The first Champion Hurdle was run in 1927, and its inaugural winner, Blaris, was awarded prize money of £365. In its second year the event was won by Brown Jack, who subsequently became a prolific winner of long-distance flat races. The Champion Hurdle was abandoned in 1931 due to persistent frost, and in 1932 it was contested by just three horses – the smallest field in its history. The race was cancelled twice during World War II, in 1943 and 1944.
The post-war years saw the emergence of the event’s first triple winner, Hatton’s Grace, who was trained in Ireland by Vincent O’Brien. The achievement of Hatton’s Grace was soon to be matched by Sir Ken, who recorded three successive victories in the 1950s. Before the second of these Sir Ken was given a starting price of 2/5 (a £5 bet would have won £2). He is the shortest-priced horse to have won the race. The third horse to win the event three times was Persian War, who completed his hat-trick in 1970. Commercial sponsorship of the Champion Hurdle began in 1978, and it was initially backed by Waterford Crystal.
The 1984 winner, Dawn Run, was the first mare to win the Champion Hurdle. In the same year she also won the Irish and French versions of the event, and two seasons later she won the most prestigious chase in National Hunt racing, the Cheltenham Gold Cup. She remains the only horse to have completed the Champion Hurdle-Gold Cup double. From 1985 to 1987 the Champion Hurdle was dominated by See You Then, who became the event’s fourth three-time winner. A new sponsor, Smurfit (now known as the Smurfit Kappa Group), began supporting the race in 1991. The second female horse to win the race was Flakey Dove, the winner in 1994.
The race is the final leg of the Road to Cheltenham, a series of high-class hurdles races sponsored by StanJames.com consisting of the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, the International Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle Trial.
Trends
The last 8 winners were running within 45 days
All 8 winners finished in the first 3 last time out
7 of the last 8 winners had run between 3 and 5 times that season
6 of the last 8 winners were officially rated 159+
6 of the last 8 winners were aged between 6 and 8
6 of the last 8 winners had won a Grade 1
The last 5 winners had finished in the first 2 at Cheltenham
Shortlist
Binocular, Hurricane Fly, Menorah and Peddlers Cross
|
Age
|
Runs
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Wins
|
Placed
|
|
5
|
23
|
1
|
5
|
|
6
|
33
|
2
|
2
|
|
7
|
27
|
2
|
5
|
|
8
|
18
|
2
|
1
|
|
9+
|
22
|
1
|
3
|
