December Novices' Chase
The December Novices' Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of about 3 miles (2 miles 7 furlongs and 214 yards or 4,828 metres), and during its running there are eighteen fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in December.
| 2020 | ||
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| Hurricane Harvey | Milanford | House Island |
| Previous years | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | ||
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-white.svg.png.webp) |
| Sam Spinner | Windsor Avenue | Only two finished |
| 2018 | ||
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| Rocky's Treasure | Theclockisticking | Coup De Pinceau |
| 2017 | ||
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| Keeper Hill | Braqueur D'or | Ballycrystal |
| 2016 | ||
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 |
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| Present Man | Potters Legend | O O Seven |
| 2015 | ||
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 |
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| Southfield Royale | Coologue | Weather Babe |
| 2014 | ||
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 |
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| Virak | Wakanda | Killala Quay |
| 2013 | ||
|
 |
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| Black Thunder | Shotgun Paddy | Buachaill Alainn |
| 2012 | ||
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 |
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| Court in Motion | Houblon Des Obeaux | Makethe Mostofnow |
| 2009 | ||
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 |
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| Burton Port | Massasoit | Bench Warrent |
| 2007 | ||
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| Verasi | Labelthou | Old Benny |
| 2004 | ||
 |
 |
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| L'ami | Distant Thunder | Tribal Venture |
| 2003 | ||
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 |
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| Lord Sam | Native Emperor | Rum Pointer |
The race was first run in 1988. Prior to 2014 it was run at Lingfield Park and was the only National Hunt event run at the course with graded status. It was transferred to Doncaster by Arena Racing Company, the owner of both courses. The Summit Juvenile Hurdle used to be contested on the same day at Lingfield but was transferred to Doncaster in 2010 – the two races are now both run at the same meeting again.[1]
Winners
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Nick the Brief | 6 | Tom Costello | John Costello |
| no race 1989 | ||||
| 1990 | Sparkling Flame | 6 | John White | Nicky Henderson |
| 1991 | River Bounty | 5 | Robbie Supple | John Upson |
| 1992 | Midnight Caller | 6 | Mark Richards | Simon Sherwood |
| 1993 | Martomick | 6 | Norman Williamson | Kim Bailey |
| 1994 | Abandoned due to unsafe state of chase course | |||
| 1995 | Abandoned due to snow | |||
| 1996 | Foodbroker Star | 6 | Leighton Aspell | Josh Gifford |
| 1997 | Fiddling the Facts | 6 | Norman Williamson | Nicky Henderson |
| 1998 | Executive King | 7 | Andrew Thornton | Geoff Hubbard |
| 1999 | Be My Mot | 7 | Jamie Goldstein | Gardie Grissell |
| 2000 | Abandoned due to waterlogged state of course | |||
| 2001 | Abandoned due to frost | |||
| no race 2002 | ||||
| 2003 | Lord Sam | 7 | Andrew Thornton | Victor Dartnall |
| 2004 | L'Ami | 5 | Dean Gallagher | François Doumen |
| no race 2005–06 [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] | ||||
| 2007 | Verasi | 6 | Jamie Moore | Gary L. Moore |
| no race 2008 [lower-alpha 2] | ||||
| 2009 | Burton Port | 5 | Tony McCoy | Nicky Henderson |
| no race 2010–11 [lower-alpha 3] [lower-alpha 1] | ||||
| 2012 | Court in Motion | 7 | Leighton Aspell | Emma Lavelle |
| 2013 | Black Thunder | 6 | Nick Scholfield | Paul Nicholls |
| 2014 | Virak | 5 | Nick Scholfield | Paul Nicholls |
| 2015 | Southfield Royale | 5 | Wayne Hutchinson | Neil Mulholland |
| 2016 | Present Man | 6 | Jack Sherwood | Paul Nicholls |
| 2017 | Keeper Hill | 6 | Gavin Sheehan | Warren Greatrex |
| 2018 | Rocky's Treasure | 7 | David Bass | Kim Bailey |
| 2019 | Sam Spinner | 7 | Joe Colliver | Jedd O'Keeffe |
| 2020 | Hurricane Harvey | 6 | Paddy Brennan | Fergal O'Brien |
- The 2005 and 2011 runnings were abandoned because of frost
- The 2006 and 2008 editions were abandoned due to waterlogging
- The 2010 running was abandoned due to snow
References
- "Arc move Grade Two Chase". racinguk.com. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- pedigreequery.com – December Novices' Chase – Lingfield.
- rte.ie – "Lingfield abandoned due to frost" (2005).
- breakingnews.ie – "Lingfield abandoned" (2006).
- rte.ie – "Cheltenham and Lingfield abandoned" (2008).