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2025 Ultima Handicap Chase Odds - Favourite Iroko might skip Cheltenham Festival

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Last updated: 01 Feb 2025
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Jon Vine 01 Feb 2025
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  • Latest odds and betting for the 2025 Ultima Handicap Chase
  • This handicap takes place on day one of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival on Tuesday 11th March
  • Iroko currently heads the market
ultima handicap chase
The Ultima Handicap Chase during day one of the Cheltenham Festival 2024. (Getty)

The first handicap to be staged during the Cheltenham Festival is the Ultima Handicap Chase. This three-and-a-quarter mile handicap chase is one of the few races at the meeting where British horses boast a dominant record and it was Kim Bailey's Chianti Classico who won well in 2024.

Here's the latest Ultima Handicap Chase betting and a look at the most likely runners.

2025 Ultima Handicap Chase Odds


Name
Odds
Iroko8/1
Haiti Couleurs10/1
Hyland10/1
King Turgeon12/1
Johnnywho12/1
Massacio12/1
Bar14/1

2025 Ultima Handicap Chase Entries


The early favourite for this year's Ultima is former Martin Pipe winner, Iroko. Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero's star was pointed at the Grand National at the start of the season and his trainer seemed unsure whether he would run at the Cheltenham Festival, when he spoke to the press after Iroko's fourth-place finish on Trials Day.

Rebecca Curtis' novice Haiti Couleurs has won around Cheltenham this season and needs one more run to qualify for an open handicap. Hyland is another course-winning novice and Nicky Henderson's star could run in the Ultima, having already run five times over fences. 

David Pipe's Grand Sefton winner, King Turgeon sits prominently in the market. Alan King's novice Masaccio has been backed in recent weeks. As has Willie Mullins' Thyestes winner Nick Rockett, who could attempt to end Ireland's losing run in the Ultima.

Other potential runners in the opening handicap on day one of the Cheltenham Festival include Johnnywho for Jonjo & AJ O'Neill, Broadway Boy for the Twiston-Davies' team, another couple of course winners in the form of Springwell Bay and Peaky Boy, who was recently snapped up by O'Neill Racing.

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