Close Brothers and Cheltenham Festival 2025
Tuesday 11 to Friday 14 March 2025
Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle on Day 1 at 3.20 pm
The Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle takes place on Day 1 of Cheltenham Festival at 3.20 pm live on ITV1.
This year ITV Racing will be broadcasting an additional race, giving viewers the opportunity to watch six of the seven races each day live on TV, while all seven races will continue to be broadcast on Racing TV.
Last year's winner: Lossiemouth
Last year's Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle saw the favourite Lossiemouth, ridden by Paul Townend and trained by Willie Mullins, surge to victory, with the prior year's winning jockey Rachael Blackmore coming second on Telmesomethinggirl.
We also saw Love Envoi run her final race, as trainer Harry Fry announced her retirement. Love Envoi previously finished second behind Honeysuckle in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle in 2023.
Roll of Honour for Cheltenham Festival sponsored races
Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle
| Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer |
| 2024 | Lossiemouth | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| 2023 | Honeysuckle | Rachael Blackmore | Henry de Bromhead |
| 2022 | Marie’s Rock | Nico de Boinville | Nicky Henderson |
| 2021 | Black Tears | Jack Kennedy | Denise Foster |
| 2020 | Honeysuckle | Rachael Blackmore | Henry de Bromhead |
Close Brothers Novices' Handicap Chase
| Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer |
| 2019 | A Plus Tard | Rachael Blackmore | Henry de Bromhead |
| 2018 | Mister Whitaker | Brian Hughes | Mick Channon |
| 2017 | Tully East | Denis O’Regan | Alan Fleming |
| 2016 | Ballyalton | Brian Hughes | Ian Williams |
Proud partner of The Jockey Club
Since 2016, we have been proud to partner with The Jockey Club, supporting British horse racing at 15 of the country’s most iconic racecourses.
From Cheltenham Festival, the Grand National Festival and The Derby, The Jockey Club is part of the fabric of British racing.
At Close Brothers, we believe in hard work, determination, teamwork and resilience, and these values are at the heart of our people and our business.
It’s these values that have drawn us to the world of horse racing, a world where success comes from following these same principles.
Governed by Royal Charter, every penny The Jockey Club makes goes back into British horse racing, with more than 6,000 people employed to look after the 14,000 horses in training. It continues to invest in its facilities to make sure they offer their equine participants the best possible experience.