This handicap will take place on day four of the Cheltenham Festival on Friday 14th March
Valgrand and Lark In The Mornin features in our verdict
J J Slevin on board Lark In The Mornin on their way to winning The Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle Race during day one of the Cheltenham Festival 2024. (Getty)
The first of two handicaps to be staged on Gold Cup day is the County Hurdle. This two-mile handicap hurdle has been won by some classy horses down the years and always provides Friday's racegoers with fantastic entertainment.
Here's our free guide to the 2025 County Hurdle, featuring the latest odds, expert analysis and our best betting tips.
*Note - Best bets won't be finalised until the field has been confirmed*
2025 County Hurdle Odds
Name
Odds
Kopeck De Mee
5/1
Absurde
7/1
McLaurey
8/1
Lark In The Mornin
8/1
Kargese
9/1
Valgrand
10/1
Bar
12/1
2025 County Hurdle Key Trends
10 of the last 10 winners were eight-years-old or younger
9 of the last 10 winners had won either zero or one handicap over hurdles
9 of the last 10 winners were trained by either Willie Mullins (5) or Dan Skelton (4)
8 of the last 10 winners were rated no higher than 141
8 of the last 10 winners finished fourth or better last time out
Absurde took down L'Eau Du Sud to win this race 12 months ago and returns to Cheltenham on the back of an impressive fifth-place finish in the Melbourne Cup. No horse has ever won the County Hurdle more than once, but given he's trained by Willie Mullins and Paul Townend could be in the saddle again, there's chance Absurde could make history off an eight-pound higher mark.
All of the most likely winners have risen to the head of this betting market. Kopeck De Mee would be a massive player if he turned up, but the betting suggests that the Martin Pipe will be his target. McLaurey and Ethical Diamond enter on the back of recent wins, but 16 and 12 pound rating hikes for both seem fairly harsh.
2025 County Hurdle Tip 1 - Valgrand
Dan Skelton has not only won the County Hurdle on four occasions, but he's also had a handful of placers in that time period too. The obvious selection here is VALGRAND (12/1), who looked to have completely blown his mark when upped to 140 following his emphatic victory in the Sharp Novices' Hurdle here at Cheltenham in October.
Valgrand then finished a distant second to Caldwell Potter over a longer trip in the Hyde Novices' Hurdle. Skelton then ran his six-year-old in two handicaps in the space of two weeks in December, and it was no surprise to see Valgrand fall out the back of the TV in both races.
The handicapper has responded by dropping Valgrand's mark back down to 134, meaning he'll carry around 10-8 in this handicap. Skelton has freshened Valgrand up - a tactic which has worked well with his other County Hurdle winners - and the ground looks set to come up favourably good on day four of the Cheltenham Festival.
Harry Skelton riding Valgrand clear the last to win The Sky Bet Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham. (Getty)
2025 County Hurdle Tip 2 - Lark In The Mornin
I'm struggling to get away from LARK IN THE MORNIN (8/1), who ran out a hugely impressive winner of the Fred Winter 12 months ago.
Joseph O'Brien almost withdrew his challenger when the ground turned heavy. Lark In The Mornin was a big drifter on the morning too, but JJ Slevin's mount travelled beautifully on that testing ground and kicked two lengths clear of the field on the run to the line.
Lark In The Mornin then sustained an injury when fifth in the Swinton Handicap Hurdle at Haydock. On his only outing so far this season at Leopardstown's Christmas Festival, Slevin held his mount up out the back as fog descended over the field, but eagle-eyed viewers couldn't help notice Lark In The Mornin's late headway into seventh place.
The British handicapper has only upped his mark by an extra two pounds to 132, which seems incredibly lenient to me. I've backed a few of Joseph's horses in the handicaps at the Cheltenham Festival, so let hope his week ends on a high!
Verdict
Lark In The Mornin and Valgrand will be our two against the field in the 2025 County Hurdle.
Best Bet1: Lark In The Mornin 2025 County Hurdle @8/1 at Betgoodwin - 5 Units
Best Bet2: Valgrand 2025 County Hurdle @10/1 at bet365 - 5 Units
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