The Ultima takes pride of place on the Cheltenham Festival schedule as the first big-field handicap of the week.
It is a race for staying chasers over 3m1f and Corach Rambler successfully defended his crown last year en route to landing the biggest prize in the game, the Grand National.
A hat-trick attempt is off the cards as Lucinda Russell’s stable star goes for the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday so a new name will be carved onto the honours board.
Ultima Handicap Chase odds can be found on the Paddy Power website and Paddy Power app, otherwise key trends from the last 10 renewals and a tip based off the big-race stats are below.
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Ultima Handicap Chase trends
AGE
Vintage Clouds (2021) and Coo Star Sivola (2018) are the only winners of the Ultima Handicap Chase in the last 10 years to have been outside of the seven to nine age bracket.
COURSE FORM
You want to look for a horse that has previous experience of Cheltenham as the last 10 winners had a prior run at the track.
CHASE FORM
The last 10 horses to land the Ultima had not won more than four chases before heading to Cheltenham.
DISTANCE FORM
A previous victory over three miles or further is a must as the last 10 winners met this trend.
LAST TIME OUT
Seven winners since 2014 had their previous run within the last 18 to 45 days.
ODDS
Paddy Power’s betting for the Ultima should act as a handy guide as six winners since 2014 could be found in the top three in the market.
RATING
Horses rated 140 or higher appear to get the nod as nine of the last 10 winners met this statistic.
SEASON FORM
The last 10 winners had at least two runs that season – eight of those had three – while seven already had a win on the board for the campaign.
WEIGHT
Just one horse has carried top weight to victory in the last 10 renewals (Un Temps Pour Tout in 2017) and that was the only winner in the period to be lumbered with more than 11st 8lbs.
OTHER
The last 10 winners were trained in Britain and seven of those wore headgear.
Ultima Handicap Chase 2024 trends verdict
The strongest trends throw up Chianti Classico and Twig as the picks for the Ultima Handicap Chase. They are British-trained, fit the age profile, have previously run at Cheltenham, won less than four times over fences, scored over three miles and been seen on at least two occasions this season.
The presence of a tongue-tie and position near the top of Paddy Power’s betting means Chianti Classico meets more of the weaker trends than Twig.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
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- Matt Chapman’s Cheltenham tips for Tuesday at the Festival
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- Ruby Walsh’s Cheltenham tips for every race on Tuesday
- Paddy Power’s epic Tuesday cheat sheet of Cheltenham tips for day one
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