Betway Bowl

The Betway Bowl is a Grade 1 steeplechase run over 3 miles and 210 yards on the Mildmay Course at Aintree on the opening day of the three-day Grand National Festival in early April. Inaugurated, as the Perrier-Jouët Champagne Cup, in 1984, the race has been run under various titles, for sponsorship purposes, but has been sponsored by Betway since 2017. Worth £250,000 in guaranteed prize money, the Betway Bowl was promoted to Grade 1 status in 2010 and, alongside the Betfair Chase, King George VI Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup, remains one of just four races of its kind in the National Hunt calendar.

Originally intended as a consolation race for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Betway Bowl has been won by some notable staying steeplechasers, including Wayward Lad, Desert Orchid, See More Business, Silviniaco Conti and Clan Des Obeaux, in its history. Paul Nicholls, trainer of the three last named horses, also saddled What A Friend to victory in 2010, for a total of six wins altogether, making him the most successful handler in the history of the race.

The 2023 renewal of the Betway Bowl, scheduled for Thursday, April 13, is still several months away, so ante-post prices are not yet available. However, granted that the Mildmay Course at Aintree is a flat, sharp track, not unlike Kempton Park, horses that run creditably in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day are always worth considering for the Betway Bowl later in the season. Clan Des Obeaux, for example, has been a regular contestant in both races in recent seasons, winning the King George VI Chase in 2018 and 2019 and the Betway Bowl in 2021 and 2022. The last horse to win both races in the same season was the enigmatic, but talented, Might Bite in 2017/18; in between times, he also finished second in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.