Royal Bond Novice Hurdle 2021

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Royal Bond Novice Hurdle General Info

One of Fairyhouse’s top races, the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 event for those aged 4+, run over a two-mile trip and featuring ten hurdles.

Given its quality, the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle 2021 should be an important stepping stone to the Cheltenham Festival and as such it remains one of the most important races on the calendar for horsemen and punters alike.

2001 winner Like-A-Butterfly went on to win the 2002 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle while 2012 champion Jezki ran third in the same race before going on to score in the Champion Hurdle the following season. So, it is quite important to know the winner of the race before diving into Cheltenham races betting offers.

The Royal Bond Novice Hurdle 2021 will take place on Sunday November 28th and will be worth a cool €53,000 to the winner.

2021 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle Runners & Favourites

The Royal Bond Novice Hurdle 2021 runners are headed by the progressive My Mate Mozzie. Gordon Elliott saddles the highly rated Three Stripe Life and the unbeaten Mighty Potter. Willie Mullins is responsible for three of the nine runners; Arctic Warrior, Farout and Statuaire. The field is completed by three recent winners in Crowns Major, Impervious and Uhtred.

Royal Bond Novice Hurdle 1.05 Fairyhouse – Sunday 28th November

1. Arctic Warrior (Willie Mullins)
2. Crowns Major (Emmet Mullins)
3. Farout (Willie Mullins)
4. Impervious (Colm Murphy)
5. Mighty Potter (Gordon Elliott)
6. My Mate Mozzie (Gavin Cromwell)
7. Statuaire (Willie Mullins)
8. Three Stripe Life (Gordon Elliott)
9. Uhtred (Joseph O’Brien)

Royal Bond Novice Hurdle 2021 Ante Post Tips

Ante-post betting offers early prices on big races, weeks or months before the race date. You can get much better odds on your selection but will lose your stake if it does not run. This applies to all ante-post odds unless otherwise stated by your bookmaker. You do get your stake returned for non-runners if you bet after the final declaration stage but the odds on the remaining runners may be subject to deductions.

Royal Bond Novice Hurdle 2021 ante-post betting has My Mate Mozzie as the early favourite at around 9-4. Bookmakers are struggling to split the Gordon Elliott-trained pair with Three Life Stripe and Mighty Potter priced up at 3-1 and 7-2 respectively.

Three Stripe Life

Gordon Elliott has made no secret of how highly he rates Three Stripe Life, a creditable fourth in last season’s Cheltenham Champion Bumper. He was long odds-on for his hurdles debut over course and earlier this month when powering clear to win by 6 lengths. The son of Leading Light made a mistake at the last but jockey Davy Russell always had things under control.

Three Stripe Life won on his bumper debut by 9 lengths at Navan in January and was quietly fancied at Cheltenham. The first and second, Sir Gerhard and Kilcruit, look well above average and you would expect plenty of winning hurdlers to come out of that race. Three Stripe Life handled good to soft ground well that day so should not be inconvenienced by conditions on Sunday.

My Mate Mozzie

The forecast good ground holds no fears for Gavin Cromwell’s My Mate Mozzie, a 10 lengths winner at Navan last time out. The going was officially good that day and at Punchestown in October when beating Barbados by 8 lengths. He always looked the likely winner at Navan and was left clear when Boothen Boy fell at the last and hampered eventual runner-up Chemical Energy.

Cromwell does not see My Mate Mozzie as a horse who will relish testing conditions so this looks an ideal opportunity to go for a Grade 1 success. His fast, accurate hurdling will expose any flaws in his less experienced rivals and he will feature in plenty of Royal Bond Novice Hurdle 2021 tips.

Mighty Potter

Gordon Elliott has a really strong hand in this race with Three Stripe Life and Mighty Potter. The latter won a bumper at Punchestown and March and returned from a 243-day absence to win by a wide margin on his hurdling debut. He is possibly flattered by the 29 lengths winning margin as his closest rival, The Greek, fell at the second last.

The Greek has since finished fourth while the fourth horse ran well in similar company next time. This is obviously a big step up in class for Mighty Potter who has the size and scope to make a chaser in time. Whatever he achieves over hurdles will be a bonus and it will be fascinating to see how he runs on Sunday.

2021 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle Betting Offers

The Royal Bond Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 race over two miles for four-year-olds and upwards. It is likely to influence the Cheltenham ante-post betting for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. Royal Bond Novice Hurdle 2021 offers may focus on the entries from Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott, responsible for the last six winners of the race between them.

The Royal Bond Novice Hurdle is due off at 1.05 and is the first of three Grade 1 on an exciting day’s racing at Fairyhouse on Sunday. It is followed by the Drinmore Novice Chase at 1.35 and the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at 2.40. Special bookmaker offers include free bets and bet credits for new customers while existing customers can take advantage of enhanced place terms on handicap races and price boosts.

