Maghull Novices’ Chase

Maghull Novices’ Chase Overview

The Maghull Novices’ Chase is a Grade 1 chase for novices run over a distance of 1 mile 7 furlongs and 176 yards on the Mildmay Track. There are twelve fences to be jumped with the race run on the final day, Saturday, of the three-day Grand National meeting in early April.

There is unlikely to be a big field, and it will normally attract those that ran in the Arkle Chase at the Cheltenham Festival the previous month. The last horse to win both races in the same calendar year was Shishkin back in 2021.

Maghull Novices’ Chase Betting Trends and Statistics

• Paul Nicholls is the leading trainer in the race over the years with seven victories since 1977 with Flagship Uberalles (1999), Armaturk (2002), Le Roi Miguel (2003), Twist Magic (2007), Tataniano (2010), San Benedeto (2017) and Diego Du Charmil (2018).
• Irish handler Henry De Bromhead has the best recent record with three victories in the last 11 years, whilst Nicky Henderson is another trainer who does well in the race with four wins in the last 13 years.
• The leading jockey during the same time spell is Ruby Walsh with three victories aboard Le Roi Miguel (2003), Twist Magic (2007) and Tataniano (2010).
• Winners of the Arkle Chase from the Cheltenham Festival the previous month have won four of the five attempts in the last 16 years.
• The race will normally fall to a horse at the front end of the market with 20 of the last 27 winners returned at odds of 7-2 or shorter.

Maghull Novices’ Chase History

First run in 1954, the Maghull Novices’ Chase is named after a local area like the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle and the Melling Chase. The race was given Grade 1 status in 1995 and was sponsored up to this year by My Pension Expert. The race has seen some talented horses prevail victorious down the years, including Sprinter Sacre (2012), Shishkin (2021), and Jonbon (2023).