The William Hill Hurdle is a Premier Handicap National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ furlong (2 miles and 69 yards, or 3,282 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in February. It currently has a maximum field of 24 runners.
The event was established in 1963, and the inaugural running took place at Aintree. The race was originally sponsored by Schweppes, and it was known as the Schweppes Gold Trophy. Ryan Price won the first two runnings with Rosyth and trained four of the first five winners of the race. After Rosyth's second win, following four unplaced efforts in between, his jockey was suspended for six weeks and his trainer warned off. More controversy for Price and the Schweppes followed in 1967 when Hill House tested positive for a banned drug. However it was later shown that Hill House had manufactured his own cortisol.
Schweppes' sponsorship continued until 1986 when it was taken over by Tote Bookmakers (later known as totesport). The race was titled the Tote Gold Trophy from 1987 to 2004, and the totesport Trophy from 2005 to 2011. From 2012 to 2024 the race was sponsored by Betfair and known as the Betfair Hurdle. William Hill took over the sponsorship from the 2025 running.
Two winners of the race – Persian War and Make a Stand – subsequently achieved victory in the following month's Champion Hurdle. Persian War holds the weight carrying record for the race when winning as a 5 year old in 1968 with 11 stones 13 pounds on his back.
Winners Weights given in stones and pounds. Year Winner Age Weight Jockey Trainer1963Rosyth510-00Josh GiffordRyan Price1964Rosyth610-02Josh GiffordRyan Price1965Elan610-07David NicholsonJohn Sutcliffe, jnr1966Le Vermontois511-03Josh GiffordRyan Price1967Hill House710-10Josh GiffordRyan Price1968Persian War511–13Jimmy UttleyColin Davies1969Abandoned because of frost 1970Abandoned because of snow and frost 1971Cala Mesquida710-09John CookJohn Sutcliffe 1972Good Review610-09Val O'BrienJim Dreaper (Ir) 1973Indianapolis610-06Jeff KingJohn Sutcliffe 1974Abandoned because of waterlogged state of course1975Tammuz710–13Bill SmithFulke Walwyn1976Irish Fashion510-04Ron BarryMichael Cunningham 1977True Lad710-04Tommy StackW Swainson 1978Abandoned because of frost 1979Within The Law511-04Alan BrownPeter Easterby 1980 Bootlaces 6 10-09 Paul Leach David Barons 1981Abandoned because of frost 1982 Donegal Prince 6 10-08 John Francome Paul Kelleway 1983 no race 1983 1984 Ra Nova 5 10-06 Paddy Farrell Nan Kennedy 1985 no race 1985–86 1987 Neblin 8 10-00 Stan Moore Toby Balding 1988 Jamesmead 7 10-00 Brendan Powell David Elsworth 1989 Grey Salute 6 11-05 Richard Dunwoody John Jenkins 1990 Deep Sensation 5 11-03 Richard Rowe Josh Gifford 1991 no race 1991 1992 Rodeo Star 6 10-10 Graham McCourt Nigel Tinkler 1993 King Credo 8 10-00 Adrian Maguire Steve Woodman 1994 Large Action 6 10-08 Jamie Osborne Oliver Sherwood 1995 Mysilv 5 10-08 Jamie Osborne Charles Egerton 1996 Squire Silk 7 10–12 Paul Carberry Andrew Turnell 1997 Make A Stand 6 11-07 Chris Maude Martin Pipe 1998 Sharpical 6 11-01 Mick Fitzgerald Nicky Henderson 1999 Decoupage 7 11-00 Jimmy McCarthy Charles Egerton 2000 Geos 5 11-03 Mick Fitzgerald Nicky Henderson 2001 Landing Light 6 10-02 Mick Fitzgerald Nicky Henderson 2002 Copeland 7 11-07 Tony McCoy Martin Pipe 2003 Spirit Leader 7 10-00 Norman Williamson Jessica Harrington 2004 Geos 9 10-09 Marcus Foley Nicky Henderson 2005 Essex 5 11-06 Barry Geraghty Michael O'Brien 2006 no race 2006 2007 Heathcote 5 10-06 Jamie Moore Gary Moore 2008 Wingman 6 10-00 Jamie Moore Gary Moore 2009 no race 2009 2010 Get Me Out of Here 6 10-06 Tony McCoy Jonjo O'Neill 2011 Recession Proof 5 10-08 Dougie Costello John Quinn 2012 Zarkandar 5 11-01 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls 2013 My Tent Or Yours 6 11-02 Tony McCoy Nicky Henderson 2014 Splash of Ginge 6 10-10 Ryan Hatch Nigel Twiston-Davies 2015 Violet Dancer 5 10-09 Josh Moore Gary Moore 2016 Agrapart 5 10-05 Lizzie Kelly Nick Williams 2017 Ballyandy 6 11-01 Sam Twiston-Davies Nigel Twiston-Davies 2018 Kalashnikov 5 11-05 Jack Quinlan Amy Murphy 2019 Al Dancer 6 11-08 Sam Twiston-Davies Nigel Twiston-Davies 2020 Pic D’Orhy 5 11-05 Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls 2021 Soaring Glory 6 10-07 Jonjo O'Neill Jr Jonjo O'Neill 2022 Glory and Fortune 7 11-08 Stan Sheppard Tom Lacey 2023 Aucunrisque 7 11-04 Nick Scholfield Chris Gordon 2024 Iberico Lord 6 11-08 Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson 2025 Joyeuse 6 10-07 Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson 2026 Tutti Quanti 6 12-00 Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls
See also Horse racing in Great Britain List of British National Hunt races Recurring sporting events established in 1963 – the Betfair Hurdle is included under its original title, Schweppes Gold Trophy.
References
Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
pedigreequery.com – Totesport Trophy Handicap Hurdle – Newbury.
External links Race Recordings (1982–2004) youtube.com