Showcase Trophy Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Showcase Meeting)

We look at the Showcase Trophy ahead of the next renewal, a race contested over 3m1f at Cheltenham during the Showcase Meeting, to see which runners, trainers and jockeys have previously won the race and which trends you can use to find the winner of the Showcase Trophy.
Showcase Trophy Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Showcase Meeting)
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Expert Guide

You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.

2026 Showcase Trophy Preview

Scheduled to take place during the Showcase Meeting in October of each year at the Cheltenham Racecourse is the Showcase Trophy. This class two handicap is run over a distance of three miles and one furlong, during which the runners will face twenty fences.

Established in 2007 when Nigel Twiston-Davies' Ardaghey was successful, this is an excellent chance for trainers to get their runners out early in the jumps season in a race which carries an excellent purse of £100k, which attracts plenty of the top yards.

Showcase Trophy Information:

Our dedicated Cheltenham tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the Showcase Trophy, but will also have predictions for each meeting at Cheltenham throughout the season, so be sure to head over there. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races at Cheltenham Racecourse section for links to these.

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How competitive is the Showcase Trophy market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 19 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2009 when the race had an over-round of 111%. The race in 2025 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 135%, whilst on average over the last 19 renewals of the Showcase Trophy, the over-round has been 121%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £121 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2026 Showcase Trophy 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 Showcase Trophy Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Showcase Trophy races over the last 19 renewals:

  1. Balthazar King (6:03.10) in 2011
  2. Midnight Chase (6:07.38) in 2010
  3. Parsons Legacy (6:08.30) in 2008

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 19 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Showcase Trophy next time out, then you would have backed a total of 2 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -6.75. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Showcase Trophy, remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.

When looking over the past 19 renewals, a time of 6:03.10 was set by Balthazar King in 2011, trained by Philip Hobbs and ridden by Richard Johnson, which is the quickest time over that period. The slowest winning time was set in 2019 when The Conditional won in a time of 7:02.70 for trainer David Bridgwater, who booked Tom Cannon in the saddle.

What the expert says...
The 2025 winner, Three Card Brag, came here after finishing runner-up in the Kerry National and was the fourth winner from the last five to run in Ireland last time out, which could be significant when you consider none of the fourteen prior did that.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Showcase Trophy Past Winners

Here are the Showcase Trophy 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 Showcase Trophy are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorseInfo
2025
6:28.38
Three Card Brag (IRE)
8yo 11-13 6/1
Jack Kennedy
Gordon Elliott (IRE)
2024
6:18.12
Senior Chief (GB)
7yo 11-4 11/1
Darragh O'Keeffe
Henry De Bromhead (IRE)
2023
6:34.36
Whacker Clan (IRE)
7yo 10-8 12/1
Darragh O'Keeffe
Henry De Bromhead (IRE)
2022
6:29.97
Lord Accord (IRE)
7yo 11-3 15/2
Richie McLernon
Neil Mulholland (GB)
2021
6:15.46
Definite Plan (IRE)
9yo 9-12 9/2
Jordan Gainford (3lbs)
Gordon Elliott (IRE)
2020
6:33.13
Frodon (FR)
8yo 11-12 9/2
Bryony Frost
Paul Nicholls (GB)
2019
7:02.70
The Conditional (IRE)
7yo 10-4 14/1
Tom Cannon
David Bridgwater (GB)
2018
6:19.90
Relentless Dreamer (IRE)
9yo 10-3 16/1
Adam Wedge
Rebecca Curtis (GB)
2017
6:26.80
Cogry (GB)
8yo 10-5 13/2
Sam Twiston-Davies
Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB)
2016
6:22.40
Coologue (IRE)
7yo 11-9 8/1
Richard Johnson
Charlie Longsdon (GB)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Showcase Trophy have been based:

  • GB: 15 winners with an additional 38 placings from 209 runners
  • IRE: 4 winners with an additional 3 placings from 29 runners
  • FR: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 4 runners

Showcase Trophy Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Showcase Trophy over the last 19 renewals is Philip Hobbs, who has won the race five times, with those five winners coming from Parsons Legacy (2008), Balthazar King (2011, 2012 & 2013) and Roalco De Farges (2014). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Showcase Trophy are Nigel Twiston-Davies (2 wins), Neil Mulholland (2 wins), Gordon Elliott (2 wins) and Henry De Bromhead (2 wins).

