The Worcester Novices' Chase, later run as the John Francome Novices' Chase, was a Grade 2

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: ...

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It was run at Newbury over a distance of about 2 miles and 7½ furlongs (2 miles 7 furlongs and 86 yards, or 4,706 metres), and during its running there were eighteen fences to be jumped. The race was for

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

chasers, and it was scheduled to take place each year in late November or early December. The race was first run in 1990 and was originally held at

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

, where it was contested over distances of up to 2 miles and 7½ furlongs and run as the Worcester Novices' Chase. It was transferred to Newbury and extended to its later length in 2000. In 2017 the race was renamed in honour of

John Francome John Francome (born 13 December 1952) is a retired 7 time British Champion Jump Jockey. In addition to being a successful jockey, Francome was previously a racing trainer, broadcaster with Channel 4 and an author. Racing career Francome fir ...

, with the press release explaining that the race "was transferred from Worcester racecourse 17 years ago, so the geographical connection with the Pitchcroft is no longer relevant." In April 2023 the

British Horseracing Authority The British Horseracing Authority, also known simply as the BHA, is the regulatory authority for horse racing in Great Britain. It was formed on 31 July 2007, after the merger of the British Horseracing Board (BHB) and the Horseracing Regulat ...

announced the removal of the race from the 2023/24 programme. The race name was reallocated to another novice chase run at the same meeting and previously titled the

Berkshire Novices' Chase The Berkshire Novices' Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Newbury, Berkshire, over a distance of about 2 miles ...

Records

Leading jockey (4 wins): * Harry Cobden - ''Elegant Escape (2017), Danny Whizzbang (2019), Next Destination (2020),McFabulous (2022)'' Leading trainer (11 wins): * Paul Nicholls – ''See More Indians (1993), Ottowa (1997), Shotgun Willy (2000), Valley Henry (2001), Cornish Rebel (2004), Michel Le Bon (2009), Aiteen Thirtythree (2010), Just A Par (2013), Danny Whizzbang (2019), Next Destination (2020), McFabulous (2022)''

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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– ''Worcester Novices' Chase – Newbury''. National Hunt races in Great Britain Newbury Racecourse National Hunt chases Horse races established in 1990 1990 establishments in England

Records

Winners

See also

References