Cesarewitch Handicap Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Future Champions Festival)

Two and a quarter miles across Newmarket’s open heath makes the Cesarewitch one of the great staying handicaps, a race where dual-purpose jumps trainers have a long record of success and a mark that allows for improvement counts. Our trends guide covers the profile, the draw and the shortlist.
Cesarewitch Handicap Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Future Champions Festival)
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Content Editor

You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.

2027 Cesarewitch Handicap Preview

Newmarket's Cesarewitch Handicap carries Class 2 Heritage status for three-year-olds and upwards. This marathon contest for stayers is run over two miles and two furlongs, starting in Cambridgeshire and finishing in Suffolk!

Staged usually two weeks after the Cambridgeshire Handicap and run on Newmarket's Rowley Mile Course, the Cesarewitch is the second leg of the 'Autumn Double' for punters, and with Lord North's win for favourite backers in this season's Cambridgeshire, it probably means there are plenty of punters holding potential 'Autumn Double' payouts!

There is plenty of history attached to this great staying handicap, inaugurated in 1839 in the same year as the Cambridgeshire and won by some top stayers including Vintage Crop (1992), who went on to be the first European-trained horse to win Australia's Melbourne Cup, Sergeant Cecil in 2005 and top dual-purpose horses down the years like Nomadic Way (1988), Top Cees (1999), Landing Light (2003) and Detroit City (2006).

A valuable pipe opener for many national hunt trainers looking to fine-tune their charges ready for a winter jumps campaign, Willie Mullins won the race for three consecutive years between 2018 & 2020. Nicky Henderson is another jumps trainer who has three wins in the race too, and the likes of Emmet Mullins, Alan King and Philip Hobbs have all registered wins.

Market Leaders and Big Outsiders
Nine of the last 20 Cesarewitch winners were in the top three in the market, and seven were 11th or worse, including 2024 winner Alphonse Le Grande (33/1). Only four were fourth to tenth, including his 18/1 repeat in 2026, so the middle ground is thin ahead of the next renewal.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Cesarewitch Handicap Information:

If you are interested in other predictions at Newmarket, then head over to the Newmarket tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG racing tipsters and also compare those predictions to the runners that make the trend shortlist when added below. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal races during the Future Champions Festival section for links to these.

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How competitive is the Cesarewitch Handicap market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2022, when the race had an over-round of 134%. The race in 2017 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 150%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Cesarewitch Handicap, the over-round has been 141%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £141 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2027 Cesarewitch Handicap Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Cesarewitch Handicap Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Cesarewitch Handicap races over the last 20 renewals:

  1. Withhold (3:45.59) in 2017
  2. Alphonse Le Grande (3:46.45) in 2026
  3. Beylerbeyi (3:47.95) in 2025

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Cesarewitch Handicap next time out, then you would have backed a total of 3 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -1.50. Whilst we wait for the 2027 Cesarewitch Handicap, remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.

When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 3:45.59 was set by Withhold in 2017, trained by Roger Charlton and ridden by Silvestre De Sousa, which is the quickest time over that period. The slowest winning time was set in 2010 when Aaim To Prosper won in a time of 3:59.10 for trainer Brian Meehan, who booked Louis-Philippe Beuzelin in the saddle.

