As soon as entries are open for this year’s event, we’ll have details on all the major contenders right here.
Ante post Future Champions Novice Hurdle betting will open up as soon as the first entries are received and when they are, we’ll have some cracking advance tips for this two-mile Leopardstown extravaganza.
A key trial not just for the Cheltenham Festival but for Punchestown too, the Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown is one of Ireland’s leading Grade 1 events and has produced some top-class talent since its inception in 1996.
The Future Champions Novice Hurdle 2021 will be run on Friday December 27th over its usual two-mile trip, with runners looking to emulate the likes of Hurricane Fly and Sizing John, who each went on to win major Festival races thereafter.
Given that this is a novice hurdle, its hardly surprising that all of the winners of this race going right back to its inception have been aged four or five, so there’s nothing much to glean there from a betting point of view.
Price-wise, only five favourites have taken this race in the last 19 years which is a little more eye-opening. An average SP of more than 13/2 among winners shows that, while it takes quality to win this race, the fact that we’re dealing with young horses not yet at the peak of their powers means we cannot rely on the market leaders.
Few races truly represent Willie Mullins’ recent domination of Irish jumps racing like this one, the master trainer having won this a record five times including in all of the past four seasons.
So, while we cannot discount any runner Mullins puts forward, we won’t be able to afford to rely on the market leaders in the Future Champions Novice Hurdle 2021, though when entries open, we’ll be able to whittle down the field somewhat for you.
As the race sponsor of the Future Champions Novice Hurdle 2021, Paddy Power should be in the vanguard when it comes to handing out offers.
They, along with BoyleSports, will be giving out their standard Non-Runner No Bet and Best Odds Guaranteed deals but there should be more specials advertised as we get closer to post time in December, so be on the lookout for those.
When Future Champions Novice Hurdle runners are announced we’ll have ante post betting info and tips, so use these wisely alongside any bookmakers’ betting offers to make the most of your final selections. And after the race is finished you’ll be able to increase your success with Cheltenham free bets and lots of other Festival offers.
Unusually a German-bred, Willie Mullins’ Aramon was a relatively unfancied 6/1 shot for the 2018 running of this race, with his stablemate Sancta Simona ahead of him in the market at 5/2. Joseph O’Brien’s Triplicate went off 9/4 favourite while Noel Meade’s Daly Tiger was well-supported at 7/2.
Sancta Simona was in the lead right up to the last flight of hurdles, and while it would have been no surprise to see a Mullins horse take this race yet again, it was still an eye-opener to witness Aramon burst clear of his stablemate and forge ahead to take the €59,000 first prize by a whopping ten lengths.
Since the year 2010, many high-level types have taken this race. Here’s a full list along with how well each of them went on to do at the following Cheltenham Festival.
Coming soon