Byrne Group Hcap Chase

by Darren Brett
A handicap chase over 2m 41/2 furlongs. Formerly known as the Festival Plate.

Festival Plate Trends

10/10	had won at Class Three or higher
9/10	had between three and fifteen runs over fences
8/10	had run within the last forty days
8/10	recorded a top five finish in their most recent race
8/10	carried 10st 10lb or less
8/10	had an official rating of 128-139
7/10	aged between six and nine
7/10	had run at a previous Cheltenham Festival

Byrne Group Plate Analysis

This race seems to have thrown up some quite concise trends and if you add into the mix that the Irish raiders have only won this race once since 1951 we could have very few contenders left once applying the statistics.

Yet again we see stats that throw up the need for carrying a weight in a Festival handicap of under 11st at the Cheltenham Festival.

Don't be afraid to take a chance on a bigger price selection or even split your stakes and back two in this race as the favourite has a poor record here with Majadou the last obliging market-leader back in 1999!

Festival Plate Last Ten Winners

Table below shows the last ten winners of the race, their age and weight at the time of winning, trainer, jockey and odds (starting price).

Year	Horse	Age	Trainer	Jockey	Price
2013	Carrickboy	9-10-5	Miss V Williams	L Treadwell	50/1
2012	Salut Flo	7-10-10	D Pipe	T Scudamore	9/2F
2011	Holmwood Legend	10-10-6	P Rodford	K Burke	25/1
2010	Great Endeavour	6-10-1	D Pipe	D Cook	18/1
2009	Something Wells	8-10-7	Miss V Williams	Mr W Biddick	33/1
2008	Mister McGoldrick	11-11-7	Mrs S Smith	D Elsworth	66/1
2007	Idole First	8-10-7	Miss V Williams	A OKeeffe	12/1
2006	Non So	8-11-3	N Henderson	M FItzgerald	14/1
2005	Liberthine	6-10-1	N Henderson	Mr S Waley-Cohen	25/1
2004	Tikram	7-10-0	G L Moore	T Murphy	12/1

Byrne Group Plate Preview

Three training yards have dominated this race in the last ten years with two wins apiece for David Pipe, Nicky Henderson and Venetia Williams.

It makes sense to assume that a race where a trainer has had previous success will be targeted again in the future so make note of any entries from these three powerful yards.

Look out for horses who have run well at the Festival (or who have experienced the phenomenon before) as they are usually equipped to run well there again and it doesn't necessarily need to be in an equivalent race as winners of this race have previously run in the County Hurdle!

With a 66/1, 33/1 and three 25/1 winners in the last ten years in the Festival Plate it would seem that taking a speculative approach is the best policy to this race!

Byrne Group Plate Preview

Salut Flo gave the Cheltenham Betting Guide one of our best ever returns in 2012 when we advised backing this well handicapped horse ante-post at 20/1!

Watch out for our tip for the 2014 Byrne Group Plate nearer the race