15:20DAY 2 · WEDNESDAY 17 MARCH 2027
CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL

CROSS COUNTRY CHASE

Cheltenham’s Cross Country Chase explained: specialist obstacles, course experience and the return to a limited-handicap format.

Limited handicapAbout 3m5½fCross CountryCross-country chase
Permanent race guide

The Cross Country Chase is the race where an ordinary chase rating gives you only part of the picture. The horse also has to understand a very different route and cope with a varied set of obstacles. That makes experience interesting, but it does not give every course regular a free pass. Familiarity and current ability still have to meet.

A different course and a different handicap

This race uses Cheltenham’s dedicated cross-country route rather than the conventional Old Course chase circuit. The turn sequence and obstacle variety create a specialist test. Look at how a runner handles that work, not just whether it has completed the course before.

The Festival race returned to a limited-handicap structure in 2025, following a period as a conditions race. That change affects comparisons with the years when the leading horses met on different weight terms. Keep the eras separate when interpreting favourites, ratings or repeat-winner patterns.

Experience is useful when it is relevant

A previous good round here can reduce uncertainty about the obstacles. Watch whether the horse was confident and economical or simply got round while losing ground at several points. Those are not the same level of evidence.

For a newcomer, distinguish lack of public experience from demonstrated inability. You may have less information, which should affect confidence, but an empty course-form column is not proof that a capable chaser cannot adapt. Published schooling reports are background information, not an official result.

Class still has to carry its weight

Assess recent fitness and enthusiasm as well as old achievements. A once high-class conventional chaser may retain plenty of ability, or its rating may describe a level it no longer reaches. The change of discipline can be interesting without guaranteeing a revival.

Then put the handicap back into the calculation. Compare the actual weights, the ground and the stamina evidence. The question is not simply which horse has the biggest reputation or the most appearances here. It is which can combine a fluent round with a strong enough performance under today’s terms.

Previous renewals

2026 WINNERFinal OrdersView official result ↗
2025 WINNERStumptownView official result ↗

The 2027 runners

Declarations will settle the field.

The 2027 runners are not yet declared. A past winner or a horse quoted in an ante-post market is not a confirmed runner. Check entries, connections’ published plans and the final declarations before treating a horse as part of this field.

No live prices or confirmed 2027 runner list are presented in this guide. Reviewed 11 November 2026.

Your questions, answered

Is the Festival Cross Country Chase a handicap?

It changed to a limited handicap from 2025. Confirm the current renewal’s published weight conditions.

Is it run on the Old Course because it takes place on Wednesday?

No. It uses the separate cross-country route, so the conventional Old/New Course split does not describe this race.

Sources & editorial notes

Reviewed 11 November 2026. Interpretation is Puntrr’s; factual results and conditions are linked below.

  1. Published 2027 Festival schedule
  2. Official course maps
  3. Official 2026 results
  4. Official 2025 results
  5. Official 2025 format changes
puntrr.

The record. The reasoning. The full picture.

Cheltenham racecards ↗

Editorial information reviewed 11 November 2026. Illustrative hero artwork.

FIND YOUR NEXT READ