Cheltenham 2010 - William Hill Trophy Handicap Steeple Chase

The William Hill Trophy is the first handicap at the Cheltenham Festival and the race can be a pointer to future Grand Nationals with West Tip, Seagram and Rough Quest having won both races. Favourites had a very poor record in the race but that trend was bucked last year when Wichita Lineman was victorious as the 5/1 favourite under a power packed Tony McCoy ride.

There is no strong age trend where the William Hill Trophy is concerned and no trainer has won the race more than once in recent times.

William Hill Trophy Details

Trip: 3 Miles

Fences: 19

Class: Grade 3

First Run: 1980 in it’s current format

Next running: Tuesday 16th March 2010

William Hill Trophy Trends

Only two favourite has been successful since 1977.

No winner in the last ten years has carried more than 10st 12lbs.

Previous placed form at the Festival can prove important.

2010 William Hill Trophy

The market for the William Hill Trophy doesn’t really begin to take shape until we get a bit closer to the Festival so it’s hard to give even an idea of a selection at the time of writing but there are a few pointers to keep in mind for the race.

Horses that have placed previously at the Cheltenham Festival often run well in the William Hill Trophy. Both the winner and the third in the 2009 renewal were placed in other races at the Festival. That being said, this isn’t a race horses tend to win more than once. The last runner to do so was the Martin Tate trained Scot Lane in 1982 and 1983.

Whilst no trainer has won the race on numerous occasions, Nicky Henderson has had one winner and four horses placed in the last decade. Ferdy Murphy runners are also worth a second look with the trainer having saddled a winner and a runner up in the last three renewals.

William Hill are likely to be the first bookmaker providing odds on the William Hill Trophy. They currently offer new clients a free £25 bet.

Tags: 2010 william hill trophy, Cheltenham Festival 2010, william hill trophy

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 10th, 2010 at 7:52 pm and is filed under Cheltenham Festival 2010, Cheltenham Festival News, Horse Racing Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.