The Navan Novice Hurdle is a Grade Two

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

hurdle A hurdle (UK English, limited US English) is a moveable section of light fence. In the United States, terms such as "panel", "pipe panel" or simply "fence section" are used to describe moveable sections of fencing intended for agricultural u ...

race in Ireland. It is run in mid-December at

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town and largest town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Leinster Blackwater, Blackwater, around 50 km northwest of Dublin. At the ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, over a distance of about 2 miles and 4

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

s (4,023 metres). The race was first run in 1999 over a distance of 2 miles, before being increased to its present distance in 2000. It was originally run as a Grade 3 race, before being given Grade 1 status in 2004. It was downgraded again from the 2014 running. The race is usually contested by some of the season's top novice hurdlers, who often go on to contest top races at both the

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Race ...

and the

Punchestown Festival Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish Nationa ...

later in the season. Prior to 2010 it was run as the Barry & Sandra Kelly Memorial Novice Hurdle. A race with a similar title was run in 1998, but was not restricted to novices.

Records

Leading jockey (5 wins): *

Ruby Walsh Rupert "Ruby" Walsh (born 14 May 1979) is an Irish former jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen. Widely regarded as one of the greatest National Hunt racing, National Hunt ...

- ''Boston Bob (2011), Pont Alexandre (2012), Briar Hill (2013), Bellshill (2015), Easy Game (2018)'' Leading trainer (7 wins): *

Willie Mullins William Peter Mullins (born 15 September 1956) is an Irish racehorse horse trainer, trainer and former jockey. He is a nineteen-time List of Irish National Hunt races, Irish National Hunt Champion trainer. Mullins is the most successful traine ...

- ''Mikael D'Haguenet (2008), Boston Bob (2011), Pont Alexandre (2012), Briar Hill (2013), Bellshill (2015), Next Destination (2017), Easy Game (2018)''

Winners

References

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing, and sports betting publisher published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 60,629 ...

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Records

Winners

See also

References