The Spa Novices' Hurdle, known for sponsorship purposes as the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle, is a Grade 1 National Hunt 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 4,822 metres), and during its running there are twelve hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
It was one of several new races introduced at the Festival when a fourth day was added to the meeting in 2005. For its first three runnings the event was sponsored by Brit Insurance, and it was classed at Grade 2 level. The vegetable growing company Albert Bartlett began supporting the race in 2008, and since then it has held Grade 1 status. The race was originally open to horses aged four years or older, but since 2023 four year olds have been excluded.
Records Leading jockey (3 wins): Tony McCoy – Black Jack Ketchum (2006), Wichita Lineman (2007) At Fishers Cross (2013) Paul Townend - Penhill (2017), Monkfish (2020), Jasmin De Vaux (2025)
Leading trainer (4 wins): Willie Mullins – Penhill (2017), Monkfish (2020), The Nice Guy (2022), Jasmin De Vaux (2025)
Winners Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer 2005 Moulin Riche 5 Robert Thornton François Doumen 2006 Black Jack Ketchum 7 Tony McCoy Jonjo O'Neill 2007 Wichita Lineman 6 Tony McCoy Jonjo O'Neill 2008 Nenuphar Collonges 7 Robert Thornton Alan King 2009 Weapon's Amnesty 6 Davy Russell Charles Byrnes 2010 Berties Dream 7 Andrew Lynch Paul John Gilligan 2011 Bobs Worth 6 Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson 2012 Brindisi Breeze 6 Campbell Gillies Lucinda Russell 2013 At Fishers Cross 6 Tony McCoy Rebecca Curtis 2014 Very Wood 5 Paul Carberry Noel Meade 2015 Martello Tower 7 Adrian Heskin Margaret Mullins 2016 Unowhatimeanharry 8 Noel Fehily Harry Fry 2017 Penhill 6 Paul Townend Willie Mullins 2018 Kilbricken Storm 7 Harry Cobden Colin Tizzard 2019 Minella Indo 6 Rachael Blackmore Henry de Bromhead 2020 Monkfish 6 Paul Townend Willie Mullins 2021 Vanillier 6 Mark Walsh Gavin Cromwell 2022 The Nice Guy 7 Sean O'Keeffe Willie Mullins 2023 Stay Away Fay 6 Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls 2024 Stellar Story 7 Sam Ewing Gordon Elliott 2025 Jasmin De Vaux 6 Paul Townend Willie Mullins 2026 Johnny's Jury 6 Gavin Sheehan Jamie Snowden
See also Horse racing in Great Britain List of British National Hunt races
References Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
thejockeyclub.co.uk/cheltenham/ – Media information pack (2010).