Royal & SunAlliance Novices' Hurdle
| Grade 1 race | |
| Location |
Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham, England |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1971 |
| Race type | Hurdle race |
| Sponsor | Neptune Investment Management |
| Website | Cheltenham |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 2m 5f (4,225 metres) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Four-years-old and up |
| Weight | 10 st 12 lb (4yo); 11 st 7 lb (5yo+) Allowances 7 lb for fillies and mares |
| Purse |
£120,000 (2014) 1st: £68,340 |
The Baring Bingham Novices' Hurdle (known as the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle for sponsorship reasons) is a Grade 1 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 5 furlongs (4,225 metres), and during its running there are ten hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The event was established in 1971, and it was initially called the Aldsworth Hurdle. The insurance company Sun Alliance (later Royal & SunAlliance) began sponsoring the race in 1974, and it became known as the Sun Alliance Novices' Hurdle. This association continued until 2006, and for the following three years the event was backed by Ballymore Properties.
There were high winds on the day of the planned running in 2008, so the Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle was rescheduled and run on Cheltenham's New Course. A new sponsor, Neptune Investment Management, began supporting the race in 2010.
The registered (non-sponsored) title of the race is now the Baring Bingham Novices' Hurdle. This is in honour of Baring Bingham, a developer who purchased Prestbury Park in 1898, and organised the first Cheltenham Festival in 1902.
Leading jockey (4 wins):
Leading trainer (4 wins):
1 The 2001 running was cancelled because of a foot-and-mouth crisis.
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