The Pertemps Final is a Grade Three
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 race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at
Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles (2 miles 7 furlongs and 213 yards, or 4,785 metres), and during its running there are twelve hurdles to be jumped. It is a
handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year during 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 Ra ...
in March.
History
The event was established in 1974, when it was introduced as a replacement for a previous race at the Festival, the George Duller Handicap Hurdle. It was originally sponsored by
Coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...
, and for much of its early history it was titled the Coral Golden Hurdle Final. It has had various sponsors since 1993, and the latest of these, Pertemps, began supporting the race in 2002.
The Pertemps Final is served by a series of qualifier races which take place during the preceding five months. A horse has to placed in the first six in a qualifier race to be eligible to run in the Final. In the 2020–21 season there were 14 qualifier races, all in Great Britain. In previous seasons qualifiers have included races in Ireland and France.
The race was raised from Listed to Grade Three status from 2018.
Records
Most successful horse (3 wins):
* Willie Wumpkins – ''1979, 1980, 1981''
Leading jockey (3 wins):
* Jim Wilson – ''Willie Wumpkins (1979, 1980, 1981)''
*
Davy Russell
Davy Russell (born 27 June 1979) is a retired Irish National Hunt jockey. He was Irish jump racing Champion Jockey three times, and won the Grand National (twice), the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.
Childhood and ama ...
– ''Mall Dini (2016), Presenting Percy (2017), Delta Work (2018)''
*
Barry Geraghty
Barry Geraghty (born 16 September 1979) is a retired Irish jockey. He is the second most successful jockey of all time at the Cheltenham Festival.
Geraghty rode his first winner in January 1997 and three years later he became the Irish Champio ...
– ''Inching Closer (2003), Sire Du Berlais (2019, 2020)''
Leading
trainer (4 wins):
*
Jonjo O'Neill – ''Danny Connors (1991), Inching Closer (2003), Creon (2004), Holywell (2013)''
Winners
* ''Weights given in
stone
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
s and
pounds.''
See also
*
Horse racing in Great Britain
Horse racing is the second largest spectator sport in Great Britain, and one of the longest established, with a history dating back many centuries. According to a report by the British Horseracing Authority it generates £3.39 billion total d ...
*
List of British National Hunt races
A list of notable National Hunt horse races which take place annually in Great Britain, under the authority of the British Horseracing Authority, including all races which currently hold Grade 1, 2 or 3 status.
History of the National Hunt Patter ...
References
racenewsonline.co.uk– ''Racenews Archive (21 February 2008).''
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Racing Post:
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External links
* Race Recording
{{Cheltenham Festival
National Hunt races in Great Britain
Cheltenham Racecourse
National Hunt hurdle races
Recurring sporting events established in 1974
1974 establishments in England