| Class: | Grade 2 |
| Horse Race: | Sharp Novices' Hurdle (Sky Bet Novices' Hurdle) |
| Location: | Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham, England |
| Race Type: | Hurdle race |
| Sponsor: | Sky Bet |
| Website: | Cheltenham |
| Distance: | 2m 87y (3,298 metres) |
| Surface: | Turf |
| Track: | Left-handed |
| Qualification: | Four-years-old and up |
| Weight: | 11 st 1 lb (4yo) 11 st 2 lb (5yo+) Allowances 7 lb for fillies and mares Penalties 5 lb for winners of a Class 1 wfa hurdle 3 lb for winners of a Class 2 wfa or Class 1 handicap hurdle |
| Purse: | £50,000 (2023) 1st: £28,475 |
|}The Sharp Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and half a furlong (2 miles and 87 yards, or 3607yd), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in October.
The event was formerly contested over 2 miles, and it used to be held in December. It was extended by a furlong in 1992, and it was cut to its present length and moved to November in 1994. In 2011 the race was renamed as the Opus Energy Novices' Hurdle as part of a sponsorship deal with UK power supplier Opus Energy.[1] Since 2013 the race has been sponsored by Sky Bet and run as the Sky Bet Novices' Hurdle.
In April 2023 the British Horseracing Authority announced that the race would be run in October as part of a restructure of the 2023/24 programme.[2]
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| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Butt and Ben | 3 | Roger Chapman | Fulke Walwyn | |
| 1988 | Green Willow | 6 | Peter Hobbs | Josh Gifford | |
| 1989 | Run for Free | 5 | Peter Scudamore | Martin Pipe | |
| no race 1990 | |||||
| 1991 | Thetford Forest | 4 | Richard Dunwoody | David Nicholson | |
| 1992 | Satin Lover | 4 | Graham McCourt | Nigel Tinkler | |
| 1993 | Large Action | 5 | Jamie Osborne | Oliver Sherwood | |
| 1994 | Berude Not To | 5 | Jamie Osborne | Oliver Sherwood | |
| 1995 | Mandys Mantino | 5 | Philip Hide | Josh Gifford | |
| 1996 | Kailash | 5 | Tony McCoy | Martin Pipe | |
| 1997 | Circus Star | 4 | Adrian Maguire | David Nicholson | |
| 1998 | Hoh Invader | 6 | Richard Dunwoody | Charlie Mann | |
| 1999 | Silence Reigns | 5 | Mick Fitzgerald | Paul Nicholls | |
| 2000 | Reiziger | 4 | Richard Johnson | Philip Hobbs | |
| 2001 | Fireball Macnamara | 5 | Timmy Murphy | Mark Pitman | |
| 2002 | Mutakarrim | 5 | Paul Carberry | Dermot Weld | |
| 2003 | Self Defense | 6 | Barry Keniry | Emma Lavelle | |
| 2004 | Marcel | 4 | Timmy Murphy | Martin Pipe | |
| 2005 | Boychuk | 4 | Richard Johnson | Philip Hobbs | |
| 2006 | Moon Over Miami | 5 | Noel Fehily | Charlie Mann | |
| 2007 | I'msingingtheblues | 5 | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls | |
| 2008 | Golan Way | 4 | Jamie Goldstein | Sheena West | |
| 2009 | Loosen My Load | 5 | Andrew Lynch | Henry de Bromhead | |
| 2010 | Cue Card | 4 | Joe Tizzard | Colin Tizzard | |
| 2011 | Steps to Freedom | 5 | Robbie Power | Jessica Harrington | |
| 2012 | Dodging Bullets | 4 | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls | |
| 2013 | The Liquidator | 5 | Tom Scudamore | David Pipe | |
| 2014 | Vyta Du Roc | 5 | Barry Geraghty | Nicky Henderson | |
| 2015 | Altior | 5 | Nico de Boinville | Nicky Henderson | |
| 2016 | Moon Racer | 7 | Tom Scudamore | David Pipe | |
| 2017 | Slate House | 5 | Harry Cobden | Colin Tizzard | |
| 2018 | Elixir de Nutz | 4 | Harry Cobden | Colin Tizzard | |
| 2019 | Hang In There | 5 | Adam Wedge | Emma Lavelle | |
| 2020 | For Pleasure | 5 | Harry Bannister | Alex Hales | |
| 2021 | I Like To Move It | 4 | Sam Twiston-Davies | Nigel Twiston-Davies | |
| 2022 | Fennor Cross | 5 | Simon Torrens | John McConnell | |
| 2023 | Lookaway | 6 | Jack Quinlan | Neil King | |
| 2024 | Valgrand | 6 | Harry Skelton | Dan Skelton |