Here are some of the top Showcase Trophy trainer statistics over the last 19 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
Philip Hobbs15-5-6+21.25+10.84
Nigel Twiston-Davies17-2-8-5.17-1.56
Neil Mulholland8-2-3+7.50+3.54
Gordon Elliott8-2-2+4.50+0.45
Henry De Bromhead7-2-4+18.00+12.01
Paul Nicholls11-1-2-5.50-5.80
Jonjo O'Neill10-1-4-2.00-0.09
Charlie Longsdon6-1-1+3.00+0.00
Rebecca Curtis5-1-2+12.00+10.63
David Bridgwater2-1-1+13.00+7.75

Showcase Trophy Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Showcase Trophy over the last 19 renewals is Darragh O'Keeffe, who has won the race two times, with those two winners coming from Whacker Clan (2023) and Senior Chief (2024).

Here are some of the top Showcase Trophy jockey statistics over the last 19 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
Darragh O'Keeffe3-2-3+22.00+14.38
Sam Twiston-Davies13-1-6-5.50-1.94
Adam Wedge4-1-1+13.00+7.00
Richie McLernon3-1-2+5.50+3.65
Jack Kennedy2-1-1+5.00+2.75
Jordan Gainford2-1-2+3.50+3.33
Bryony Frost2-1-1+3.50+1.70
Tom Cannon1-1-1+14.00+8.75
Dougie Costello1-1-1+6.00+3.60
Harry Skelton8-0-2-8.00-4.69

Showcase Trophy Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +38.83, is when runners had 1 win in the past year.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 2 career places at the track, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-33.

The course which has produced the most winners of the Showcase Trophy is Cheltenham; there have been a total 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 19 winners from a total of 237 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 5 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Showcase Trophy; that stallion, Kings Theatre, has produced 4 winners (2017,2013,2012,2011).

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Showcase Trophy despite multiple attempts:

  • Old Vic (0 Wins from 7 runners)
  • Milan (0 Wins from 6 runners)
  • Mahler (0 Wins from 5 runners)
  • Oscar (0 Wins from 5 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 19 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Relentless Dreamer in 2018, winning for Rebecca Curtis at odds of 16/1 under the guidance of Adam Wedge. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 19 renewals, there have been 1 winning favourites in the race. Before placing your bet on the 2026 Showcase Trophy, head over to see which runners the best racing tipsters are tipping today.

Route to the Showcase Trophy

Many trainers target races as preparation for the Showcase Trophy. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2025 - Three Card Brag
Listowel - 2nd of 18 (9/1)
Kerry National
2024 - Senior Chief
Fairyhouse - PU of 20 (10/1)
Irish Grand National
2023 - Whacker Clan
Tramore - 1st of 10 (7/1)
McCarthys Irish Bar Lexington Handicap Chase
2022 - Lord Accord
Worcester - 3rd of 5 (15/2)
Cazoo Handicap Hurdle
2021 - Definite Plan
Gowran Park - 2nd of 5 (4/1)
Join Gowran Park Racing Club Beginners Chase
2020 - Frodon
Cheltenham - 4th of 8 (11/2)
Ryanair Chase
2019 - The Conditional
Worcester - 3rd of 6 (4/1)
Reirse Ryan Raceday Novices Chase
2018 - Relentless Dreamer
Uttoxeter - 3rd of 18 (11/1)
Marstons Pedigree Summer Cup
2017 - Cogry
Ayr - 2nd of 30 (18/1)
Scottish Grand National
2016 - Coologue
Aintree - PU of 14 (7/1)
Freebooter Handicap Chase

Article Contributor Information

We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Showcase Trophy Preview are Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse racing tips 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

Expert Guide

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

Expert Guide

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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