The standout race on New Year’s Day at Cheltenham is the Grade Two Relkeel Hurdle – where several Festival hopefuls will be at Prestbury Park in a bid to enhance their credentials for the big-four day meeting in March.
Relkeel Hurdle Runners See Golden Ace, Lucky Place, Salver and Langer Dan Entered
Just seven Relkeel Hurdle runners for the 2025 renewal at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day – but despite the small field we are still set for a decent renewal.
This is because the small but select runners feature the only horse to have beaten recent Neville Hotels Hurdle winner Brighterdaysahead – Golden Ace, who is 2-from-2 at Cheltenham and landed the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival last term.
She’ll be joined by Lucky Place, who was two lengths ahead of Golden Ace in the Ascot Hurdle back in November, plus Triumph Hurdle third Salver, the two-time Coral Cup winner Langer Dan.
Gowel Road, who has picked up three silvers at Cheltenham this season, Thunder Rock and Twig make up the seven Relkeel Hurdle runners for 2025 – in a race that cases can be made for the bulk of the line-up.
The Relkeel Hurdle will also be part of the ITV Racing New Year’s Day schedule.
Full Relkeel Hurdle Runners 2024
- Lucky Place
- Langer Dan
- Salver
- Gowel Road
- Thunder Rock
- Twig
- Golden Ace
Relkeel Hurdle Trends and Stats 2024
See below the key Relkeel Hurdle trends and stats to apply to the final runners on New Year’s Day.
This will allow you to find the best horse racing profiles of past of past winners of the Cheltenham race.
Including 90% of the last 20 winners aged 8 or younger, 65% of the last 20 coming from the top three in the market with the best horse racing betting sites in the UK.
Plus 16 of the last 20 having raced at Cheltenham before, while 40% of winners in the last 20 won last time out and also went to the favourite.
- 18/20 – Aged 8 or younger
- 18/20 – Won by either a French (6) or Irish (12) bred
- 17/20 – Raced within the last 6 weeks
- 16/20 – Ran at Cheltenham before (note, 2021 running was at Kempton)
- 16/20 – Went on run in a race at the Cheltenham Festival (no winners)
- 14/20 – Won at least 4 times over hurdles
- 14/20 – Won over at least 2m4f (hurdles)
- 14/20 – Priced 11/2 or shorter in the betting
- 13/20 – From the top 3 in the betting
- 12/20 – Won at Cheltenham before
- 9/20 – Went onto run in the Stayers’ Hurdle later that season
- 8/20 – Won last time out
- 8/20 – Winning favourites
- 7/20 – Raced at Cheltenham last time out
- 5/20 – Trained by Nicky Henderson
- 2 of the last 3 winners were Irish trained
- Bob Olinger (6/4) won the race in 2024
Relkeel Hurdle 2025 Race Details
📅Date: Wednesday 1st January 2025
⌚Time: 3:15pm
🏇Racecourse: Cheltenham
🔄Trip: 2m 4 1/2f
💷Winning Purse: £39,865
📺 TV: ITV / Racing TV
Who Was Relkeel The Horse?
The Relkeel Hurdle is named after the horse Relkeel, who was trained for much of his career by David ‘Duke’ Nicholson, before running his final four races for Alan King in 1999 and 2000.
Relkeel’s career started in 1993 in a NH Flat race at Huntingdon, when finishing third, but won his next start at Towcester – on what was his first try over hurdles.
Did you know, trainer Martin Keighley rode Relkeel in his first ever race?
He went onto win five times at Cheltenham – including taking Bula Hurdle three times – which is now called the International Hurdle.
However, he only ran at the Cheltenham Festival once – finishing 9th to Istabraq in the 1998 Champion Hurdle, which was his only defeat at Prestbury Park.
Relkeel Won 57% Of His Career Runs
In total, Relkeel won 12 of his 21 career starts – with his final win when trained by Alan King in the 1999 Bula Hurdle – which was his third win in the race, having also won the 1998 renewal.
Jockeys Richard Johnson and Adrian Maguire rode Relkeel in the bulk of his races – with Johnson winning on him twice, Maguire winning on him nine times.
The only other jockey to win on Relkeel was Richard Dunwoody, who rode him to his first of five Cheltenham wins back in 1994 – which was his only ride on the horse.
Relkeel raced until he was aged 11 – with his final race when unplaced in the Rendlesham Hurdle at Kempton on February 25th 2000. He died aged 17 in 2006.
WATCH: Relkeel Winning The 1997 Bula Hurdle at Cheltenham
Recent Relkeel Hurdle Winners
- 2024 – Bob Olinger (6/4 fav)
- 2023 – Marie’s Rock (11/2)
- 2022 – Stormy Ireland (4/1)
- 2021 – McFabulous (10/11 fav)
- 2020 – Summerville Boy (10/1)
- 2019 – Midnight Shadow (8/1)
- 2018 – Wholestone (9/4 jfav)
- 2017 – Agrapart (16/1)
- 2016 – Camping Ground (10/1)
