| Class: | Ungraded |
| Horse Race: | St James's Place Festival Hunter Chase |
| Location: | Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham, England |
| Inaugurated: | 1904 |
| Race Type: | Hunter chase |
| Sponsor: | St. James's Place plc |
| Website: | Cheltenham |
| Distance: | 3m 2f 70y (5,294 metres) |
| Surface: | Turf |
| Track: | Left-handed |
| Qualification: | Five-years-old and up |
| Weight: | 11 st 10 lb (5yo); 12 st 0 lb (6yo+) Allowances 7 lb for mares |
| Purse: | £50,000 (2023) 1st: £24,445 |
|}The St James's Place Festival Hunters' Chase is a National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain for amateur riders which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and 2½ furlongs (3 miles 2 furlongs and 70 yards, or 5,294 metres), and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped. It is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The event is contested over the same course and distance as the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it is sometimes referred to as the "amateur Gold Cup". It was established in 1904, and the inaugural running was won by Palmy Boy. It was backed by the insurance company Sun Alliance and London in 1972 and 1973, and for the following five years it was run without a sponsor. The art auctioneers Christie's supported the race from 1979 to 2012 and from 2013 to 2015 it was sponsored by the Country Gentleman's Association.[1] Since 2016 it has been sponsored by St. James's Place plc. The race's full title is the St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase. Until 2020 the race was known as the St James's Place Foxhunters' Chase - the word "fox" was removed from the title prior to the 2021 running.
Qualification for entry in the Festival Hunter Chase is based on a horse's previous performances in certain types of race within a specific period. To be eligible a horse must have finished first or second twice in hunter chases, or have won two open point-to-point races, or have won one open point-to-point race and finished first or second in a hunter chase.
Only professional jockeys competed in the 2021 running as amateur riders were excluded from the Cheltenham Festival due to restrictions on grassroots sport for the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[2]
Most successful horse since 1946 (2 wins):
Leading jockey since 1946 (3 wins):
Leading trainer since 1946 (4 wins):
| border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; | |||||||
| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | width=160px | Iloilo | 9 | width=180px | Harry Freeman-Jackson | width=180px | Harry Freeman-Jackson |
| 1947 | Lucky Purchase | 9 | John Nichols | Sidney Banks | |||
| 1948 | State Control | 8 | Harry Llewellyn | Harry Llewellyn | |||
| no race 1949 | |||||||
| 1950 | Greenwood | 13 | John Stuart-Evans | J. T. Evans | |||
| 1951 | Halloween | 6 | Dickie Smalley | Bill Wightman | |||
| 1952 | Parasol II | 7 | Ivor Kerwood | A. Walton | |||
| 1953 | Dunboy II (DH) | 9 | Charlie Scott | P. Bruce | |||
| 1953 | Merry (DH) | 13 | Gay Kindersley | Alec Kerr | |||
| 1954 | Happymint | 9 | Danny Moralee | Stewart Wight | |||
| no race 1955 | |||||||
| 1956 | The Callant | 8 | John Scott-Aiton | Stewart Wight | |||
| 1957 | The Callant | 9 | John Scott-Aiton | Stewart Wight | |||
| 1958 | Whinstone Hill | 9 | Bobby Brewis | Bobby Brewis | |||
| 1959 | Some Baby | 10 | John Thorne | Tim Rootes | |||
| 1960 | Whinstone Hill | 11 | Bobby Brewis | Bobby Brewis | |||
| 1961 | hide=y|College}} Master | 11 | Laurie Morgan | Laurie Morgan | |||
| 1962 | hide=y|College}} Master | 12 | Laurie Morgan | Laurie Morgan | |||
| 1963 | Grand Morn II | 9 | R. Bloomfield | G. Shepheard | |||
| 1964 | Freddie | 7 | Alan Mactaggart | Reg Tweedie | |||
