Liberthine Mares’ Chase

Known, for sponsorship purposes, as the Mrs. Paddy Power Mares’ Chase, the Liberthine Mares’ Chase is the most recent of recent additions to the Cheltenham Festival, having been run for the first time in 2021. In fact, at that stage, it replaced the Centenary Novices’ Handicap Chase, which had been run on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival since 2005, but was subsequently transferred to Imperial Cup Day at Sandown a few days earlier.

The Liberthine Mares’ Chase is a Grade 2 event run over two miles and four and a half furlongs, and 17 fences, on the New Course at Cheltenham. As the name suggests, the race is restricted to mares, aged five years and upwards, with an official rating of 120 or more, and is currently scheduled as the third race on Gold Cup Day.

After just four renewals so far, meaningful trends are yet to be established, but it interesting to note that all four winners were trained in Ireland – two of them, Colreevy (2021) and Elimay (2022), by Willie Mullins – and none of them were sent off favourite. That said, Limerick Lace (2024), who was sent off 3/1 third favourite, has been the longest-priced winner in the brief history of the Liberthine Mares’ Chase. So far, the race has attracted single-figure fields on three occasions and, even before the final confirmation stage, the 2025 renewal has attracted five fewer entries than the maximum of 24. Granted that the Liberthine Mares’ Chase offers prize money down to eighth place, it is a little disappointing that race is not better subscribed.