The Towton Novices' Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Wetherby over a distance of about 3 miles (3 miles and 45 yards, or 4,869 metres), and during its running there are nineteen fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late January or early February.
The event is named after the village of Towton, which is located several miles to the south of Wetherby. It was first run in 1996, and the inaugural winner, Mr Mulligan, went on to win the following year's Cheltenham Gold Cup.
In April 2023 the British Horseracing Authority announced that the race would be moved to mid-January and run over a reduced distance of two and a half miles.
Winners Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer 1996 Mr Mulligan 8 Richard Johnson Noel Chance 1997Abandoned due to snow 1998 Escartefigue 6 Richard Johnson David Nicholson 1999 Kadou Nonantais 6 Jamie Osborne Oliver Sherwood 2000 Arctic Camper 8 Adrian Maguire Venetia Williams 2001Abandoned due to waterlogged state of course 2002Abandoned due to waterlogged state of course 2003 Keen Leader 7 Liam Cooper Jonjo O'Neill 2004 Royal Emperor 8 Dominic Elsworth Sue Smith 2005 Ollie Magern 7 Carl Llewellyn Nigel Twiston-Davies 2006 Halcon Genelardais 6 Wayne Hutchinson Alan King 2007 Heltornic 7 Graham Lee Michael Scudamore 2008Abandoned due to frost 2009 Kornati Kid 7 Tom O'Brien Philip Hobbs 2010 Weird Al 7 Paddy Brennan Ian Williams 2011 Wayward Prince 7 Dougie Costello Ian Williams 2012 no race 2012 2013 Goulanes 7 Tom Scudamore David Pipe 2014 Ely Brown 9 Noel Fehily Charlie Longsdon 2015 Ned Stark 7 Denis O'Regan Alan King 2016 Blaklion 7 Ryan Hatch Nigel Twiston-Davies 2017 Baywing 8 Ryan Day Nicky Richards 2018 Ballyoptic 9 Tom Bellamy Nigel Twiston-Davies 2012 no race 2019 2020 Newtide 7 David Bass Kim Bailey 2012 no race 2021 2022 Ahoy Senor 7 Derek Fox Lucinda Russell 2023 City Chief 6 James Bowen Nicky Henderson 2024 Colonel Harry 7 Gavin Sheehan Jamie Snowden 2025 Handstands 6 Ben Jones Ben Pauling
See also Horseracing in Great Britain List of British National Hunt races
References
Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
aberford.net – "Declared Runners" (2006). pedigreequery.com – Towton Novices' Chase – Wetherby.