Edwardstone Horse - Age, weight, trainer, owner, race record and form

The Alan King-trained Edwardstone has been a regular at the Cheltenham Festival over recent years, but faltered at the 2024 edition.

After second-place finishes behind Jonbon in both the Shloer Chase and the Tingle Creek, and then fourth in the Silviniaco Conti Chase, the son of Kayf Tara recorded a 40-length victory over Funambule Sivola in February's Game Spirit Chase. 

King made the decision following that success to attempt the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham for the second consecutive year but Edwardstone disappointed once again and his connections will need to head back to the drawing board and decide his future endeavours.

Edwardstone Owner

Edwardstone is owned by Abrey and Thurtle, who also bred him.

Edwardstone Trainer

King has overseen Edwardstone's development, contributing his fair share of the handler's 2000+ winners.

Born in Scotland, he is based in Wroughton, Wiltshire and took out his licence upon David Nicholson's retirement in June 2000, having previously worked as an assistant to the two-time Champion trainer. 

To date, he has trained 16 Cheltenham winners, the first being Fork Lightning, who took out the National Hunt Chase in 2004. 

King also counts Flat star Trueshan among his string, with the eight-year-old's 2023 highlights including wins in the Group 2 Doncaster Cup and Group 1 Prix du Cadran.

Edwardstone Age

Born on 4th June 2014, Edwardstone is currently racing in his 10-year-old season.

Edwardstone Official Rating

Edwardstone's official chase rating was raised to 166 from 162 after his impressive success at Newbury but, following his Cheltenham disappointment, has since been dropped back down to 164. 

He peaked at 170 on the back of winning the Tingle Creek in 2022, carrying that mark as he unseated Tom Cannon in that year's Desert Orchid Chase, finished second to Editeur Du Gite in the Clarence House and during his poor showing in the 2023 Champion Chase.

Edwardstone Next Race

It is difficult to predict where and when Edwardstone will next be seen as King and Co have been silent since his fall at Cheltenham.

The public are none the wiser as to whether the son of Kayf Tara suffered an injury in his tumble or not. If not, Aintree or Punchestown could be on the agenda, but if he is hurt it is likely he will be held back until Autumn.

Edwardstone Record

The defeat to Energumene in the 2023 Queen Mother Champion Chase led to questions from both inside and outside the camp, with King admitting he could not fathom why the gelding had struggled, while a post-race examination from the vet showed no abnormalities. 

After a 249-day break he returned to Prestbury Park in November to finish second in the Shloer behind Jonbon and filled the same berth, albeit by a narrower margin, behind Nicky Henderson's stable star in his Tingle Creek defence. 

Cannon suggested he weakened in the Silviniaco Conti Chase, finishing 25L behind Banbridge, but he was sensational as he came home unchallenged in his Cheltenham warm-up run at Newbury. 

The gelding and Cannon have formed a good relationship, with Edwardstone breaking his maiden under the rider in a Novices' Hurdle at Wincanton in November 2019. 

They partnered for five straight wins during the 2021/22 campaign, culminating in his Arkle win at the Festival.

So with the Newbury run seemingly preparing him perfectly for Cheltenham, Edwardstone lined up in the Queen Mother Champion Chase for the second consecutive year.

He was the 15/2 second-favourite by the time the flag was raised - some way behind 2/9 El Fabiolo in the market - and travelled well for the majority of the race, capitalising on the favourite's early departure from the race at the fifth to lead until the second last fence.

Edwardstone was headed by Captain Guinness at the home turn and, when tracking the leader, then fell at the second-last obstacle.

It was a heart-breaking fall for connections as he was travelling strongly and looked sure to land the prize which had evaded him the previous season, but it simply wasn't to be.

Edwardstone Prize Money

According to the Racing Post, Edwardstone has accumulated connections £548,054. Of that figure, £393,491 has been winnings.

Edwardstone News

Edwardstone was been back in the news following his win at Newbury, with his name creeping back onto punters' radars following that success. 

However, punters were left disappointed after his fall, although not too much has been made of it due to his failure being overshadowed hugely by the pulling up of strong odds-on favourite El Fabiolo at the fifth.

As a consequence, all media coverage has surrounded Mullins' charge as opposed to King's, which could suit connections.

Edwardstone now has a chance to recover from his late fall in peace and connections can take time in choosing the right time to get him back on the track.

His fall could be attributed to the heavy underfoot conditions at Prestbury Park, so Edwardstone is definitely not one to rule out just yet, with this 10-year-old likely to have plenty of winning left in his arsenal.