Cesarewitch Handicap Past Winners

Here are the Cesarewitch Handicap past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the race year, the winning horse, and the horse's age & weight. Also detailed are the stall from which the horse came and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Cesarewitch Handicap are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorse (Drawn)Info
2026
3:46.45
Alphonse Le Grande (IRE)
7yo 8-6 (14 of 29) 18/1
Patrick McGettigan (5lbs)
A J Martin (IRE)
2025
3:47.95
Beylerbeyi (GB)
5yo 8-11 (5 of 19) 7/1
Billy Loughnane
Ian Williams (GB)
2024
3:57.42
Alphonse Le Grande (IRE)
5yo 8-3 (19 of 24) 33/1
Jamie Powell (3lbs)
Mrs C O'Leary (IRE)
2023
3:52.64
The Shunter (IRE)
10yo 9-1 (3 of 31) 14/1
James Doyle
Emmet Mullins (IRE)
2022
3:52.87
Run For Oscar (IRE)
7yo 8-11 (9 of 21) 4/1
David Egan
C Byrnes (IRE)
2021
3:48.43
Buzz (FR)
7yo 8-13 (6 of 32) 8/1
Oisin Murphy
Nicky Henderson (GB)
2020
3:55.15
Great White Shark (FR)
6yo 8-6 (20 of 34) 9/2F
Jason Watson
W P Mullins (IRE)
2019
3:58.64
Stratum (GB)
6yo 9-7 (20 of 30) 25/1
Jason Watson
W P Mullins (IRE)
2018
3:48.96
Low Sun (GB)
5yo 9-2 (13 of 33) 10/1
Seamie Heffernan
W P Mullins (IRE)
2017
3:45.59
Withhold (GB)
4yo 8-8 (24 of 34) 5/1F
Silvestre De Sousa
Roger Charlton (GB)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Cesarewitch Handicap have been based:

  • GB: 12 winners with an additional 44 placings from 504 runners
  • IRE: 8 winners with an additional 16 placings from 109 runners
  • FR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners
  • HK: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner

2026 Cesarewitch Handicap Replay


Cesarewitch Handicap Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Cesarewitch Handicap over the last 20 renewals is W P Mullins, who has won the race three times, with those three winners coming from Low Sun (2018), Stratum (2019) and Great White Shark (2020). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Cesarewitch Handicap are A J Martin (2 wins), Nicky Henderson (2 wins) and Brian Meehan (2 wins). Multiple trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Cesarewitch Handicap. Andrew Balding (0-22), David Pipe (0-21), Jim Goldie (0-17), Sir Mark Prescott Bt (0-16), Brian Ellison (0-16), Richard Fahey (0-13) and Ralph Beckett (0-12) have all failed to produce a single winner despite sending multiple runners to the race.

Here are some of the top Cesarewitch Handicap trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
W P Mullins35-3-8+7.50+1.88
A J Martin15-2-5+19.00+11.20
Nicky Henderson12-2-4+48.00+32.63
Brian Meehan4-2-2+80.00+49.25
Ian Williams32-1-3-24.00-19.49
Hughie Morrison26-1-5-18.00-7.11
Alan King17-1-2+34.00+22.00
Emmet Mullins7-1-1+8.00+2.75
Roger Charlton6-1-2+0.00+1.13
David Simcock6-1-2-0.50-0.56

Cesarewitch Handicap Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Cesarewitch Handicap over the last 20 renewals is Silvestre De Sousa, who has won the race three times, with those three winners coming from Scatter Dice (2013), Sweet Selection (2016) and Withhold (2017). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the Cesarewitch Handicap is Jason Watson (2 wins). Multiple jockeys have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Cesarewitch Handicap; William Buick (0-16), Ryan Moore (0-16), Hayley Turner (0-10), Jimmy Quinn (0-10), Luke Morris (0-10) and Jamie Spencer (0-10) have all failed to produce a single winner despite having multiple rides in the race.

Here are some of the top Cesarewitch Handicap jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
Silvestre De Sousa9-3-5+72.00+46.51
Jason Watson4-2-2+27.50+16.44
Andrea Atzeni12-1-3-6.50-3.06
Oisin Murphy10-1-4-1.00+4.07
James Doyle9-1-3+6.00+5.75
Tom Queally6-1-1+5.00+1.25
David Egan5-1-1+0.00-1.50
Adam Beschizza3-1-1+48.00+29.25
Seamie Heffernan3-1-1+8.00+4.25
Patrick McGettigan2-1-1+17.00+10.25

2027 Cesarewitch Handicap Runners & Shortlist

The runners and the final trends shortlist for the 2027 renewal of the Cesarewitch Handicap will be added once the final declarations are confirmed, which are usually made 48 hours before the race.

