Manifesto Novices Chase Odds
The Manifesto Novices’ Chase is a Grade 1 contest on day one of the Grand National meeting, with some of the best novice chasers in training expected to clash at Aintree.
The latest odds for the Manifesto Novices’ Chase will be listed below just as soon as they become available.
Manifesto Novices’ Chase Tips
The Manifesto Novices’ Chase is the curtain-raiser for the Grand National meeting at Aintree, and as such it regularly proves to be a lively betting heat. Held over two and a half miles, the race tends to involve the key players from the previous month’s Arkle Trophy and JLT Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. You can find our tip for the Manifesto Novices’ Chase a little closer to the time. You can find our tip for the Manifesto Novices’ Chase a little closer to the time.
What is the Manifesto Novice Chase?
Established in 2009, the Manifesto is a Grade 1 novices’ chase, held over just shy of two and a half miles (two miles, three furlongs and 200 yards).
Originally a Grade 2 contest, the race was upgraded to Grade 1 status in 2012, and generally features horses who ran in either the Arkle Trophy Novices’ Chase (over two miles) or the JLT Novices’ Chase (over two and a half miles) at the previous month’s Cheltenham Festival.
The race can often deviate from the Cheltenham Festival form wise, and offers a second bite of the cherry for those horses who perhaps disappointed the previous month. For instance, the 2019 Manifesto winner Kalashnikov unseated his rider in the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham, before bouncing back at Aintree three weeks later.
What happened in the 2019 Manifesto Novices’ Chase
The Manifesto Novices’ Chase is developing something of a habit of getting favourites beaten, and we came into the 2019 renewal with each of Top Notch, Sizing John and Cyrname having been beaten favourites in the past three years.
The admirably consistent mare La Bague Au Roi was a well-supported 7/4 favourite for the 2019 renewal, and arrived in Merseyside fresh, having won back-to-back Grade 1 contests at Kempton and Leopardstown, before swerving Cheltenham in favour of coming straight to Aintree.
La Bague Au Roi’s best form had come over three miles (when winning the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day), and she perhaps found the drop back to two and a half miles a little too sharp - leaving the door open for the Amy Murphy-trained Kalashnikov to pick up the lead from two out, and power home.
Before we came on air Kalashnikov won the first race of the day, the Devenish Manifesto Novices' Chase
Here's what happened
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The history of the Manifesto Novice Chase
The history of the Manifesto Novices’ Chase is a brief but colourful one, and it has seen plenty of drama already since being established in 2009. Although the race is perhaps becoming known as something of a bloodbath for favourites, some illustrious names have won the race so far, including Menorah, Uxizandre and Finian’s Oscar. The most recent renewal was won by the Amy Murphy-trained Kalashnikov, and it will be fascinating to see who adds their name to the roll of honour in 2020.
Who is the most iconic winner of the Manifesto Novice Chase?
The race is perhaps better known for the names who have been beaten in it rather than those who have won it, though the 2012 winner Menorah is a particularly iconic name on the roll of honour.
A winner of the 2010 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Menorah initially struggled with the transition to novice chasing in 2011/12, failing to complete in novice contests at both Exeter and Doncaster, but he soon flourished into a top notch chaser, and his finest achievement came in the Grade 2 Oaksey Chase at Sandown - which he won for four years in a row - being retired when winning it for the fourth and final time as a 12-year-old on his swan song in 2017.
Are there any trials for the Manifesto Novice Chase?
As a Grade 1 novices’ chase, the Manifesto has a clear and defined route, and although key contenders occasionally miss it, the vast majority if Manifesto runners take their chance at the previous month’s Cheltenham Festival - either in the Arkle Trophy over two miles, or in the JLT Novices’ Chase over two and a half miles. Other races to note during the season include the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown, the Irish Arkle at Leopardstown and the Kingmaker Novices’ Chase at Warwick.
Who is the most successful jockey in the Manifesto Novice Chase?
The joint winning most jockeys in the history of the Manifesto Novices’ Chase are Barry Geraghty and Richard Johnson, with two wins each. Johnson won the Manifesto on Wishfull Thinking (2011) and Menorah (2012), while Geraghty has tasted success with Mad Max (2010) and Captain Conan (2013).
Who is the most successful trainer in the Manifesto Novice Chase?
The joint winning most trainers in the history of the Manifesto Novices’ Chase are Philip Hobbs and Nicky Henderson, with two wins each. Henderson’s two winners came with Mad Max (2010) and Captain Conan (2013), while Hobbs trained Wishfull Thinking (2011) and Menorah (2012) to success.