The Cheltenham Plate Handicap chase is a premier handicap national hunt steeplechase open to horses 5 years old and up and we’ve taken a look at our odds for Cheltenham ahead of the renewal in this preview.
Originally known as the Mildmay of Flete Handicap Chase, this race has been the playground of legendary father and son duo Martin & David Pipe, trainer Venetia Williams and was won last year by 20/1 outsider Seddon.
Plate Handicap Chase Overview
When is the 2024 Plate Handicap chase?
The Festival plate handicap chase takes place Thursday 14 March 2024 at 16:10.
What is the distance of the Plate Handicap?
The race is contested over 2 miles and 4 furlongs on the new course with seventeen fences to be jumped.
Plate Handicap Chase Tips and Predictions
The favourites
- Mister Policeman – priced at 6/1* and trained by Willie Mullins, this runner has recently shook up the Plat Handicap odds due to winning at the Punchestown course on 18 February providing a good trial for the Cheltenham races.
- Heart Wood – priced at 8/1* and trained by Henry de Brom head, Heart Wood shows some promise as they recently run and won at Leopardstown 4 February.
- Corbetts Cross – priced at 8/1* and trained by Emmet Mullins.
- Ginnys Destiny – priced at 8/1* and has been on strong form recently, and knows its way around the Cheltenham track.
- Inothewayurthinkin – priced at 8/1* and trained by Gavin Cromwell, this horse has won 2 of its last 9 races.
The outsiders
- Crebilly – Crebilly’s odds have shifted from 25/1 to 20/1 to 10/1*. The Jonjo O’Neill trained pony recently won at Exeter on 11 February 2024, leading to some speculation in the odds. However, there were only 2 other runners in the race.
- Sa Fureur – priced at 14/1*, the Nicky Henderson trained Sa Fureur enjoyed some good wins at the start of 2023 and recently one at the Fairyhouse track in December.
Festival Plate Trends
The Flete Challenge Cup has seen many ups and downs over the years, the most recent one being when 20/1 outsider Seddon won in 2023.
Just remember that you can use trends and analyse statistics to help place your bets, but it can’t guarantee any wins.
Festival Plate Past Winners
| Year | Winner | Age | Weight | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Young Spartacus | 10 | 10-09 | Richard Johnson | Henry Daly |
| 2004 | Tikram | 7 | 10-00 | Timmy Murphy | Gary L. Moore |
| 2005 | Liberthine | 6 | 10-01 | Sam Waley-Cohen | Nicky Henderson |
| 2006 | Non So | 8 | 11-03 | Mick Fitzgerald | Nicky Henderson |
| 2007 | Idole First | 8 | 10-07 | Alan O’Keeffe | Venetia Williams |
| 2008 | Mister McGoldrick | 11 | 11-07 | Dominic Elsworth | Sue Smith |
| 2009 | Something Wells | 8 | 10-07 | Will Biddick | Venetia Williams |
| 2010 | Great Endeavour | 6 | 10-01 | Danny Cook | David Pipe |
| 2011 | Holmwood Legend | 10 | 10-09 | Keiran Burke | Patrick Rodford |
| 2012 | Salut Flo | 7 | 10–10 | Tom Scudamore | David Pipe |
| 2013 | Carrickboy | 9 | 10-05 | Liam Treadwell | Venetia Williams |
| 2014 | Ballynagour | 8 | 10-09 | Tom Scudamore | David Pipe |
| 2015 | Darna | 9 | 10–11 | David Bass | Kim Bailey |
| 2016 | Empire of Dirt | 9 | 10–11 | Bryan Cooper | Colm Murphy |
| 2017 | Road to Respect | 6 | 10–13 | Bryan Cooper | Noel Meade |
| 2018 | The Storyteller | 7 | 11–04 | Davy Russell | Gordon Elliott |
| 2019 | Siruh Du Lac | 6 | 10-08 | Lizzie Kelly | Nick Williams |
| 2020 | Simply The Betts | 7 | 11-04 | Gavin Sheehan | Harry Whittington |
| 2021 | The Shunter | 8 | 10-05 | Jordan Gainford | Emmet Mullins |
| 2022 | Coole Cody | 11 | 11-02 | Adam Wedge | Evan Williams |
| 2023 | Seddon | 10 | 10-09 | Ben Harvey | John McConnell |
Festival Plate Trainer Statistics
- Venetia Williams – 3 wins, 8 places, 28 runners
- David Pipe – 3 wins, 7 places, 26 runners
- Nicky Henderson – 2 wins, 7 places, 30 runners
- Gordon Elliott – 1 win, 3 places, 11 runners
- Evan Williams – 1 win, 4 places, 7 runners
Plate Handicap Jockey Statistics
The current top jockey is Bryan Cooper with 2 wins, followed by Adam Wedge and Gavin Sheehan with 1 win each.
How to bet on the Plate handicap chase
Betting on the Cheltenham Festival with us at BetVictor is simple. Start by signing up or logging in and navigate to our horse racing odds section. Find the race you want to bet on and add your selections to your betslip.
We publish daily horse racing NAPs on our blog if you’re not sure what to bet on, and we also have our horse racing calculator available. You can use this to only show a specific type of horse in the results.
*All odds are correct at time of writing and are subject to change.
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