Premier Novices’ Hurdle day at Kelso Racecourse is a massive day for the track. Run on a busy Saturday at the end of February; the schedule contains this excellent Grade 2 race as well as the Premier Chase, a Listed event.
The Premier Hurdle brings to Scotland some of the best novices in Britain to run over a two-mile, two-furlong trip for prize money, reaching around £50,000.
There are ten flights of hurdles for these novices to negotiate during a race that was first initiated in 1990 as a Class B conditions event, though it was upgraded to Grade 2 status in 2003.
The idea is that winners of this race can then make their way to the Cheltenham Festival in March if recovering quickly enough, or else to Aintree in April. Past winners for Scottish trainers include Crazy Horse, Bold Sir Brian, and Tap Night, while southern raiders have scored recently with Mount Mews and Clondaw Caitlin.