The European Breeders Fund Novices' Handicap Hurdle Final is a Premier Handicap National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged between four and seven. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (2 miles, 3 furlongs and 173 yards, or ), and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. It is a handicap race for novices, and it is scheduled to take place each year in March. It is currently sponsored by Betfair. The race was first run in 1998.
The race is restricted to horses which have placed in the first four in a qualifying race during the current season. In 2022–23 there were 36 scheduled qualifiers between October and February. The race held Grade 3 status until 2022 and was reclassified as a Premier Handicap from the 2023 running when Grade 3 status was renamed by the British Horseracing Authority.
Winners Weights given in stones and pounds. Year Winner Age Weight Jockey Trainer 1998 Montroe 11-02 D O'Sullivan Richard Rowe 1999 Lordberniebouffant 10-05 Philip Hide Josh Gifford 2000 Errand Boy 10–13 Seamus Durack Sue Smith 2001 Direct Access 6 11-02 Tony Dobbin Len Lungo 2002 Latimer's Place 6 10-03 Marcus Foley Toby Balding 2003 Tana River 7 11–12 Barry Fenton Emma Lavelle 2004 Control Man 6 10–11 Tony McCoy Martin Pipe 2005 Julius Caesar 5 10–12 Graham Lee Howard Johnson 2006 Killaghy Castle 6 11-07 Leighton Aspell Nick Gifford 2007 Albertas Run 6 10-09 Tony McCoy Jonjo O'Neill 2008 Beshabar 6 11-03 Daryl Jacob Nick Williams 2009 Big Eared Fran 6 11-06 Andrew McNamara David Pipe 2010 Red Harbour 6 10–11 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls 2011 Skint 5 10–12 Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson 2012 Ambion Wood 6 11–12 Denis O'Regan Victor Dartnall 2013 Close Touch 5 11-06 Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson 2014 Brave Vic 6 10–12 Joshua Moore Gary Moore 2015 As De Mee 5 11-08 Sam Twiston-Davies Paul Nicholls 2016 Barney Dwan 6 11-06 Paddy Brennan Fergal O'Brien 2017 Minella Awards 6 11-08 Noel Fehily Harry Fry 2018 Sam's Gunner 5 10-12 Will Kennedy Michael Easterby 2019 Third Wind 5 11-05 Tom O'Brien Hughie Morrison 2020 McFabulous 6 11-09 Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls 2021 Beauport 5 10-12 Jordan Nailor Nigel Twiston-Davies 2022 Complete Unknown 6 11–03 Lorcan Williams Paul Nicholls 2023 Crambo 6 11–05 Conor Brace Fergal O'Brien 2024 Champagne Twist 6 11–11 Ben Jones Ben Pauling 2025 Laurens Bay 6 11–08 Gavin Sheehan Jamie Snowden 2026 Scorpio Rising 6 11–11 Sean Bowen Olly Murphy
See also Horse racing in Great Britain List of British National Hunt races
References
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