Supreme Novices’ Hurdle 2020 – TIME: 13:30

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle 2020 Summary

Winner: Shishkin (Nicky Henderson)

Shishkin was weak in the betting in the hours leading up to the 2020 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, but belied odds of 6/1 to just win under Nico de Boinville for trainer Nicky Henderson and owners Joe and Marie Donnelly. Backers of this horse who drifted in the market before the off had nervous moments too, as the 9/4 favourite Asterion Forlonge – owned by the same people and trained by Willie Mullins – jumped out markedly to his right and hampered several rivals before fading to finish fourth.

De Boinville wisely switched Shsihkin out of danger, however, and went right around the outside of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle field which contained 14 other runners. It proved to be a shrewd move as he produced the six-year-old to challenge at the last and then engaged in a ding-dong tussle with 11/4 second-favourite Abacadabras all the way to the line. Shishkin just prevailed in a photo finish by a head over the Gordon Elliott trained and Gigginstown House Stud owned runner. The font two pulled 11 lengths clear of Philip Hobbs’ JP McManus owned horse Chantry House in third.

Henderson and De Boinville both expect Shishkin to bulk up and grow over the summer, but neither would be drawn after the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle on whether he would remain over the smaller obstacles and go for the 2021 Champion Hurdle or be sent novice chasing next season. He showed a really likeable, gutsy attitude to win and, when you consider how much ground was forfeited in avoiding trouble, this is a performance which can be upgraded with the future in mind. 

Exclusive Supreme Novices’ Hurdle 2020 Offers

Page Contents

The Supreme Novices Hurdle will be run on Tuesday 10 March at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival and bookmakers have already made available their Cheltenham antepost betting markets. This gives players the chance to get in early to secure a better price about their runner of choice, beating the queues and grabbing a share of the value.

TOP 20 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Betting Sites

A Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race, it is contested over the two miles trip at the Prestbury Park course with eight hurdles to be jumped by the field before they can be in contention to join an elite list of winners. The contest has a history that can be traced all the way back to 1946 when the opener was won by Prince Rupert for Ron Smyth and Ted Smyth. Last year’s renewal saw Klassical Dream come out on top under the ride of Ruby Walsh for star trainer Willie Mullins.

With the early betting available, our team of horse racing tipsters and sports betting experts preview the Supreme Novices Hurdle 2020 with the aim of helping you get the 2020 Cheltenham Festival off to a winning start. Read on as we focus on stats and trends, early favourites past winners and we even put forward a handy betting guide that should help you beat the bookies.

2020  Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Preview

Traders at all major bookmakers have priced up a number of the 2020 Cheltenham Festival races, including the Supreme Novices Hurdle. The antepost markets offers allows punters to get on their runner of choice well in advance of the final field being announced. Betting at this stage often gives us a better price than will be available to backers leaving it to nearer the time or waiting until the decision of the final declarations.

The main risk associated with antepost betting is you may back a horse to win a certain race and it could be entered into a completely different contest. It may even suffer an injury and bypass the Cheltenham Festival completely. In both instances you would lose your stake money without ever getting a run for your cash. That’s why many experienced backers prefer to keep their stakes low in the antepost market and then go in higher when non-runner no bet becomes available.

This promotion is added closer to the off time and specifies that if your horse doesn’t run in the race you backed it to win your money will be refunded. You can then back another horse in the same race, look at a different contest or withdraw back to your bank. Non-runner no bet takes away a bit of the risk associated with antepost betting but it won’t be available until a few weeks before the Cheltenham Festival 2020 gets underway.

Supreme Novices Hurdle Runners & Favourites

Envoi Allen (5/1)

Envoi Allen has been quoted in several Cheltenham Festival 2020 races. The reason for that is it is not yet known which race he will be entered into, but the general feeling is he has a great chance of winning any number of major races between Tuesday and Friday.

Handlers have a decision to make, they must choose which event gives them the best chance of winning and offers the highest possible prize money. The interesting thing about Envoi Allen is he is favourite in just about every possible race. That’s how highly regarded this runner is.

