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Cheltenham Trials Day 2027: Race Times, Cotswold Chase & Guide

Cheltenham's Festival Trials Day: the Cotswold Chase, the Cleeve Hurdle and the International Hurdle, with dates, recent winners, trends and raceday guide.

3 min readUpdated 2026-10-09
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James Maxwell

Founder & Editor · Last reviewed 2026-10-09

Cheltenham Trials Day 2027

Festival Trials Day is one of Cheltenham's last big cards before the Festival in March, and its three feature races are trials for three of the Festival's championships:

  • the Cotswold Chase, a Grade 2 chase and a Gold Cup trial;
  • the Cleeve Hurdle, a Grade 2 hurdle and a leading Stayers' Hurdle trial;
  • the International Hurdle, a Grade 2 hurdle for the two-mile hurdlers, which moved here from Cheltenham's December meeting.

The 2027 meeting is on Saturday 30 January 2027, the same weekend as the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown. Racecards, off times and going are confirmed in the days before, and this page adds them as they are published.

Below: the 2027 details, the recent winners of all three races, how to watch, and the day out. The Cheltenham course guide covers the track.

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2027 race details

2027 race details

DetailValue
Race dateSaturday 30 January 2027
Off timeTBA
GoingTBA
Field sizeTBA
Distance3m 1f 56y
GradeGrade 2
Age5yo+

Final declarations are made two days before the race, and the off time and going above update once they are published.

Where the race fits

Trials Day comes after New Year's Day at Cheltenham and the Clarence House Chase at Ascot. The races to read it against are the Cheltenham Festival's own: the Cheltenham Festival tips page follows the trials into March. Our festivals and big races board lists every big race coming up, soonest first.

On race morning the AI race predictor publishes its ratings and fair prices for every British race, the Cotswold Chase included.

Recent winners and trends

Recent winners and trends

Cotswold Chase: Recent Winners

Grade 2 · 3m 1f 56y · 5yo+ · Cheltenham · Late January (Festival Trials Day)

YearWinnerAgeSPJockeyTrainer
2026Spillane's Tower811/4Jack KennedyJimmy Mangan
2025L'Homme Presse104/5fCharlie DeutschVenetia Williams
2024Capodanno87/2Paul TownendWillie Mullins
2023Ahoy Senor813/2Derek FoxLucinda Russell
2022Chantry House85/6fNico de BoinvilleNicky Henderson
2021Native River1113/2Richard JohnsonColin Tizzard
2020Santini813/8fNico de BoinvilleNicky Henderson
2019Frodon79/4Bryony FrostPaul Nicholls
2018Definitly Red97/1Danny CookBrian Ellison
2017Many Clouds108/1Leighton AspellOliver Sherwood

Trends

  • The returned favourite (joint favourites included) won 3 of the 10 runnings from 2017 to 2026.
  • Five of the ten winners from 2017 to 2026 were eight-year-olds.
  • Field sizes ran from 4 to 8 runners in 2017 to 2026.

Source-verified from official records. Last checked 2026-10-08.

The trends

Winning age

8yo
50%
10yo
20%
7yo
10%
9yo
10%

Age known for 10 of 10 winners (2017–2026)

Market

Started favourite
30%
Won at 10/1 or bigger
0%
Won at 5/1 or shorter
60%

Starting price known for 10 of 10 winners (2017–2026)

Trainers & jockeys

Most successful trainer
Nicky Henderson (2)
Most successful jockey
Nico de Boinville (2)

10 runnings (2017–2026)

The Cleeve Hurdle

The Cleeve Hurdle

The Cleeve Hurdle is a Grade 2 hurdle over 2m 7f 213y on the New Course.

