Race 2 · Ladies' Day · Wednesday, 11 March 2026 · ~2:10pm
RSA Insurance Novices' Chase
Live betting odds comparison for the three-mile novice chasing championship — 3m 80y · Grade 1 · Old Course
Live betting odds comparison for the three-mile novice chasing championship — 3m 80y · Grade 1 · Old Course
Compare the latest odds from leading bookmakers for the RSA Insurance Novices' Chase. Updated as we approach Ladies' Day on 11 March 2026.
Leading racing analysts, journalists and tipsters share their views on the Grade 1 novice chase on Ladies' Day 2026.
Ruby Walsh
"It depends what Final Demand you get. The horse that was in Navan looked a good horse, the one we've seen twice since hasn't. I like Kaid d'Authie. The penny's starting to drop."
Lydia Hislop
"I like The Big Westerner. I love the way she attacks her fences. A proper test of stamina will see improved form from her. I can also see Wendigo running well."
Johnny Dineen
"The Big Westerner's ground dependent. She's a very good horse. I'd go with Wendigo each-way. He's a solid horse. It's competitive, but I'm not sure there's a Gold Cup horse in it. I couldn't have Final Demand."
Sportingnews.com
Final Demand combines classic Grade 1 staying chase class with vital stamina and agility to edge out the competitive field.
Racing Post
Paul Kealy goes for Wendigo; Tom Segal backs Sixmilebridge.
TalkSPORT — Tom Lunn
"Wendigo won with plenty in hand last time out against Maximilian at Ayr after a decent third place finish behind Kitzbuhel at Kempton and looks set for this step up to 3m. Should be prominent and thereabouts as a solid each-way punt no matter which race he ends up in."
GG.com
Andrew Mount tips Oscars Brother; Joe Napier backs Western Fold.
The RSA Insurance Novices' Chase is the three-mile novice chasing championship of the Festival — a searching stamina test that identifies the young chasers most likely to challenge for the Cheltenham Gold Cup and other staying chases in future seasons.
Run over three miles and eighty yards on the Old Course, the RSA is a genuine test of young chasers' jumping ability, stamina and temperament. The combination of Cheltenham's testing terrain and the full Gold Cup trip demands horses of exceptional quality and soundness — this is not a race for horses who are merely talented, but for those who combine talent with the physical and mental constitution to perform at the top level when it matters.
The race has an extraordinary record as a Gold Cup pointer. A remarkably high proportion of RSA winners have gone on to compete in — and many have won — the Cheltenham Gold Cup in subsequent seasons. When a young horse wins the RSA impressively, it is not unreasonable to immediately enter them in the Gold Cup ante-post market, because the statistical evidence of the race's predictive power is compelling.
As with so many Cheltenham novice races, Irish-trained horses have dominated the RSA in recent decades. Horses who have excelled in the Grade 1 staying novice chase programme in Ireland — particularly the Flogas and Dr P.J. Moriarty chases — arrive at Cheltenham as the benchmark performers, and overcoming their market position requires a British challenger of genuine calibre.
Think beyond the RSA itself — identify which runner has the physical and mental profile to develop into a Gold Cup horse over the next few seasons. Horses who win the RSA with a bit in hand and show an excellent jumping technique are the ones to follow into the Gold Cup ante-post market immediately after the Festival.
Over three miles on the Old Course, a horse who jumps with fluent, economical technique has a huge advantage. Every wasted energy at a fence — a stumble, a sprawl, a pecked landing — costs momentum and stamina that cannot be recovered over this distance. Prioritise clean, quick jumpers.
The RSA is often run on ground that becomes more testing as the Festival progresses. Horses who have won on soft or heavy ground in their novice chase starts have an obvious advantage if Cheltenham produces wet conditions — check forecast going in the final week.
The RSA market is often one of the clearest before Cheltenham — a strong market leader tends to form around the Irish Grade 1 novice chases in January and February. Getting on before the Dublin Racing Festival (early February) typically provides the best value prices.