Broadway Novices’ Chase

Sponsored, since 2021, by investment firm Brown Advisory and racing group Merriebelle Stable and hence run, for sponsorship purposes, as the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, the Broadway Novices’ Chase is currently scheduled as the second race on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival. A Grade 1 contest run over an extended three miles on the Old Course, the Broadway Novices’ Chase boasts an impressive roll of honour, featuring the likes of Mandarin, Arkle, Looks Like Trouble, Denman, Bobs Worth and Lord Windermere, all of whom went on to win the ‘Blue Riband’ event, the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Indeed, the late Pat Taaffe, best remember for his association with Arkle, remains the leading jockey in the history of the Broadway Novices’ Chase, having won on Coneyburrow (1953), Solfen (1960), Grallagh Cnoc (1961), Arkle (1963) and Proud Tarquin (1970). Likewise, compatriot Willie Mullins is the leading trainer with six winnes, namely Florida Pearl (1998), Rule Supreme (2004), Cooldine (2009), Don Poli (2015), Monkfish (2021) and Fact To File (2024).

As the name suggests, the Broadway Novices’ Chase is open to novice steeplechasers aged five years and upwards. However, it is worth noting that nine of the last ten winners were aged seven or eight years and six of the ten were sent off favourite. Blaklion (2016) and The Real Whacker (2023) both started at 8/1, making them, jointly, the longest-priced winners in the last decade. Previous course and/or distance form, preferably over fences, is desirable in a likely winner, as is winning form in a Graded race of some description.