Feltham Novices’ Chase

The Feltham Novices’ Chase is the first Grade 1 novices’ chase of the national hunt season. The race takes place during the course of the annual King George VI Chase Christmas Festival at Kempton Park Racecourse and is run on Boxing Day.

The Feltham Novices’ Chase is run over a distance of 3 miles on Kempton Park Racecourse, with contestants required to jump 18 fences during the course of the race. Entry to the race is restricted to novice chasers over the age of four.

Feltham Novices’ Chase Betting Tips

• The Feltham Novices’ Chase features racehorses that are still making their way in national hunt racing, or are in the process of taking the step up to chases from hurdles. This means punters won’t have extensive form information to work with when betting on the race.
• Despite these difficulties, antepost Feltham Novices’ Chase betting markets have a decent record of predicting the eventual race winner.
• Over the last decade the antepost favourites have achieved a strike rate of around 50%.
• Even when the antepost favourite fails to land the Feltham Novices’ Chase, the winner tends to emerge form amongst the short odds selections, with winners priced above the 5/1 margin a rarity.
• 6-year-olds are the dominant age group in the Feltham Novices’ Chase, with a win record of around 60%. Wins by 4-year-olds are so rare that these can safely be scratched from the card, while horses over the age of 7 are also unlikely to have an impact on the race.

Feltham Novices’ Chase History

The Feltham Novices’ Chase has been part of the national hunt racing calendar since 1982. While the Feltham Chase is one of the biggest prizes up for grabs for novices during the course of the national hunt season, it has produced few national hunt legends during its history.

The race has, however, produced a number of winners that have gone on to achieve good results in grade 2 national hunt chases. These include Ollie Magern, Bacchanal and See More Indians. Recently Joe Lively won the Feltham Novices’ Chase before going on to take victory at the Letheby and Christopher Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.