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Royal Bond Hurdle Stats & Trends

Is there anything that Royal Bond Novice Hurdle past winners have in common? The only way to find out is to look at the stats and trends relating to this key race at Fairyhouse. Statistics are not the be all and end all, and come with no guarantees, but being aware of them can help you make better decisions when it comes down to who to back. Consider these Royal Bond Novice Hurdle stats and trends:

• Most successful jockeys – Irish riding greats Paul Carberry and Charlie Swann both got the leg-up on four winners, so share the record. Of active jockeys, Paul Townend has partnered the most Royal Bond Novice Hurdle past winners with three successes. He will probably have a pick of mounts in the race this year, so the market will be shaped by his choice. Danny Mullins, Jack Kennedy and Davy Russell are among others still riding that have won this event before.
• Most successful trainers – Willie Mullins has saddled a record eight winners of the race. Seven of those have come since 2008, and the yard has won four of the last six renewals. The Mullins mounts that tasted victory in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle include Hurricane Fly and Nichols Canyon. Gordon Elliott, meanwhile, has landed two of the last three runnings thanks to Mengli Khan and Envoi Allen. These are the stables to follow, although both Jessica Harrington and Noel Meade have trained three winners too.
• Most successful owners – Rich and Susannah Ricci have owned three winners and two seconds in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle over the last decade. That makes him by far the most successful owners. This race has not been lucky for JP McManus, who hasn’t scored in it since Istabraq landed the spoils way back in 1996. That may be why he doesn’t have an entry this year among the 2021 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle runners. Gigginstown House Stud have had three thirds, two second and a winner since 2014, and hold seven early closing entries this time around.
• Age – Concentrate on younger horses. Four of the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle winners since 2011 have been five-year-olds. As many since 2010 were aged four. Two of the previous four winners have been six, but just three of that age bracket in the race’s history have scored. This is definitely a race which favours youth if you look past the last few years.
• Favourites – As four of the last five market leaders have obliged, it certainly pays to side with horses prominent in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle betting. Hurricane Fly back in 2008 is the last favourite to win this race and be returned at an SP bigger than evens.

2019 RacRoyal Bond Novice Hurdle PAST WINNERS

Royal Bond Novice Hurdle 2020 Recap

The Royal Bond Novice Hurdle has been won by some top class horses including Champion Hurdle winners Istabraq (1996), Hardy Eustace (2002), Hurricane Fly (2008) and Jezki (2012). It is a recognised trial for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, although the last horse to win both races was Like-A-Butterfly (2001-2002).

The Royal Bond Novice Hurdle 2020 winner was Ballyadam, trained by Gordon Elliott and ridden by Jack Kennedy. He started odds-on favourite after an easy 12 lengths victory on his hurdling debut at Down Royal. Racing in the colours of Cheveley Park Stud, he made smooth headway to lead at the second last before going on beat Cask Mate and N’Golo.

The win earned the son of Fame And Glory a prominent place in the ante-post betting for the Supreme. He was well beaten behind Appreciate It in the Future Champions Novice Hurdle next time. A much better effort followed when beaten just over three lengths by the same horse in the Chanelle Pharma Novice Hurdle.

He was switched to the in-form stable of Henry De Bromhead for the Supreme but once again had to play second fiddle to Appreciate It. A mistake at the second last flight effectively ended his hopes of victory, this time finished 24 lengths runner-up.

2019 Race Recap

Envoi Allen extended his undefeated run to seven races and gave trainer Gordon Elliott a second victory in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle when landing an odds-on starting price of 8/11. Despite being a little on his toes in the preliminaries, this Cheveley Park Stud owned gelding delivered a second Grade 1 and first over the smaller obstacles on just his second start in this sphere. That confirmed all the promise and hype surrounding Envoi Allen, who hurdled better than most of his eight rivals. He also found plenty for pressure under Davy Russell after the second last and stayed on best for a cosy 1½ lengths victory over stable companion and 7/2 second-favourite Abacadabras.

That stands Envoi Allen in good stead for going up in trip in the New Year with Elliott identifying the Lawlor’s of Naas Novice Hurdle over two-and-a-half miles as his next target. Runner-up Abacadabras also looks capable of running big races at this level for jockey Jack Kennedy and Gigginstown House Stud. The front two pulled 2½ lengths of Gavin Cromwell’s 20/1 outsider Darver Star, who outran his odds in third, and had the rest of the field well strung out. If there was one disappointment in this renewal of the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle, then it was Gigginstown’s second string Midnight Run. The 6/1 shot trained by Joseph O’Brien made a bad mistake when short of room and perhaps weakening at the second last, so Rachael Blackmore eased her mount.

Royal Bond Novice Hurdle Winners

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