County Handicap Hurdle Predictions, Betting Tips & Odds (Cheltenham 2025 - DAY 4)
- Written by David Bet
The County Hurdle (formerly known as Vincent O Brien County Handicap Hurdle) is one of the oldest races at the Cheltenham Festival, a class A grade 3 hurdle for horses aged five and over, run on the Cheltenham New Course over a distance of 2 miles and 1 furlong. Willie Mullins' Absurde - ridden by Paul Townend - was an impressive winner of last year's County Hurdle at odds of 12/1. Find below our Cheltenham 2025 William Hill County Handicap Hurdle race preview, with odds, tips, predictions, trends, free bets and betting promotions.
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COUNTY HANDICAP HURDLE BETTING PREVIEW
The County Hurdle is one of the most difficult races to back a winner at the Cheltenham National Hunt Racing Festival. It's a Grade 3 National Hunt handicap hurdle race, run over two miles and one furlong, for horses aged five years and upwards. The race always attracts the maximum field, making it full of potentially well handicapped horses, who all will fancy their chances of winning.
Willie Mullins and Dan Skelton have saddled eight of the last nine winners so expect them to have a good chance in the 2025 County Handicap Hurdle once again.
And now we take a closer look at this year's William Hill County Handicap Hurdle and try to determine which horse is likely to prevail.
Who will win the County Handicap Hurdle 2025?
ABSURDE won last year's edition of this race - although the ground was also against him - and will try to defend his crown. The seven-year-old won the Listed Chester Stakes this season, performed well in the Melbourne Cup at Flemington in November and will race off an 8lb higher mark this year.
MCLAUREY has shown plenty of ability to win a couple of races in Ireland this term. He landed at Limerick in December and followed by scoring in a field of eighteen horses at Leopardstown when sent off as the 3/1 favourite.
LARK IN THE MORNIN ran out a hugely impressive winner of the Fred Winter 12 months ago. He has only run once this term after sustainiing an injury when fifth in the Swinton Handicap Hurdle at Haydock. Joseph O'Brien's charge only finished 7th at Leopardstown's Christmas Festival but it was very much an eye-catching run when you delve into how he was ridden..
KARGESE ran in four Grade 1 juvenile hurdles last season, winning two of them. Her two defeats came at the hands of Majborough (favourite for the Arkle Chase) and Sir Gino (ruled out of the season due to an injury). Willie Mullins has given her just one run before the Cheltenham Festival. She ran well on her comeback at Ascot in January, despite finishing second to Take No Chances.
VALGRAND recorded an emphatic victory in the Sharp Novices' Hurdle here at Cheltenham in October. Dan Skelton's runner then finished a distant second to Caldwell Potter over a longer trip in the Hyde Novices' Hurdle and disappointed in the following two handicaps (but he ran these two races in the space of two weeks in December).
ETHICAL DIAMOND was well beaten on heavy ground at Leopardstown on hurdling debut last December, before improving chunks for that effort to be beaten five lengths in the G1 Spring Juvenile Hurdle behind Kargese. After a 58-day break, he was beaten a nose on handicap debut at Leopardstown by Saturn and finished 2nd by two lenghts at Royal Ascot when last seen.
Dark horses?
DADDY LONG LEGS was a Grade 3 scorer at Tipperary in October. He finished second to State Man in the Irish Champion Hurdle last month and can't be overlooked.
NDAAWI made the frame in the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle at this meeting last year and was second in the Galway Hurdle in August off a mark of 134. He disappointed in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket in the autumn and has been kept fresh since then.
IRISH PANTHER finished 24 lengths behind Al Gasparo at Killarney but has since boosted the form with two excellent placed efforts in handicap company, including when a length-and-a-quarter behind McLaurey in a Leopardstown Listed contest.
Other entries to keep an eye on are HANSARD, PINOT GRIS, CRACKING RHAPSODY, OUR CHAMP and FILS D'OUDARIES.
Latest Odds
At the moment, the most backed horses are the following:
All the bookmakers we recommend are offering No Runner No Bet on every Cheltenham Festival race.
COUNTY HANDICAP HURDLE TRENDS
- Just 2 of the last 18 favourites won (2 of the last 5)
- Just 3 of the last 18 winners returned at single figure odds
- 13 of the last 18 winners failed to win last time out
- 7 of the last 11 winners had run at Cheltenham before
- 12 of the last 18 winners were Irish trained
- 15 of the last 19 winners were rated in the 130’s
- 9 of the last 12 winners carried 11st 1lbs or less
- 14 of the last 19 winners were aged 5 or 6 years-old
COUNTY HANDICAP HURDLE PREDICTIONS
Find below our free betting tips on the William Hill County Hurdle 2025. Feel free to copy our Cheltenham Festival expert predictions and get the highest prices available on this race by clicking the 'Bet' button! Plus, we invite you to take a look at our NAP of the Day section everyday.
Ruby Walsh's County Handicap Hurdle Tips
Cheltenham Festival’s winning-most jockey turned TV pundit Ruby Walsh have shared his tips:"I expect the winner to come from one of the five-year-olds like Lark In The Mornin, Kargese, Ndaawi and Ethical Diamond. I can see why Paul has gone for Kargese and while he could go close, the price is gone unfortunately. Gordon Elliott’s Ndaawi is a bigger price and he offers more value. He’s five and he looks ahead of the handicapper."
2025 COUNTY HANDICAP HURDLE FREE BETS
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2025 CHELTENHAM DAY 4 TIPS AND PREDICTIONS
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2025 COUNTY HANDICAP HURDLE FAQs
What time is the County Handicap Hurdle?
The William Hill County Handicap Hurdle is the 2nd race run on Day 4 of the Cheltenham Festival. That falls on Friday March 14, 2025 and the official starting time is 2:00pm.
How many obstacles are jumped in the County Handicap Hurdle?
There are 8 obstacles to jump for the County Handicap Hurdle runners
What is the distance of the County Handicap Hurdle?
The County Handicap Hurdle is run on a distance of 2 miles and 179 yards
What is the prize money for the County Handicap Hurdle?
The total prize money on offer for the County Handicap Hurdle at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival will be £100,000.
Who won the County Handicap Hurdle last year?
Last year's renewal was won by Absurde at SP of 12/1, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend.
What weights are carried for the County Handicap Hurdle?
As it is a traditional National Hunt handicap hurdle, weights range from 11 st 12 lb for the top weight, to 10 st for the bottom weight.
Who is the leading jockey in the County Handicap Hurdle?
Ruby Walsh has ridden the winner of the race on four occasions. Since his retirement, Paul Townend, now first jockey to Willie Mullins, has ridden four winners. Harry Skelton and Bridget Andrews have won twice.
Who is the leading trainer in the County Handicap Hurdle?
The most successful trainer in the County Hurdle (since 1946) is Willie Mullins with seven wins, while Paul Nicholls and Dan Skelton have won this race four times. No other trainers have recorded multiple wins in the County Handicap.
