Mares Hurdle Tips 2022
Another of the Grade 1 fixtures on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival brings our Mares’ Hurdle tips into focus. This is one of the newer races at the Festival, but it is already hugely popular and has produced some fascinating contests. Our betting experts pull together history and the latest odds in this Cheltenham Mares’ Hurdle Preview 2022.
Mares’ Hurdle Potential Runners & Favourites
The early days of the Mares’ Hurdle were pretty much all dominated by the brilliant Quevega, who won it for six straight years. Her tremendous feat is now consigned to history, and no horse since has won the race twice. That said, there is a competitive field to look through in the Mares’ Hurdle betting tips 2022.
TELMESOMETHINGGIRL heads things up as the favourite, so is an obvious starting point on the shortlist for our Mares’ Hurdle betting tips. She was a winner at last year’s Festival, earning the victory in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2). The Henry de Bromhead-trained mare hasn’t won since then but brings leading claims nonetheless
QUEENS BROOK should come on for her recent second to BURNING VICTORY, and her third in last year’s Champion Bumper shows she runs well at Cheltenham. She will surely be in the mix as they head over the final hurdle.
Paul Townend has chose to ride STORMY ISLAND from the Willie Mullins runners in the race, which is a tip in itself. She won here on her most recent, in the Relkeel Hurdle and could be hard to catch in this.
The Mares’ Hurdle offers an excellent competitive field, and there are interesting claims elsewhere, with the likes of HEAVEN HELP US, who placed at Leopardstown against some of these rivals, and MRS MILNER, who appears to have plenty of ability as an each-way contender if she comes up with a clear round.
Mares’ Hurdle Confirmed Runners
| Horse | Silks | Trainer/Jockey | Odds |
| Telmesomethinggirl |  | J: Rachael Blackmore T: Henry De Bromhead | 11/4 |
| Queens Brook |  | J: Jack Kennedy T:Gordon Elliott | 4/1 |
| Stormy Island |  | J: Paul Townend T: Willie Mullins | 11/2 |
| Burning Victory |  | J: Sean O’Keeffe T: Willie Mullins | 8/1 |
| Echoes In Rain |  | J: P W Mullins T: Willie Mullins | 9/1 |
| Mrs Milner |  | J: B J Cooper T: Paul Nolan | 11/1 |
| Marie’s Rock |  | J:Nico de Boinville T: Nicky Henderson | 12/1 |
| Heaven Help Us |  | J: Danny Mullins T: Paul Hennessy | 14/1 |
| Martello Sky |  | J: Bryony Frost T: Lucy Wadham | 18/1 |
| Indefatigable |  | J: Rex Dingle T: Paul Webber | 25/1 |
| Western Victory |  | J: Tom Bellamy T: Emma Lavelle | 50/1 |
| Nada To Prada |  | J: Richard Patrick T: Michael Scudamore | 100/1 |
*Odds Correct as of 11am 14/03/22*
How Often Does a Favourite Horse Win The Mares’ Hurdle Race
Four of the last ten Mares’ Hurdles winners have done so as the favourite on the day. That’s a little lopsided, though, because three of the races featured the untouchable Quevega.
Since she stepped away from the scene after her sixth success in the 2014 edition as the 8/11F, there has been only one winning favourite in the last seven renewals. That was Vroum Vroum Mag in 2016.
In the last 10 renewals, only on two occasions did the race favourite finish outside the top three in the Mares’ Hurdle, and both of those occasions were due to a fall.
The last three editions have also seen a bit of a swing towards longer-priced options, with two winners of at least 10/1 odds coming home in that span.
Mares Hurdle Favourites vs Winners in The Past 10 Years
| Year | Favourite Horse* | Winning Horse |
| 2021 | Concertista (2nd) | Black Tears (11/1) |
| 2020 | Benie Des Dieux (2nd) | Honeysuckle (9/4) |
| 2019 | Benie Des Dieux (F) | Roksana (10/1) |
| 2018 | Apple’s Jade (3rd) | Benie Des Dieux (9/2) |
| 2017 | Vroum Vroum Mag (2nd) | Apple’s Jade (7/2) |
| 2016 | Vroum Vroum Mag | Vroum Vroum Mag (4/6) |
| 2015 | Annie Power (F) | Glens Melody (6/1) |
| 2014 | Quevega | Quevega (8/11) |
| 2013 | Quevega | Quevega (8/11) |
| 2012 | Quevega | Quevega (4/7) |
*(-) = Finishing Position, UR = Unseated Rider, F = Faller, RO = Ran Out, PU = Pulled Up
Mares’ Hurdle History & Present Time
It’s a Grade 1 fixture that we are looking at here in this Mares’ Hurdle preview for Cheltenham. However, it’s more commonly known as the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle because of sponsorship.
The race is a trip of 2m 4f (thereabouts) for the runners involved, and it is hosted on the Old Course, with ten hurdles to get over.
The official name of the race is the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle. It was moved to the opening day in 2009 after its inauguration in 2008 on the New Course as part of Friday’s card. The race was a Grade 2 contest until it was moved up to Grade 1 in 2015. This year’s purse is £120,000.
Mares’ Hurdle Jockey & Trainer Records
Again, this is a race where the statistics and records don’t quite tell the whole story. Ruby Walsh, for example, is the leading jockey in the relatively short history of the Mares’ Hurdle, with eight victories. Six of those were on the back of Quevega. No other jockey has won the race more than once.
Willie Mullins, also because of his connection to the great Quevega, is the leading trainer in the Mares’ Hurdle. He has nine winners under his belt, and six were with Quevega. But since 2015, he has taken three more with Glens Melody, Vroum Vroum Mag and Benie Des Dieux.