The Sharp Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and half a furlong (2 miles and 87 yards, or ), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in October.
The event was formerly contested over 2 miles, and it used to be held in December. It was extended by a furlong in 1992, and it was cut to its present length and moved to November in 1994. In 2011 the race was renamed as the Opus Energy Novices' Hurdle as part of a sponsorship deal with UK power supplier Opus Energy. Since 2025 the race has been sponsored by Oddschecker and run as the Oddschecker Novices' Hurdle.
In April 2023 the British Horseracing Authority announced that the race would be run in October as part of a restructure of the 2023/24 programme.
Winners Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer 1988 Green Willow 6 Peter Hobbs Josh Gifford 1989 Run for Free 5 Peter Scudamore Martin Pipe 1990 no race 1990 1991 Thetford Forest 4 Richard Dunwoody David Nicholson 1992 Satin Lover 4 Graham McCourt Nigel Tinkler 1993 Large Action 5 Jamie Osborne Oliver Sherwood 1994 Berude Not To 5 Jamie Osborne Oliver Sherwood 1995 Mandys Mantino 5 Philip Hide Josh Gifford 1996 Kailash 5 Tony McCoy Martin Pipe 1997 Circus Star 4 Adrian Maguire David Nicholson 1998 Hoh Invader 6 Richard Dunwoody Charlie Mann 1999 Silence Reigns 5 Mick Fitzgerald Paul Nicholls 2000 Reiziger 4 Richard Johnson Philip Hobbs 2001 Fireball Macnamara 5 Timmy Murphy Mark Pitman 2002 Mutakarrim 5 Paul Carberry Dermot Weld 2003 Self Defense 6 Barry Keniry Emma Lavelle 2004 Marcel 4 Timmy Murphy Martin Pipe 2005 Boychuk 4 Richard Johnson Philip Hobbs 2006 Moon Over Miami 5 Noel Fehily Charlie Mann 2007 I'msingingtheblues 5 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls 2008 Golan Way 4 Jamie Goldstein Sheena West 2009 Loosen My Load 5 Andrew Lynch Henry de Bromhead 2010 Cue Card 4 Joe Tizzard Colin Tizzard 2011 Steps to Freedom 5 Robbie Power Jessica Harrington 2012 Dodging Bullets 4 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls 2013 The Liquidator 5 Tom Scudamore David Pipe 2014 Vyta Du Roc 5 Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson 2015 Altior 5 Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson 2016 Moon Racer 7 Tom Scudamore David Pipe 2017 Slate House 5 Harry Cobden Colin Tizzard 2018 Elixir de Nutz 4 Harry Cobden Colin Tizzard 2019 Hang In There 5 Adam Wedge Emma Lavelle 2020 For Pleasure 5 Harry Bannister Alex Hales 2021 I Like To Move It 4 Sam Twiston-Davies Nigel Twiston-Davies 2022 Fennor Cross 5 Simon Torrens John McConnell 2023 Lookaway 6 Jack Quinlan Neil King 2024 Valgrand 6 Harry Skelton Dan Skelton 2025 Fortune De Mer 5 Harry Skelton Dan Skelton
See also Horse racing in Great Britain List of British National Hunt races
References
Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , pedigreequery.com – Sharp Novices' Hurdle – Cheltenham.