The Rehearsal Handicap Chase is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Newcastle, over a distance of about 3 miles (2 miles 7 furlongs and 91 yards or 4,727 metres). It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in December.
The race was first run in 1979 at Chepstow, the name indicating that runners should consider it as a "rehearsal" for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. It was initially a Conditions race with Listed status but became a Limited handicap (still with Listed status) in 1988. It was run at Chepstow until 2004 (over the longer distance of 3 miles and 2 furlongs between 2002 and 2004) and during this period was often used as a stepping stone towards the Welsh Grand National which is run at the same course around four weeks later. It was re-classified as a Premier Handicap in 2022 when Listed status was removed from handicap races.
Winners Weights given in stones and pounds. Year Winner Age Weight Jockey Trainer 1979 Chumson 9 walked over Bryan Smart Fred Winter1980Abandoned due to flooding 1981 Straight Jocelyn 9 11-00 John Francome Roddy Armytage 1982 Bregawn 8 11-00 Graham Bradley Michael Dickinson 1983 Observe 7 11-04 John Francome Fred Winter 1984 Tom's Little Al 8 11-00 Peter Scudamore Willie Williams 1985 Burrough Hill Lad 9 11-12 Phil Tuck Jenny Pitman 1986 Cybrandian 8 11-00 Peter Scudamore Peter Easterby 1987 Western Sunset 11 11-04 Hywel Davies Tim Forster 1988 Ten Plus 8 10-12 Kevin Mooney Fulke Walwyn 1989 Bonanza Boy 8 11-10 Peter Scudamore Martin Pipe 1990 Boraceva 7 10-07 Jimmy Frost Toby Balding 1991 Carvill's Hill 9 11-12 Peter Scudamore Martin Pipe 1992 Run For Free 8 10-07 Mark Perrett Martin Pipe 1993 Party Politics 9 10-09 Carl Llewellyn Nick Gaselee 1994 Master Oats 8 11-04 Norman Williamson Kim Bailey 1995 Grange Brake 9 10-02 D Walsh Nigel Twiston-Davies 1996 Belmont King 8 10-08 Tony McCoy Paul Nicholls 1997 See More Business 7 11-12 Timmy Murphy Paul Nicholls 1998 See More Business 8 11-12 Joe Tizzard Paul Nicholls 1999 Dr Leunt 8 10-10 Andrew Thornton Philip Hobbs 2000 Moral Support 8 10-02 Noel Fehily Charlie Mann 2001 Arctic Camper 9 10-04 Norman Williamson Venetia Williams 2002 See More Business 12 11-10 Andrew Thornton Paul Nicholls 2003 Sir Rembrandt 7 10-05 Andrew Thornton Robert Alner 2004 One Knight 8 11-09 Paul Flynn Philip Hobbs 2005 Direct Access 10 10-00 Brian Harding Nicky Richards 2006 Neptune Collonges 5 11-12 Liam Heard Paul Nicholls 2007 Harmony Brig 8 10-12 Brian Harding Nicky Richards 1993 no race 2008 2009 Beat The Boys 8 10-12 Timmy Murphy Nigel Twiston-Davies 1993 no race 2010 2011 Hey Big Spender 8 11-12 Joe Tizzard Colin Tizzard 2012 Junior 9 11-12 Tom Scudamore David Pipe 2013 Hey Big Spender 10 11-04 Brendan Powell Colin Tizzard 2014 Hey Big Spender 11 11-12 Brendan Powell Colin Tizzard 2015 Wakanda 6 11-04 Danny Cook Sue Smith 2016 Otago Trail 8 11-03 Liam Treadwell Venetia Williams 2017 Beware The Bear 7 11-07 Sean Bowen Nicky Henderson 2018 Lake View Lad 8 10-13 Henry Brooke N W Alexander 2019 Takingrisks 10 10-13 Sean Quinlan Nicky Richards 2020 Yorkhill 10 10-10 Ryan Mania Sandy Thomson 2021 Aye Right 8 11-05 Callum Bewley Harriet Graham 2022 L'Homme Presse 7 12-00 Charlie Deutsch Venetia Williams no race 2023 2024 Frero Banbou 9 10-04 Ned Fox Venetia Williams 2025 Konfusion 7 10-02 Callum Bewley Joel Parkinson & Sue Smith
See also Horse racing in Great Britain List of British National Hunt races
References
Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
External links Race Recordings (1983, 1986-2009) youtube.com