If You Fancy a Bet on Envoi Allen

That means if you fancy a bet on Envoi Allen it would be worth keeping your powder dry and paying close attention to the build-up. Read what connections have been saying in interviews, check the kind of races and distances he has been entered into during the 2019/20 National Hunt horse racing season. How has results gone for him? Doing this should give you a better chance of predicting which race at the festival he will be targeted at.

Another tactic is to spread your stake across different races, giving yourself the chance of getting the antepost value while covering the chance he could miss out on one race and be added to another.

He’s 6/1 favourite at William Hill to win the Supreme Novices and that’s the best price currently available to punters looking to get their cash down. Be careful who you trust if you are betting on the jolly, however, as some firms offer just 5/1 on the same result. Predicting a Cheltenham Festival winner is no mean feat and you wouldn’t want to take a 5/1 quote if you could get 6/1 simply by shopping around. Follow our advice and take advantage of the generosity shown by the William Hill trading team. That extra point could make all the difference when it comes to tallying up your profit and loss sums for the Cheltenham Festival.

5 Wins From 5 Outings

One thing’s for sure, if Envoi Allen does go into the Supreme Novices Hurdle 2020, he will take all the beating and traders are desperate to keep on the right side of him. He’s an impressive and progressive runner and a big season is expected from followers and connections. It is not yet known just how far this horse can go but we will get a clear picture of his true potential by the end of the campaign. Winning the Supreme Novices Hurdle or, indeed, any major race at the festival will help boost his stock and his value.

Gordon Elliott’s five-year-old gelding went into the season with career stats showing five wins from his first five outings. That included a winning start to the campaign when claiming glory in November at Down Royal over two miles in a maiden hurdle. Traders had high hopes on his reappearance and there was no more than 1/4 available when going to post. He lived up to the hype and then some, beating runner up Front View by more than six lengths. That result and the winning distance sent out a real message of intent to the rest UK and Irish horse racing.

Abacadabras (14/1)

There’s a bit of confusion as to where the main danger comes from in the Supreme Novices Hurdle with one or two firms quoting Malone Road at 10/1 and Lucky One at 14/1.

Most major bookies don’t look keen to get involved in those though and you won’t find prices attached at the likes of bet365, so we are happy to avoid the two runners mentioned at present.

We, instead, focus our attentions on Abacadabras who has been quoted in the Supreme Novices Hurdle antepost betting by the names that matter. Betfair are happy to offer a market best price of 14/1 and that’s worth paying close attention to as 12/1 seems to be the general feeling amongst their rivals. If you can Abacadabras at 14/1 for this race and Envoi Allen goes into a different contest you can be sure that 14/1 will be cut significantly. You could then allow your bet to ride in the festival or choose to cash out and take a profit before the contest has even begun. There are more ways than one to boost your balance with Cheltenham Festival antepost betting.

Taking a closer look at Abacadabras and we see the Gigginstown House Stud runner is a five-year-old gelding trained by the capable hands of Gordon Elliott. The second fav at this stage has won three of six and placed second on another occasion. He ran twice in the early exchanges of this campaign, winning in October around Gowran Park when sent off a 2/5 favourite and then again in November at Navan when 9/10 jolly. Traders know this is a well-connected horse who appears to be going places in a hurry and they want to limit their losses before the season gets competitive.

Blue Sari (14/1)

William Hill have attached a 14/1 price to Blue Sari, but other firms go 12/1 about the same runner.

JP McManus owns this Willie Mullins trained four-year-old and he has won twice over jumps, finishing runner up in the spare.  Blue Sari started the season with victory around Punchestown on 16 November at 3/10, winning a maiden hurdle over 2m 4f by a ½ length from The Bosses Oscar in second. Improvement is needed on that performance if he is to progress to a Cheltenham Festival win, but it was certainly a fine start to the season and those in the know believe there is plenty more to come.

