The G1 Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle will move from Champion Day, March 10, to St Patrick's Thursday, March 13, during next year's Cheltenham Festival, the racecourse announced on Friday. Due to the date change, the distance of the race is now 2m 4f 56y on the New Course, instead of 2m 3f 200y on the Old Course.
Moving into the Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle's old spot is the TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase, which will be the sixth race on Champion Day. A further change to the running order on St Patrick's Thursday is that the feature race, the Ryanair Chase, will now take place at 4 p.m. with the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle being run at 3:20 p.m.
Jon Pullin, head of racing at The Jockey Club and clerk of the course at Cheltenham Racecourse, said, “The race programme at The Festival is one of constant evolution and we are always looking at ways to enhance the experience for all stakeholders.
“Having previously been run on Champion Day, the Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle was always somewhat in the shadow of the Unibet Champion Hurdle. The Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle is the pinnacle of a very successful mares' programme that has been developed by the industry over the last 20 years. In this time, we have seen the number of mares training in Great Britain increase from 18% to almost 25% and some of the most memorable moments at The Festival include performances by mares such as Honeysuckle and Epatante. By moving to St Patrick's Thursday, we feel the Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle will receive more attention and receive the coverage a race of its status merits. We also believe this change enhances the overall race programme across The Festival, with each of the four days now having at least three Grade 1 contests.”
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