With mares winning two of the past three renewals of the Relkeel Hurdle, will we see another mare add her name to the list of winners?

Here, I take you through all seven runners in the 2025 Relkeel Hurdle.

Get all the best odds and sign-up offers here from the best online horse racing bookmakers.

Grade 2 Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle runner by runner betting guide

Now it’s time to take an in-depth look into runners of the Grade 2 Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle and the best horse racing bookmakers to help you make a winning bet.

🏇 7 Golden Ace

• Age: 7
• Weight: 10st 10lb
• Form: 1111-4
• Rating: 144
• Jockey: Lorcan Williams
• Trainer: Jeremy Scott
• Odds: 7/2

Having gotten the better of the now two-time Grade 1 hurdler Brighterdaysahead in the Mares Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, a lot was expected from Golden Ace on her comeback at Ascot in November.

She was disappointing and could only manage a fourth-place finish behind the reposing Lucky Place.

Golden Ace is now getting an extra six pounds off that rival here, but even that may not be enough to turn around that form.

For all that she has won over this tip in the past in a much lesser grand, I don’t think she truly stays this trip.

I see her coming up short once again today.

✅ Last season’s Mares Novices’ Hurdle winner
✅ Should come on for her return

❌ Would prefer a speed test
❌ Well beaten behind Lucky Place last time out

Star rating: ⭐️⭐⭐

🐎 Bet on Golden Ace with talkSPORT BET 🐎

🏇 1 Lucky Place

• Age: 6
• Weight: 11st 6lb
• Form: 1224-1
• Rating: 145
• Jockey: Nico de Boinville
• Trainer: Nicky Henderson
• Odds: 7/2

Having shaped with plenty of promise last season that saw him record a win, a second-place finish to Gidleigh Park, and a fourth in the Coral Cup behind Langer Dan, Lucky Placed always looked like he would take a big step forward this season for a summer on his back.

He got his season off to a winning start when staying on well at the finish to get the better of Blueking d’Oroux in a driving finish at Ascot (Golden Ace fourth).

Since that win, Lucky Place has been talked about as a potential Stayers Hurdle horse, and if he is to fulfil that promise, he will need to go close here again today.

Expect to see an improved performance here today.

✅ A young stayer in the making
✅ Won well on his return

❌ Has to concede weight to all his rivals

Star rating: ⭐️⭐⭐⭐

🐎 Bet on Lucky Place with Sky Bet 🐎

🏇 3 Salver

• Age: 5
• Weight: 11st 3lb
• Form: 113-4
• Rating: 143
• Jockey: Caoilin Quinn
• Trainer: Gary & Josh Moore
• Odds: 9/2

Since his debut win in November of 2023, Salver has always shaped as if he was a horse going places, and he certainly didn’t do himself any harm when finishing a staying on third behind Majborough in the Triumph Hurdle.

He is part of possibly the best crop of juvenile hurdlers we have ever seen and is given the utmost respect here.

Having made his comeback on ground that was quicker than ideal, Salver ran well and stayed on well to finish fourth in a premier handicap at Newbury.

Today, he is back on more suitable ground and stepping up in trip for the first time, which will bring out even more improvement from this talented five-year-old.

He gets weight off two of his main rivals, and with the expected improvement from the step up in trip, I expect Salver to put in a career-best performance today.

✅ Will relish the soft conditions
✅ The step up in trip will bring forth more improvement
✅ Part of last season’s top juvenile hurdlers

❌ Conceeds weight to older rivals

Star rating: ⭐️⭐⭐⭐⭐

🐎 Bet on Salver with Paddy Power 🐎

🏇 2 Langer Dan

• Age: 9
• Weight: 11st 4lb
• Form: 0132-3
• Rating: 160
• Jockey: Harry Skelton
• Trainer: Dan Skelton
• Odds: 11/2

Langer Dan is a horse that you are either a fan of or not, and there is no in-between.

He is a horse that is near impossible to train in the winter, according to trainer Dan Skelton, and he has proven to be right once again as Langer Dan ran no sort of race behind Stong Leader on his comeback.

He will need to take a big step forward here once again, but going on what we know about Langer Dan, it’s best to avoid backing him until the Cheltenham Festival.

✅ Has more than enough ability to win this

❌ His form in the winter is well below his best

Star rating: ⭐️⭐⭐

🐎 Bet on Langer Dan with Midnite 🐎

🏇 4 Gowel Road

• Age: 9
• Weight: 11st 0lb
• Form: 46-222
• Rating: 146
• Jockey: Sam Twiston-Davies
• Trainer: Nigel Twiston-Davoes
• Odds: 9/1

Gowel Road has once again proven himself to be an ultra-consistent handicap hurdler, with three second-place finishes this season in three competitive Cheltenham handicap hurdles.

Those three defeats came at the hands of arguably three well-handicapped rivals, but today does mark a step up in grade.

He shouldn’t be good enough to take this on all known form, but if some of his main rivals fail to run their race, he may be able to cause an upset.

✅ Shows his best form at this track
✅ Has been ultra-consistent this season

❌ Needs to show he can step up to this grade

Star rating: ⭐️⭐⭐

🐎 Bet on Gowel Road with Betfred 🐎

🏇 5 Thunder Rock

• Age: 9
• Weight: 11st 0lb
• Form: P21P-P
• Rating: 149
• Jockey: Sean Bowen
• Trainer: Olly Murphy
• Odds: 18/1

Thunder Rock is on a retrieval mission here after being pulled up when behind Lucky Place and Golden Ace at Ascot on his first start over hurdles since April 2022.

On his day, he can go close in a race like this, but with no excuses for why Thunder Rock was pulled up at Ascot, it’s hard to keep faith with him in what is a deeper race.

✅ Has the ability to run well

❌ Stopped quickly last time out

Star rating: ⭐️⭐

🐎 Bet on Thunder Rock with bet365 🐎

🏇 6 Twig

• Age: 10
• Weight: 11st 0lb
• Form: 025-2P
• Rating: 143
• Jockey: Beau Morgan
• Trainer: Ben Pauling
• Odds: 66/1

Twig, last season’s Ultima Handicap Chase second, has one target this season: to try to go one place better than he did in that race this season.

He will be running over hurdles to protect his chase handicap mark for the Ultima in March.

This race will be used as another stepping stone towards the festival, so giving him a realistic chance here is hard.

✅ The likely pacesetter

❌ This will be a stepping stone towards the Cheltenham Festival

Star rating: ⭐️

🐎 Bet on Twig with SBK 🐎

Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle verdict

In a competitive renewal of the Relkeel Hurdle, the youngest runner in the field, SALVER, may take it apart.

He steps up in trip here for the first time and has always looked like a horse that would improve considerably for a trip. If the improvement is forthcoming, then he can all the beating here.

Last-time-out winner Lucky Place can follow him up Cheltenham Hill.

Current Betting: Golden Ace 7/2, Lucky Place 7/2, Salver 9/2, Langer Dan 11/2, Gowel Road 9/1, Thunder Rock 18/1, Twig 66/1.

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