Champion Hurdle

The Champion Hurdle is the most prestigious hurdling prize of the season, run over two miles and ½ furlong on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival in March. The Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race at Cheltenham Racecourse is open to horses aged four years or older.

A season target for the best hurdlers in Britain and Ireland, the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle is the most competitive hurdle race in the UK. Ante-post odds are available all year round, and it is one of the top festival betting races, as well as one of the most eagerly anticipated of the festival for horse racing fans.

It is often one of the races of the festival and has been won by hurdling greats including Hurricane Fly, Faugheen, Sea Pigeon and Isabraaq.

Find out more about the Champion Hurdle:

The Champion Hurdle Race – Overview

The Champion Hurdle race is run over 2 miles at the Cheltenham Racecourse, with eight flights of hurdles jumped. It is run on the first day of the National Hunt Cheltenham Festival, in early March.

The Champion Hurdle is one of the most eagerly anticipated races of the entire jumps calendar and has produced some stunning performances over the years.

It truly is a race where champions are made. The best horses of recent years including Isabraaq, Hurricane Fly and Faugheen have all stormed up the stiff Cheltenham hill to enjoy success, whilst recently mares have had a great record with Annie Power, Epatante and Honeysuckle all crowned champions in the spring sunshine, hurtling over the eight hurdles.

The Champion Hurdle winner is generally considered to be the best hurdler of the year, with the race posing the perfect test of speed and accurate jumping for a horse and jockey. A winner goes down in history and is remembered fondly forever.

Speed, slick jumping, guts and a touch of class are all hallmarks of a Cheltenham Champion Hurdle winner.

The official title of the race is The Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy.

Ages of Champion Hurdlers

Here are the latest Cheltenham Champion Hurdle winners’ ages:

• Lossiemouth aged 7
• Golden Ace aged 7
• State Man aged 7
• Constitution Hill aged 6
• Honeysuckle aged 8
• Honeysuckle aged 7
• Epatante aged 6
• Espoir D’Allen aged 5
• Buveur D’Air aged 7
• Buveur D’Air aged 6 
• Annie Power, aged 8
• Faugheen, aged 7 
• Jezki aged 6 
• Hurricane Fly aged 9
• Rock On Ruby aged 7 

Winning Times in the Cheltenham Hurdle

Here are the latest Cheltenham Champion Hurdle winners’ times:

• Lossiemouth wining time was 3:54.24
• Golden Ace winning time is 3:56.12
• State Man winning time 4:13.88
• Constitution Hill winning time is 3:59.38
• Honeysuckle winning is 3:50.13
• Honeysuckle’s winning time is 3:54.63
• Epatante’s winning time is 4:07.03
• Espoir D’Allen’s winning time is 3:59.07
• Buveur D’Air’s winning time is 4:05.00
• Buveur D’Air’s winning time is 3:50.90
• Annie Power’s winning time is 3:45.10
• Faugheen’s winning time is 3:50.90
• Jezki’s winning time is 3:45.25
• Hurricane Fly’s winning time is 3:59.35
• Rock On Ruby’s winning time is 3:50.10

Greatest Champion Hurdle Winners

Here are the best Champion Hurdle Winners voted by our punters:

1. Istabraq
2. Honeysuckle
3. Hatton’s Grace
4. Hardy Eustace
5. Hurricane Fly
6. Buveur D’Air
7. Persian War
8. Sir Ken
9. See You Then
10. Annie Power

Check out our top Champion Hurdle Winners.

Famous Champion Hurdle History

First run in 1927, the feature race on day one of Cheltenham has been won by notable early winners including Hatton’s Grace (1949-1951) and Sir Ken (1952-1954).

Persian War (1968-1970) became the third horse to claim three successive victories and a triple winner, having won the Triumph Hurdle as a four-year-old.

The 1970s and early eighties produced some of the most famous hurdlers in the history of National Hunt racing. Comedy of Errors won in 1973 and 1975 for legendary trainer Fred Rimell, while Fred Winter was successful with Bula (1971, 1972) and Lanzarote (1974).

Peter Easterby saddled Night Nurse for back-to-back victories in 1976 and 1977. He also trained Sea Pigeon, twice runner-up behind Irish-trained Monksfield (1978 and 1979), before being crowned the Hurdles Champion in 1980 and 1981.

Dawn Run was a popular winner in 1984 and would go on to become the first horse in history to win both the Champion and the Cheltenham Gold Cup when claiming the top chasing prize in 1986.

Nicky Henderson’s See You Then (1985-1987) became the fourth horse to claim three Champion wins, a feat matched by Aidan O’Brien’s Istabraq (1998-2000). The latter was a hot favourite for an unprecedented fourth success in 2001, but the meeting was abandoned due to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

The success of Istabraq – a triple winner – was the precursor to a remarkable run of success in the race for owner JP McManus. His famous green and gold silks would be carried to victory by Binocular (2010), Jezki (2014), Buveur d’air (2017, 2018), Espoir D’Allen (2019) and Epatante (2020).

Other popular winners include in 2012 Rock on Ruby, whilst in 2016 Annie Power was a popular winner for the mares and jockey Ruby Walsh.

Key Champion Hurdles Trials

The previous year’s race is often a key guide to Champion Hurdle betting.

Between 2017 and 2018, Buveur D’Air was the last horse to defend his crown successfully. Before that, you must go back to Hardy Eustace (2004-2005).

