As the days whittle away towards the 2023 Cheltenham Festival, we take a look at the trainers to look out for when it comes to the FIVE MAIN RACES – Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Ryanair Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup – and if any of the current ‘big gun’ stables have done the clean sweep and won them all.
Which Chelteham Festival Trainers Are In The ‘Big Five Races’ Gang?
You probably guessed it already (maybe the picture gave it away), but of the current batch of Cheltenham Festival trainers, it’s the powerhouse yards of Willie Mullins, Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson that have managed to win ALL five of the championship Cheltenham Festival races – the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle, Ryanair Chase and Gold Cup.
Paul Nicholls Has 18 Cheltenham Festival Big Race Wins
The Ditcheat yard of Paul Nicholls, who have a total of 46 wins at the meeting, rarely have a Cheltenham Festival go by without a success and over the years has managed to win all of the important prizes.
Yes, after the four-time Gold Cup winner landed the inaugural running of the Ryanair Chase in 2005 with Thisthatandtother, this also meant Nicholls was the first trainer to win ALL five of the main Festival races.
This is mainly because Nicky Henderson’s first Gold Cup winner didn’t come until 2011 (Long Run), which completed his clean sweep – but Nicholls had already secured a Gold Cup back in 1999 with See More Business.
The one Nicholls winner, that some horse racing fans might have forgotten about and has contributed to him winning ALL five, was Rock On Ruby winning the 2012 Champion Hurdle – he remains the only win in this race for the handler.
Nicholls also mopped up four Stayers’ Hurdles between 2009 and 2012 with the classy Big Buck’s and has three Ryanair Chase successes, with this most-recent being Frodon on 2019.
Paul Nicholls Big Race Cheltenham Festival Wins (18 in total)
Champion Hurdle (1 win): Rock On Ruby (2012)
Champion Chase (6 wins): Call Equiname (1999), Azertyuiop (2004), Master Minded (2008 & 2009), Dodging Bullets (2015), Politologue (2020).
Stayers’ Hurdle (4 wins): Big Buck’s (2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012)
Ryanair Chase (3 wins): Thisthatandtother (2005), Taranis (2007), Frodon (2019)
Gold Cup (4 wins): See More Business (1999), Kauto Star (2007 & 2009), Denman (2008)
Nicky Henderson Completed His ‘Big Five’ Sweep In 2011
With 72 Cheltenham Festival winners at the start of the 2023 meeting, then trainer Nicky Henderson certainly knows how to train a winner the biggest jumps meeting on the planet.
The Seven Barrows yard has had 18 ‘big race’ wins, which is the same as Nicholls, with the first major Cheltenham Festival win coming way back in 1985 when See You Then took the Champion Hurdle – the first of three famous wins in the race for the Steve Smith Eccles-ridden hurdler.
Henderson also has the red-hot Champion Hurdle favourite this year Constitution Hill, so could easily be making it 8 wins in this day one feature.
Remittance Man was his next big success in the 1992 Champion Chase in what was a golden era in that division, but Henderson had to wait till 2000 for his next main win, which many people forget about – Bacchanal – in the Stayers’ Hurdle, which was actually his second win in the race after taking it back in 1989 with a horse called Rustle.
Gold Cup wins with Long Run (2011) and Bobs Worth (2013) ticked that race off, while with Fondmort taking the second running of the Ryanair Chase in 2006 Henderson had this prize on his CV too.
Nicky Henderson Big Race Cheltenham Festival Wins (19 in total)
Champion Hurdle (7 wins): See You Then (1985, 1986 & 1987), Punjabi (2009), Binocular (2010), Buveur d’Air (2018), Epatante (2020)
Champion Chase (6 wins): Remittance Man (1992), Finian’s Rainbow (2012), Sprinter Sacre (2013 & 2016), Altior (2018 & 2019)
Stayers’ Hurdle (2 wins): Rustle (1989), Bacchanal (2000)
Ryanair Chase (2 wins): Fondmort (2006), Riverside Theatre (2012)
Gold Cup (2 wins): Long Run (2011), Bobs Worth (2013)
RELATED: 2023 Cheltenham Festival: Willie Mullins vs Nicky Henderson Net Worth & Cheltenham Festival Stats
Willie Mullins Joined The ‘Big Five’ Party at The 2022 Cheltenham Festival
No trainer has won more Cheltenham Festival races than Willie Mullins – he’s got a haul of 88 success overall at the meeting – but has only just managed to get into the ‘big five club’ recently when Energumene won the 2022 Queen Mother Champion Chase.
The Champion Chase had been a big Cheltenham Festival race that had eluded Mullins and considering he had big names in the division like Douvan, Min and Chacun Pour Soi it was a surprising stat.
The Gold Cup was another race Mullins wasn’t having much luck in either – plenty of placed finishes, but he finally broke his duck with Al Boum Photo taking the 2019 and 2020 Blue Riband event recently.
The Ryanair Chase, with five wins, has been Mullins’ best big race so far, but the Champion Hurdle isn’t far behind with four successes that included a double for Hurricane Fly in 2011 and 2013.
Willie Mullins Big Race Cheltenham Festival Wins (14 in total)
Champion Hurdle (4 wins): Hurricane Fly (2011 & 2013), Faugheen (2015), Annie Power (2016)
Champion Chase (1 win): Energumene (2022)
Stayers’ Hurdle (2 wins): Penhill (2018), Nichols Canyon (2017)
Ryanair Chase (5 wins): Vautour (2016), Un de Sceaux (2017), Min (2020), Allaho (2021 & 2022)
Gold Cup (2 wins): Al Boum Photo (2019 & 2020)
Trainers That Have Almost Won ALL Five Cheltenham Festival Championship Races
The Henry De Bromhead yard are almost in the gang of big five winners too.
Over the years, the popular Irish handler has recorded wins in the Champion Hurdle (Honeysuckle), Champion Chase (Put The Kettle On, Sizing Europe and Special Tiara), Ryanair Chase (Balko Des Flos) and Gold Cup (Minella Indo & A Plus Tard) – so, it’s just the Stayers’ Hurdle that De Bromhead needs for his clean sweep.
But bad news folks – it’s unlikely the County Waterford trainer will be getting the win he needs this year. At this stage Henry De Bromhead has just one horse entered in the Stayers’ Hurdle – the 2018 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner Summerville Boy, who is now an 11 year-old and if running would be a big outsider.
Did You Know? Gordon Elliott Has Only Landed ONE Of the Big Five Cheltenham Festival Races
Many may feel that it’s also surprising that trainer Gordon Elliott is yet to win ALL of the ‘big five’ races – in fact, he’s not even close to achieving this!
Yes, Elliott has 34 overall Festival wins to his name, but the County Meath trainer has only won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and that came back in 2016 with Don Cossack, so has a long way to go if he’s to catch up with the ‘big race’ winners that both Henderson (19) and Nicholls (18) have, or the 14 Willie Mullins has under his belt.
Related Horse Racing Content:
- The Best Cheltenham Betting Sites for 2023
- Cheltenham Betting Offers 2023 – For New & Existing Customers
- Cheltenham Tips 2023 – Daily Tips & Predictions
- Best Horse Racing Free Bets Offers at UK Sportsbooks – Top Horse Racing Bonuses for 2023
- Top Free Horse Racing Tips & Advice for UK Betting Today
- Free Horse Racing Lucky 15 Tips for Today – Best Lucky 15 Bet Today
- Today’s Racecards – View Horse Racing Cards Today
- Horse Racing Results Today – See All Recent Race Results & Winners
- The Best Grand National Betting Sites for 2023
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
