TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase
Grade 3 race | |
Location | Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham, England |
---|---|
Race type | Steeplechase |
Sponsor | Brown Advisory Merriebelle Stable |
Website | Cheltenham |
Race information | |
Distance | 2m 4f 127y (4,139 metres) |
Surface | Turf |
Track | Left-handed |
Qualification | Five-years-old and up |
Weight | Handicap |
Purse | £110,000 (2019) 1st: £61,897 |
2018 | ||
The Storyteller | Splash of Ginge | King's Odyssey |
The Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate Handicap Chase is a Grade 3 National Hunt chase 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 2 miles and 4½ furlongs (2 miles 4 furlongs and 127 yards, or 4,139 metres), and during its running there are seventeen fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
History
The race was established in memory of the 2nd Baron Mildmay of Flete (1909–1950), an amateur National Hunt jockey who rode three winners at the Cheltenham Festival. The inaugural race took place in April 1951, because the planned running, in March, had to be abandoned, due to a waterlogged course. It was originally titled the Mildmay of Flete Handicap Chase.
The Racing Post sponsored the race from 2006 to 2008, and during this period it was titled the Racing Post Plate. The 2009 running was named the Freddie Williams Festival Plate, in tribute to Freddie Williams (1942–2008), a popular Scottish bookmaker who owned a pitch at Cheltenham.[1] The construction company Byrne Group supported the event from 2010 to 2014[2] and from 2015 it has been sponsored by Brown Advisory and Merriebelle Stable.[3]
Records
Most successful horse (2 wins):
- The Tsarevich – 1985, 1986
- Elfast – 1992, 1994
Leading jockey (3 wins):
- Fred Winter – Slender (1951, dead-heat), Sy Oui (1953), Caesar's Helm (1958)
Leading trainer (4 wins):
- Bobby Renton – Tudor Line (1954), Caesar's Helm (1958), Siracusa (1959), Merry Court (1968)
- Nicky Henderson – The Tsarevich (1985, 1986), Liberthine (2005), Non So (2006)
- Martin Pipe – Terao (1997), Majadou (1999), Dark Stranger (2000), Blowing Wind (2002)
Winners
See also
References
- ^ "Horse race named after bookmaker". bbc.co.uk. 23 February 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ^ "Byrne Group announced as sponsor" (PDF). cheltenham.co.uk. 2 February 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ^ "Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable new Festival sponsors". Gloucestershire Echo. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- pedigreequery.com – Freddie Williams Festival Plate – Cheltenham.
- racenewsonline.co.uk – Racenews Archive (21 February 2008).
- Ladbrokes Pocket Companion 1990/91. Aesculus Press. 1990. p. 61. ISBN 1-871093-21-X.