The Weatherbys Champion Bumper is the premier National Hunt Flat race at the Cheltenham Festival, known for producing future stars of jumps racing. Previous winners include Envoi Allen, Facile Vega, Sir Gerhard, and Cue Card. Below, we analyze the key trends, past winners, and best bets for this year’s renewal.
📊 Key Trends & Winning Profile
✅ Winning Form Matters: 📈 Last 32 winners all won last time out except for Liberman (2003).
✅ Experience Counts: 🔄 17 of the last 19 had never finished worse than 2nd in a race.
✅ Recent Runners Perform Best: 🚀 8 of the last 9 winners had last raced within 45 days.
✅ High-Class Bumper Form: 🎯 7 of the last 9 had already won a Listed or Graded bumper.
✅ Field Size Experience: 🔢 The last 10 winners had previously won in fields of at least 11 runners.
✅ Trainer Power: 🏇 W P Mullins or Gordon Elliott trained 7 of the last 8 winners.
✅ Favourites Struggle: ⚠️ 14 of the 17 horses priced 5/2 or less have been beaten.
✅ Young Horses Dominate: 📅 7 of the last 9 winners were aged 5.
✅ Beaten Favourites Rarely Win: ❌ No horse this century has won after being beaten as favourite last time out.
✅ Irish Domination: ☘️ Irish-trained horses have won 11 of the last 13.
✅ BHA Ratings Guide: 📊 All of the last 10 winners were rated at least 120, and 7 of the last 19 were rated 132+.
✅ Sires & Breeding: 🐎 Fleminsfirth is the only sire to have produced two Champion Bumper winners (both mares).
🏇 Recent Winners & Trends Analysis
📅 2025: TBD
📅 2024: Jasmin De Vaux (5yo, BHA 126, 9/2, W P Mullins) – Won after 1st in Naas Bumper
📅 2023: A Dream To Share (5yo, BHA 135, 7/2, J Kiely) – Won after 1st in G2 Leopardstown Bumper
📅 2022: Facile Vega (5yo, BHA 138, 15/8F, W P Mullins) – Won after 1st in G2 Leopardstown Bumper
📅 2021: Sir Gerhard (6yo, BHA 132, 85/40, W P Mullins) – Won after 1st in Listed Navan Bumper
📅 2020: Ferny Hollow (5yo, BHA 124, 11/1, W P Mullins) – Won after 1st at Fairyhouse
📅 2019: Envoi Allen (5yo, BHA 127, 2/1F, G Elliott) – Won after 1st in G2 Leopardstown Bumper
🔍 Key Trends:
✅ Irish-trained horses dominate – Only two British winners in the last 13 years.
✅ Top bumper trainers – W P Mullins has won 13 of the last 28, G Elliott two of the last eight.
✅ Experience in Graded races is key – Last four winners had won or placed in a G2 bumper.
✅ Horses rated 132+ perform well – A Dream To Share, Facile Vega, and Envoi Allen all fit this profile.
✅ Favourites can be risky – Only three winning favourites since 2010.
🎯 Expert Verdict: Who to Bet On?
✅ Look for 5-year-olds with strong bumper form.
✅ Check for horses rated 120+ by the BHA.
✅ Irish-trained runners, particularly from W P Mullins & Gordon Elliott, hold the key.
✅ Avoid beaten favourites from their last run – No horse has bounced back from a last-time-out defeat as favourite this century.
✅ Field size experience is crucial – The last 10 winners had all previously won in fields of at least 11 runners.
📈 Best Bets for Weatherbys Champion Bumper 2025 – Top Selections
| 🏇 Horse | 📉 Odds | 🎯 Trainer | 🔥 Age | 📊 OR | ⭐ RPR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windbeneathmywings | 6/1 | David Pipe | 5 | – | 130 |
| Bambino Fever | 7/1 | W P Mullins | 5 | – | 124 |
| Kalypso’chance | 7/1 | Gordon Elliott | 5 | – | 130 |
| Jalon D’oudairies | 12/1 | Gordon Elliott | 6 | – | 134 |
🏆 Windbeneathmywings looks to have a strong profile for the race, and David Pipe has previous Festival bumper winners.
🔥 Bambino Fever is W P Mullins’ leading chance and fits all the key trends.
💪 Kalypso’chance is well-rated and comes from Gordon Elliott’s strong bumper team.
⚡ Jalon D’oudairies is a six-year-old, so needs to be well-backed to be a serious contender.
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