| 1965 | Woodside Terrace | 12 | Dick Woodhouse | Dick Woodhouse | |||
| 1966 | Straight Lady | 10 | Richard Shepherd | William Shepherd | |||
| 1967 | Mulbarton | 11 | Nick Gaselee | Ian Pattullo | |||
| 1968 | Bright Beach | 8 | Charlie Macmillan | Geordie Dun | |||
| 1969 | Queens Guide | 8 | G. Wade | Willie Wade | |||
| 1970 | Highworth | 11 | Dick Woodhouse | Dick Woodhouse | |||
| 1971 | Hope Again | 9 | Richard Smith | Denis Windel | |||
| 1972 | Credit Call | 8 | Chris Collins | Arthur Stephenson | |||
| 1973 | Bullocks Horn | 10 | Lord Oaksey | Bob Turnell | |||
| 1974 | Corrie Burn | 8 | Ian Williams | George Fairbairn | |||
| 1975 | Real Rascal | 12 | George Hyatt | Barbara Surman | |||
| 1976 | False Note | 10 | Bryan Smart | John Horton | |||
| 1977 | Long Lane | 9 | Richard Shepherd | Richard Shepherd | |||
| 1978 | Timmie's Battle | 7 | Peter Greenall | Arthur Stephenson | |||
| 1979 | Spartan Missile | 7 | John Thorne | John Thorne | |||
| 1980 | Rolls Rambler | 9 | Oliver Sherwood | Fred Winter | |||
| 1981 | Grittar | 8 | Dick Saunders | Frank Gilman | |||
| 1982 | The Drunken Duck | 9 | Brod Munro-Wilson | Brod Munro-Wilson | |||
| 1983 | Eliogarty | 8 | Caroline Beasley | Barry Kelly | |||
| 1984 | Venture to Cognac | 11 | Oliver Sherwood | Fred Winter | |||
| 1985 | Elmboy | 7 | Alan Hill | Norman Mawle | |||
| 1986 | Attitude Adjuster | 6 | Ted Walsh | Mouse Morris | |||
| 1987 | Observe | 11 | Charlie Brooks | Fred Winter | |||
| 1988 | Certain Light | 10 | Paul Hacking | Jean Campbell | |||
| 1989 | Three Counties | 12 | Katie Rimell | Mercy Rimell | |||
| 1990 | Call Collect | 9 | Ray Martin | John Parkes | |||
| 1991 | Lovely Citizen | 8 | Willie O'Sullivan | Eugene M. O'Sullivan | |||
| 1992 | Rushing Wild | 7 | Justin Farthing | Richard Barber | |||
| 1993 | Double Silk | 9 | Ron Treloggen | Reg Wilkins | |||
| 1994 | Double Silk | 10 | Ron Treloggen | Reg Wilkins | |||
| 1995 | Fantus | 8 | Polly Curling | Richard Barber | |||
| 1996 | Elegant Lord | 8 | Enda Bolger | Enda Bolger | |||
| 1997 | Fantus | 10 | Tim Mitchell | Richard Barber | |||
| 1998 | Earthmover | 7 | Joe Tizzard | Richard Barber | |||
| 1999 | Castle Mane | 7 | Ben Pollock | Caroline Bailey | |||
| 2000 | Cavalero | 11 | Alex Charles-Jones | John Manners | |||
| no race 2001 | |||||||
| 2002 | Last Option | 10 | Fiona Needham | Robin Tate | |||
| 2003 | Kingscliff | 6 | Richard Young | Sally Alner | |||
| 2004 | Earthmover | 13 | Rilly Goschen | Paul Nicholls | |||
| 2005 | Sleeping Night | 9 | Colman Sweeney | Paul Nicholls | |||
| 2006 | Whyso Mayo | 9 | Damien Murphy | Raymond Hurley | |||
| 2007 | Drombeag | 9 | J. T. McNamara | Jonjo O'Neill | |||
| 2008 | Amicelli | 9 | Oliver Greenall | Cherry Coward | |||
| 2009 | Cappa Bleu | 7 | Richard Burton | Sheila Crow | |||
| 2010 | Baby Run | 10 | Sam Twiston-Davies | Nigel Twiston-Davies | |||
| 2011 | Zemsky | 8 | Derek O'Connor | Ian Ferguson | |||
| 2012 | Salsify | 7 | Colman Sweeney | Roger Sweeney | |||
| 2013 | Salsify | 8 | Colman Sweeney | Roger Sweeney | |||
| 2014 | Tammys Hill | 9 | James Smyth | Liam Lennon | |||
| 2015 | On The Fringe | 10 | Nina Carberry | Enda Bolger | |||
| 2016 | On The Fringe | 11 | Nina Carberry | Enda Bolger | |||
| 2017 | Pacha Du Polder | 10 | Bryony Frost | Paul Nicholls | |||
| 2018 | Pacha Du Polder | 11 | Harriet Tucker | Paul Nicholls | |||
| 2019 | Hazel Hill | 11 | Alex Edwards | Philip Rowley | |||
| 2020 | It Came to Pass | 10 | Maxine O'Sullivan | Eugene O'Sullivan | |||
| 2021 | Porlock Bay | 10 | Lorcan Williams | Will Biddick | |||
| 2022 | Billaway | 10 | Patrick Mullins | Willie Mullins | |||
| 2023 | Premier Magic | 10 | Bradley Gibbs | Bradley Gibbs | |||
| 2024 | Sine Nomine | 8 | John Dawson | Fiona Needham |