Horses to be placed and come back to win the following season include Punjabi (2009), Binocular (2010) and Hurricane Fly (2012).

The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle have also produced plenty of future winners. Istabraq (1997) and Faugheen (2014) were among those to win the Ballymore before going on to win Champion, while Hors La Loi III (1999) and Brave Inca (2004) won after success in the Supreme.

Winners of the Triumph Hurdle rarely go on to win, the last to do so being Katchit in 2008.

The Christmas Hurdle (Christmas Hurdle) at Kempton Park has proved to be the best trial in recent seasons. Faugheen (2014), Buveur d’Air (2017) and Epatante (2019) all advertised their Cheltenham claims with victory in that race.

Other significant trials include The International Hurdle at Cheltenham, Champion Hurdle Trial at Haydock and the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton.

Champion Hurdle Betting Trends

Favourites have a good record in recent years, winning six of the ten renewals between 2010 and 2020.

Hurricane Fly was a successful favourite in 2011 but was beaten at odds-on when third to Rock On Ruby the following year. He reversed those places when starting as a 13-8 favourite in 2013.

Faugheen (4-5) and Annie Power (5-2) were also well-backed favourites for Willie Mullins when scoring in 2015 and 2016.

Nicky Henderson’s Buveur D’Air won as the 5-1 second favourite in 2017 and followed up at odds-on in 2018. His hat-trick bid ended with a crashing fall at the third flight in 2019, but the JP McManus colours continued their domination with 16-1 Espoir D’Allen.

That was the longest-priced winner of the race since Punjabi won at 22-1 in 2009.

Beech Road was the biggest-priced winner in modern times, springing a 50-1 shock in 1989. For Auction at 40-1 (1982) and Hardy Eustace at 33-1 (2004) were other notable outsiders to win this race.

Epatante (2-1 favourite) provided JP with his ninth success in 2020.

Champion Hurdle Stats

• Horses aged 6 to 8 have the best record in this Grade 1 race.
• Sea Pigeon became the oldest winner in the race for 30 years when scoring at the age of eleven in 1981.
• Five-year-olds have a poor record, with only Katchit (2008) and Espoir D’Allen (2019) winning from that age group since 1985.
• Most Champion Hurdlers had either won or been placed in their last race before Cheltenham.
• Many of them had recorded at least one graded victory and raced within seven weeks of the Festival meeting.
• French-bred horses have won the last four renewals with Buveur D’Air (2017, 2018), Espoir D’Allen (2019) and Epatante (2020).
• There are eight hurdles to be cleared in the race on the Old Course at Cheltenham. It is one of the top races of the entire Cheltenham Festival.
• There are Irish and French versions of the race.

Top Trainers and Jockeys of the Champion Hurdle Challenge

Nicky Henderson is the most successful trainer in the history of the race with eight winners. Three of those came with the brilliant but fragile See You Then (1985-1987). His last three winners raced in the colours of JP McManus, who has now won the race a record nine times.

Willie Mullins has trained the winner of this prestigious Grade 1 on four occasions: Hurricane Fly (2011 and 2013), Faugheen (2015), and Annie Power (2016). All four started as well-backed favourites.

The recently retired Ruby Walsh and Barry Geraghty enjoyed four victories apiece, equalling the record set by Tim Molony. He rode four consecutive winners of the race with Hatton’s Grace (1951) and Sir Ken (1952-1954).

Champion Hurdle Betting Sites

The Cheltenham Festival Champion Hurdle is one of the biggest Grade 1 ante-post betting races of the National Hunt season.

Betting on the race for the following year opens as soon as they pass the post. The race usually features a clash between established contenders and rising stars from last season’s novice ranks.

Bookmakers have started offering “non-runner-no bet” on the race during the run-up to the Cheltenham Festival in recent years.

If you are looking to bet on the Champion Hurdle online, we recommend the following great deals for UK customers that are highlighted on this page.

Champion Hurdle Facts

• The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain, open to horses aged four years or older.
• The race is run over a distance of 2 miles and 110 yards (3,319 metres) at the Cheltenham Racecourse in March each year (although some dispute that the distance is 2 miles and 87 yards).
• The race is the most prestigious hurdle race in the National Hunt calendar and is the feature race on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival.
• The race has been run since 1927 – the inaugural winner Blaris -and has been won by some of the most incredible National Hunt horses in history, including Golden Miller (1932-1935), Sir Ken (1953-1955), Persian War (1968-1970), See You Then (1985-1987) and Istabraq (1998-2000).
• The record time for the race is 3 minutes and 48.8 seconds, set by Istabraq in 2000.
• Irish and French versions also now exist.

Summary of the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle Trophy

A superb race and one of the highlights of the entire year, the Grade 1 Champion Hurdle, run over 2 miles on Cheltenham Old Course, is always a superb race (currently the Unibet Champion Hurdle).

The Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy is the feature race on the opening day of the Festival.

To win the race requires speed, accurate jumping, class and guts. It has been won over the years by many greats, and personal favourites include Alderbrook, Dawn Run and Istabaaq.

As a horse racing spectacle, it isn’t easy to beat.

Jockeys who have enjoyed notable success over the years include Barry Geraghty and Ruby Walsh, whilst as trainers, Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins are named to watch.

A race to enjoy and savour with or without a bet.