Arkle Challenge Trophy: Cheltenham Festival RaceCHELTENHAM, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 14: Jockey Robert Thorton riding Voy Por Ustedes wins The Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy Steeple Chase during the Cheltenham Festival Day 1 at Cheltenham Race Course on March 14, 2006 in Cheltenham, England. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)

The Arkle Challenge Trophy is one of the toughest races run by novice horses at the Cheltenham Festival.

The Arkle Challenge Trophy has been run since 1946 when Glen Kelly rode the first winner, Bright Penny, to victory. The race was originally known as the Cotswold Chase, but the name was changed to the Arkle Challenge Trophy in 1969 in recognition of the impact of the legendary Irish racehorse Arkle on the Cheltenham Festival.

The Arkle Challenge Trophy is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase. The race is run over 2 miles on the Old Cheltenham course at Prestbury Park. Entry is restricted to five-year-old novices, and for many is an introduction to the jumping the challenging 4½ foot fences used in National Hunt steeplechases. Twelve fences in total are jumped during this arduous race.

Arkle Challenge Trophy Winners

As a race contested by five-year-old novices, the Arkle Challenge Trophy, Cheltenham Festival race, is never contested by the same horses two seasons in a row and as a consequence produces a new Arkle Challenge Trophy winner each year. However, several excellent steeplechasers have been blooded in the event, including Moscow Flyer, whose win in the 2002 Arkle Challenge Trophy kickstarted a brilliant racing career.

Like the other races in the Cheltenham Festival the Arkle Challenge Trophy horses are ridden by the top jockeys in the sport. The record for most races won is shared by Richard Dunwoody and Jamie Osborne with three Arkle Challenge Trophy wins apiece.

The trainer to have trained the most Arkle Challenge trophy winners is Martin Pipe who has trained four Arkle Challenge Trophy winners in the last decade.

Arkle Challenge Trophy Betting

As a novices’ race the Arkle Challenge Trophy, Cheltenham Festival race, can make the task predicting a winner quite difficult. Betting markets can offer an indication of which horses the most experienced punters back, but ultimately the race is something of a lottery as the horses are unaccustomed to racing over fences.

With Martin Pipe’s success in the race over recent years, his horses are worth further scrutiny when doing your Arkle Challenge Trophy betting.

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