The Cheltenham Festival gets underway each year with the Supreme Novices Hurdle, a grade one event ran over a distance just exceeding two miles. As is often the case with the first horse race at a big National Hunt meeting, the pace is furious and many inexperienced jockeys get carried away with the intense atmosphere. The race tends to attract a large number of entrants and therefore experience of competing in similar big fields before Cheltenham is often of paramount importance. This is clearly shown in the recent Supreme Novices Hurdle Results and we strongly suggest selecting a horse that has demonstrated he can perform amongst large fields earlier in the season.

You can find all the latest 2004 Cheltenham Festival betting by clicking here.

Recent form for the Supreme Novices Hurdle points towards successful entrants which have been lightly raced during the season and have acquitted themselves well in large fields. Irish entrants have a strong record in this event and are often worth a small flutter in the opening race.

Favourite backers got off the mark straight away in the 2003 Cheltenham Festival with the Edward O'Grady trained Back In Front crossing the winning line ten-lengths ahead of the field. No serious challenge materialised following the final turn and Norman Williamson aboard the favourite was able to take the last two obstacles in almost a leisurely fashion. Although comprehensively beaten, Kicking King stayed on well to complete an Irish one-two and Chauvinist fought off several determined challenges to clinch a respectable third place.

Supreme Novices Hurdle Results
Year	Horse	Trainer	Starting Price
2003	Back In Front	E O´Grady	3/1 Fav
2002	Like-A-Butterfly	C Roche	7/4 Fav
2000	Sausalito Bay	N Meade	14/1
1999	Hors La Loi III	J Fanshawe	9/2
1998	French Ballerina	P Flynn	14/1
1997	Shadow Leader	C Egerton	5/1
1996	Indefence	J Pitman	25/1

Following the Supreme Novices Hurdle the second Cheltenham race is the Arkle.