Byrne Group Plate
| Grade 3 race | |
| Location |
Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham, England |
|---|---|
| Race type | Chase |
| Sponsor | Brown Advisory Merriebelle Stable |
| Website | Cheltenham |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 2m 5f (4,225 metres) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Five-years-old and up |
| Weight | Handicap |
| Purse |
£100,000 (2016) 1st: £51,255 |
The Mildmay of Flete Challenge Cup 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 5 furlongs (4,225 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.
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.
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. The construction company Byrne Group supported the event from 2010 to 2014 and from 2015 it has been sponsored by Brown Advisory and Merriebelle Stable.
Most successful horse (2 wins):
Leading jockey (3 wins):
Leading trainer (4 wins):
1 The 2001 running was cancelled because of a foot-and-mouth crisis.
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