The Navan Novice Hurdle is a Grade Two

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

hurdle A hurdle (UK English, limited US English) is a moveable section of light fence. In the United States, terms such as "panel", "pipe panel" or simply "fence section" are used to describe moveable sections of fencing intended for agricultural us ...

race in Ireland. It is run in mid-December at

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland by population, tenth largest settlement in ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, over a distance of about 2 miles and 4

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s (4,023 metres). The race was first run in 1999 over a distance of 2 miles, before being increased to its present distance in 2000. It was originally run as a Grade 3 race, before being given Grade 1 status in 2004. It was downgraded again from the 2014 running. The race is usually contested by some of the season's top novice hurdlers, who often go on to contest top races at both the

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Rac ...

and the

Punchestown Festival Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish National ...

later in the season. Prior to 2010 it was run as the Barry & Sandra Kelly Memorial Novice Hurdle. A race with a similar title was run in 1998, but was not restricted to novices.

Records

Leading jockey (5 wins): *

Ruby Walsh Rupert Walsh (born 14 May 1979 in Kill, County Kildare, Ireland) is an Irish former jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen. Walsh is the third most prolific winner in Britis ...

- ''Boston Bob (2011), Pont Alexandre (2012), Briar Hill (2013), Bellshill (2015), Easy Game (2018)'' Leading trainer (7 wins): *

Willie Mullins William Peter Mullins (born 15 September 1956) is an Irish racehorse trainer and former jockey. Career He commenced racehorse training in 1988 having previously worked as an assistant to his father Paddy Mullins and Jim Bolger. Willie is a fo ...

- ''Mikael D'Haguenet (2008), Boston Bob (2011), Pont Alexandre (2012), Briar Hill (2013), Bellshill (2015), Next Destination (2017), Easy Game (2018)''

Winners

References

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 6 ...

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Records

Winners

See also

References