Cleeve Hurdle: Recent Winners

Grade 2 · 2m 7f 213y · 5yo+ · Cheltenham · Late January (Festival Trials Day)

YearWinnerAgeSPJockeyTrainer
2026Ma Shantou75/2Ben JonesEmma Lavelle
2025Gowel Road95/2jfSam Twiston-DaviesNigel Twiston-Davies
2024Noble Yeats93/1Harry CobdenEmmet Mullins
2023Gold Tweet614/1Johnny CharronGabriel Leenders
2022Paisley Park105/1Aidan ColemanEmma Lavelle
2020Paisley Park84/6fAidan ColemanEmma Lavelle
2019Paisley Park710/3fAidan ColemanEmma Lavelle
2018Agrapart79/1Lizzie KellyNick Williams
2017Unowhatimeanharry910/11fBarry GeraghtyHarry Fry

Trends

  • The returned favourite (joint favourites included) won 4 of the 9 runnings from 2017 to 2026.
  • Emma Lavelle trained four of the nine winners from 2017 to 2026 (Paisley Park three times, Ma Shantou).
  • Field sizes ran from 5 to 15 runners in 2017 to 2026.

Source-verified from official records. Last checked 2026-10-08.

The International Hurdle

The International Hurdle

The International Hurdle is a Grade 2 hurdle over 2m 179y, run on Trials Day under its sponsored title.

International Hurdle: Recent Winners

Grade 2 · 2m 179y · 4yo+ · Cheltenham · Late January

YearWinnerAgeSPJockeyTrainer
2026The New Lion79/4Harry SkeltonDan Skelton
2025Constitution Hill81/12fNico de BoinvilleNicky Henderson
2024Lossiemouth54/7fPaul TownendWillie Mullins
2021Guard Your Dreams55/1Sam Twiston-DaviesNigel Twiston-Davies
2020Song For Someone56/1Aidan ColemanTom Symonds
2019Call Me Lord62/1fJames BowenNicky Henderson
2018Brain Power77/1Nico de BoinvilleNicky Henderson
2017My Tent Or Yours105/1Barry GeraghtyNicky Henderson
2016The New One813/8fRichard JohnsonNigel Twiston-Davies

Trends

  • The returned favourite (joint favourites included) won 4 of the 9 runnings from 2016 to 2026.
  • Since the move to January (2024 to 2026) the winners were Lossiemouth (4/7 favourite), Constitution Hill (1/12 favourite) and The New Lion (9/4, beating favourite Sir Gino).
  • Field sizes ran from 4 to 10 runners in 2016 to 2026.

Source-verified from official records. Last checked 2026-10-08.

The records

The records

  • Cotswold Chase: See More Business (1998, 2001) and Many Clouds (2015, 2017) have both won it twice.
  • Cleeve Hurdle: Lady Rebecca and Paisley Park have won it three times each; Emma Lavelle trained four of the nine winners from 2017 to 2026.
  • International Hurdle: Birds Nest, Relkeel and The New One won it three times each. Since the move to January the winners have been Lossiemouth (2024), Constitution Hill (2025) and The New Lion (2026).
  • The move: the BHA moved the International Hurdle from December to Trials Day in its 2023 jump pattern changes; there was no December 2023 running.

How to watch and where to bet

How to watch and where to bet

The television listing and the off time are confirmed in race week, when the declarations are out. This page shows the off time above as soon as it is published.

Two things are worth checking before you bet:

  • Free bets and their terms. Check the minimum odds and the expiry before you claim. Our free bet offers page compares them.
  • Best odds guaranteed. Prices move once the going is known. A BOG bookmaker pays the starting price if it is bigger than the price you took. See our best BOG bookmakers.

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Raceday at Cheltenham on Trials Day

Raceday at Cheltenham on Trials Day

Trials Day is one of Cheltenham's big winter fixtures. Book ahead and dress for a cold late-January afternoon on a hillside course.

For getting there and the enclosures, read our day out at Cheltenham guide, and the Cheltenham betting guide covers the course trends.

Results go on this page within 24 hours of the race, and the full card's results are on our racing results page the same evening.

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