Other Runners

Others worth a mention in the Supreme Novices Hurdle antepost betting are:

• Unexpected at 20/1 with bet365
• Andy Dufrense at 20/1 with Ladbrokes
• Dlauro at 25/1 with bet365
• Gypsy Island at 25/1 with Unibet.

The latter should attract the attention of each-way backers. Keep your eye out for updated Supreme Novices Hurdle betting.

Supreme Novices Hurdle Stats & Trends

• Leading jockey stats provide no surprises with Ruby Walsh rating as the most successful pilot in this race since 1972 when the contest moved to its current format. He has enjoyed six winners to date, getting off the mark with Noland in 2006. Al Ferof followed in 2011 before Champagne Fever in 2013, Vautour 2014, Douvan 2015 and Klassical Dream in 2019.
• Willie Mullins dominates the leading trainer stats for the Supreme Novices Hurdle and, once again, that won’t shock anyone with an interest in the Cheltenham Festival. Mullins enjoyed his first champion in 1995 with Tourist Attraction before Ebaziyan scored in 20207. The other four on his honours list relate to the last four for Ruby Walsh as the pair formed a fearsome partnership at Prestbury Park.
• Klassical Dream won this race as a five-year-old last year but the trends suggest sticking with a six-year-old is the way to go. Three of the last four champions have been six at the time of winning and that’s worth keeping in mind when planning your bets in the Supreme Novices Hurdle 2020.

Supreme Novices Hurdle 2020 Betting Guide

Live Betting & Live Streaming

Live betting and live streaming exists on all major UK and Irish horse racing and that extends to the 2020 Cheltenham Festival. You can watch the action live on ITV Racing or through the live streaming service offered by a major bookmaker, such as Coral. This is an HD quality stream with expert commentary that can be viewed through your desktop computer, mobile site or tablet device. This ensures you will never again be forced to miss the festival or check a results website for an update on your bets. No more backing blind.

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Betting Offers

As the Cheltenham Festival 2020 approaches you will find major bookmakers offering an ever-increasing number of specials, promotions, deals and Supreme Novices Hurdle offers to both new and existing customers. These are updated and refreshed regularly to ensure they are competitive and attractive to punters.

You’ll find an updated list below as and when new offers come in, but we can get a feel for what to expect by looking back and promos that were popular last year. These included free bets, enhanced odds, extra places each-way and money back for fallers.

Past winners

Past 10 Supreme Novices Hurdle winners

2019 Klassical Dream
2018 Summerville Boy
2017 Labaik
2016 Altior
2015 Douvan
2014 Vautour
2013 Champagne Fever
2012 Cinders And Ashes
2011 Al Ferof
2010 Menorah

What Happened in 2019?

The above list of Supreme Hurdle winners show Klassical Dream won last year’s Supreme Novices Hurdle for the experienced and successful partnership of Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh. That booking ensured Klassical Dream attracted plenty of attention in the build up to the off and it proved to be shrewd money as he lived up to expectations and landed backers a healthy profit.

It was a fascinating race but there could be no doubting we were left with a deserving champion that day as Klassical Dream made his way towards the winner’s enclosure. That result meant Willie Mullins had won four of the last seven renewals of this race and he had Ruby Walsh in the saddle on each occasion. If you see the pair working closely together again this year on a talented horse you can be sure you’ll get a run for your stake money.

Key Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Trials

When following the Natioanal Hunt horse racing season in the UK and Ireland between the latter parts of 2019 and early exchanges of 2020 you will notice several Cheltenham Festival trials scheduled, including trials for the Supreme Novices Hurdle. These are important when planning your bets as they offer an update on horse’s form, times, jockey bookings and even distances.

Below you’ll find a list of stats on the Cheltenham Festival key trials which will be updated regularly throughout the season. Visit this page for updates.

Upcoming Trials:

• Royal Bond Novices Hurdle – 1st December 2019
• Future Champions Novice Hurdle – 27th December 2019