176 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 5 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Cleeve Hurdle:
- Oscar (3 Wins)
- Cadoudal (2 Wins)
- Flemensfirth (2 Wins)
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Cleeve Hurdle despite multiple attempts:
- Apple Tree (0 Wins from 5 runners)
- Kings Theatre (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Knockara Beau in 2014, winning for George Charlton at odds of 66/1 under the guidance of Jan Faltejsek. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 9 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 2026 Cleeve Hurdle.
Schedule for the Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham
Here is the schedule for the Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham, each race will be linked to the race blog and detail last year's winner in the table below.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase | Moon DOrange (FR) 7yo - 7/2 | John C McConnell Sean Bowen |
| Classic Novices Hurdle | Sixmilebridge (IRE) 6yo - 9/1 | Fergal O'Brien Kielan Woods |
| Cleeve Hurdle | Gowel Road (IRE) 9yo - 5/2 | Nigel Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davies |
| Cotswold Chase | LHomme Presse (FR) 10yo - 4/5 | Venetia Williams Charlie Deutsch |
| International Hurdle | Constitution Hill (GB) 8yo - 1/12 | Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville |
| JCB Triumph Juvenile Hurdle Trial | East India Dock (GB) 4yo - 1/2 | James Owen Sam Twiston-Davies |
| Timeform Novices Handicap Chase | Jagwar (FR) 6yo - 4/1 | Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero Jonjo O'Neill Jr |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Cleeve 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
Tipster Competition Manager
Andy Powell
Content Editor