Cesarewitch Handicap Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +85.00, is when runners had a highest class won of Class 2.

❌ The worst-performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran over 1m6f last time out; when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-128.

Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:

  • 2026: Winner in 14 (17,5,1) [29 Runners]
  • 2025: Winner in 5 (12,9,4) [19 Runners]
  • 2024: Winner in 19 (4,22,2) [24 Runners]
  • 2023: Winner in 3 (22,15,8) [31 Runners]
  • 2022: Winner in 9 (2,5,1) [21 Runners]

The courses that have produced the most winners of the Cesarewitch Handicap are Curragh, Doncaster, Newmarket (Rowley), Ascot, Newbury and Listowel; there have been a total of 2 winners from each of those courses.

The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 16 winners from a total of 555 runners, while female runners have produced 4 winners from a total of 61 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Cesarewitch Handicap:

  • Champs Elysees (2 Wins)
  • Sea The Stars (2 Wins)
  • Val Royal (2 Wins)

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Cesarewitch Handicap despite multiple attempts:

  • Galileo (0 Wins from 29 runners)
  • Mastercraftsman (0 Wins from 11 runners)
  • Sir Percy (0 Wins from 11 runners)
  • Hernando (0 Wins from 10 runners)
  • Teofilo (0 Wins from 10 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Aaim To Prosper in 2012, winning for Brian Meehan at odds of 66/1 under the guidance of Kieren Fallon. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 3 winning favourites in the race. Before placing your bet on the 2027 Cesarewitch Handicap, head over to see which runners the best racing tipsters are tipping today.

Route to the Cesarewitch Handicap

Many trainers target races as preparation for the Cesarewitch Handicap. These are the races in which the recent winners ran before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2026 - Alphonse Le Grande
Curragh - 13th of 30 (33/1)
Irish Cesarewitch
2025 - Beylerbeyi
Newbury - 3rd of 14 (7/1)
Dubai Duty Free Autumn Cup Handicap
2024 - Alphonse Le Grande
Curragh - 8th of 30 (66/1)
Irish Cesarewitch
2023 - The Shunter
Gowran Park - 4th of 6 (11/1)
McEnery Cup Handicap
2022 - Run For Oscar
Haydock - 1st of 11 (11/10)
Sky Bet Sunday Series Stayers Handicap
2021 - Buzz
Aintree - 2nd of 11 (23/1)
Aintree Hurdle
2020 - Great White Shark
Galway - 1st of 18 (5/1)
Guinness Handicap Hurdle
2019 - Stratum
Listowel - 2nd of 4 (1/4)
Kerrymaid Hurdle
2018 - Low Sun
Bellewstown - 6th of 8 (2/1)
Thatch Bar And Restaurant Handicap
2017 - Withhold
Newbury - 3rd of 12 (8/1)
Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Handicap

Other Principal races during the Future Champions Festival

Remember to head to the Newmarket predictions page to see which runner the racing tipsters support in the Cesarewitch Handicap. Below are the other principal races that we cover during the Future Champions Festival, with links to each race blog as well as information for last year's winners.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
Friday
Challenge Stakes
Never So Brave (IRE)
5yo - 4/1
Andrew Balding
Oisin Murphy
Friday
Fillies Mile
Musical Times (IRE)
2yo - 4/9
Charlie Appleby
William Buick
Friday
Old Rowley Cup
Study Of Words (IRE)
3yo - 10/1
Charlie Appleby
William Buick
Saturday
Dewhurst Stakes
Darkness Falls (IRE)
2yo - 6/4
A P O'Brien
Ryan Moore
Saturday
Cesarewitch Handicap
Alphonse Le Grande (IRE)
7yo - 18/1
A J Martin
Patrick McGettigan

Article Contributor Information

We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Cesarewitch Handicap Preview are Andy and James. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for Flat racing.

James Banting

About the author

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Association provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.

- James Banting, Content Editor

Andy Powell

About the author and editor

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for flat racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful flat racing blogs for OLBG.

- Andy Powell, Content Editor

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