The Champion Hurdle was first run nearly a century ago in 1927! The very first horse on the Roll Of Honour was a horse called Blaris, who scooped £365 for his connections all of those years ago.
Without a doubt, the Champion Hurdle is the most prestigious hurdle race of the entire racing calendar. In terms of the
Cheltenham Festival, it is the feature race on the opening day - Tuesday. To reflect the inclusion of the race, the day is appropriately named as Champion Day.
The race is worth over £450,000 in total, with the winner taking home over £250,000. This is the one race that all of the 2m Hurdle division want to win and as a result, we see the best of the best clash! Along with the Champion Chase, which is also run over 2m but over fences rather than hurdles, the Champion Hurdle is always a fantastic watch!
Champion Hurdle distance, course & race conditions
The Champion Hurdle is run over a distance of two miles and 87 yards, during which eight hurdles are jumped in total. This test is all about speed but the horse must jump slickly too in order to win, as any errors often prove to be very costly.
Like the Champion Chase and unlike the Ryanair Chase, Stayers Hurdle and
Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Champion Hurdle is run on the Old Course. In the simplest terms, the Old Course is all about speed. In contrast, the New Course is all about stamina
To win a Champion Hurdle, you need to be a complete horse and of immense ability. You need to have the cruising speed to travel through the race, the jumping ability to keep yourself in the race and then a turn of foot to get you home in front as they head up the iconic Cheltenham hill.
Champion Hurdle eligibility and entry requirements
Both geldings and mares are eligible to run in the Champion Hurdle. However, regardless of gender, the horse must be aged four or older.
Horses rated less than 130 by the British Horseracing Authority are not eligible to run in the race. Ultimately any horse with a lesser ability level would be viewed as having no chance of winning the race. As a result, from both a welfare and integrity perspective, they are not permitted to run.
The race is usually competed by horses five years of age or older. These horses carry 11st 10lb as standard. If a four-year-old wished to compete, they would receive a 10lb allowance, racing off just 11st 0lb. Similarly, if a mare wishes to race, they receive a 7lb allowance, racing off 11st 3lb.
Champion Hurdle past winners and records
The 2026 renewal of the Champion Hurdle was won by Lossiemouth. Sadly with Constitution Hill, Sir Gino and State Man all missing from the race, it was an underwhelming renewal on paper. That said, Lossiemouth can only beat those put in front of her and she did so in great style, winning by six and a half lengths, going away at the line!
The race has had five hat-trick heroes over the years: -
Hatton's Grace in 1949, 1950 & 1951
Sir Ken in 1952, 1953 & 1954
Persian War in 1968, 1969 & 1970
See You Then in 1985, 1986 & 1987
Istabraq in 1998, 1999 & 2000
One of the most amazing feats has to be the 1984 winner Dawn Run. She became the second mare to win the race but that is just the beginning. She went on to add the Irish and French Champion Hurdles as well. She then made history two years later by going on to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and is the only horse in history to have won both races (Champion Hurdle & Cheltenham Gold Cup)!
Most successful trainers & jockeys in the Champion Hurdle
The latest winner - Lossiemouth, was trained by Willie Mullins, ridden by Paul Townend and owned by Rich Ricci.
The most successful trainer in Champion Hurdle history is Nicky Henderson. Nicky Henderson has recorded an unbelievable nine victories – See You Then in 1985, 1986 & 1987, Punjabi in 2009, Binocular in 2010, Buveur D'Air in 2017 & 2018, Epatante in 2020 and finally Constitution Hill in 2023.
Three jockeys share the honours when it comes to the most victories in the race, with four each: -
Tim Molony won the race on Hatton's Grace in 1951 and then Sir Ken in 1952, 1953 & 1954.
Ruby Walsh won it on Hurricane Fly in both 2011 and 2013, before winning it again on Faugheen in 2015 and then finally on Annie Power in 2016, after his iconic fall on her in the Mares Hurdle the year prior.
Barry Geraghty was victorious on Punjabi in 2009, Jezki in 2014, Buveur D'Air in 2018 and then Epatante in 2020 - Barry is the only jockey to have won the race on four different horses.
The only man who can match Nicky Henderson’s nine victories in the race is owner - JP McManus. He kicked off his wins in great style with Istabraq landing a hat-trick of victories in 1998, 1999 & 2000. After a 10 year drought, he then won five renewals between 2010 and 2020. Binocular won it in 2010, Jezki in 2014, Buveur D'Air in both 2017 and 2018, Espoir d'Allen in 2019 and then finally Epatante in 2020.
Champion Hurdle trends
In the 13 renewals since 2014, all but one of the winners have been aged between six and eight, so that looks to be the sweet spot. The one five year old to win was Espoir D’Allen and whilst it was an impressive performance, it is worth noting that two of the top three (Apples Jade & Laurina) underperformed on the day and hat-trick seeking Buveur d’Air fell. Sadly Espoir D’Allen was put down later that year after sustaining an injury in a freak accident.
In the last 11 years, there have been more mares who have won the race than geldings, with six victories to five. You can pick holes in some of the victories as Golden Ace benefitted from fallers and Lossiemouth benefitted from three stars missing the race. Even still, it makes you take note of the 7lb allowance they receive if there is a good mare in the line up.
The Champion Hurdle is often a strong performing race for favourite backers as seven of the last 12 winners have been sent off favourite including three of the last four - Constitution Hill, State Man & Lossiemouth. It would have been all of the last four but for a final flight fall for State Man in 2025, where 25/1 outsider Golden Ace picked up the pieces.
Speaking of big priced winners - Kirriemuir (1965) and Beech Road (1989) share the record of winning the race at the highest starting price, with both being sent off 50/1 ahead of their victories!
Popular betting markets for the Champion Hurdle
As with almost all races, the most heavily punted markets will be the win and each way markets. However, there are a couple of other markets that are worth noting for the Champion Hurdle.
Distance betting has been lucrative for Champion Hurdle punters over the last decade. The average winner margin across this period was 5.85 lengths. 9/10 won by 1+ length and 8/10 won by 3+ lengths. The aforementioned Espoir D’Allen won by an incredible 15 lengths in 2019, which is the widest winning margin in the history of the race. Therefore, if you have a strong fancy in the race, this market may be worth a second look.
In recent years, the top of the market have performed strongly, as already touched upon. Therefore, it’s a race that is likely worthwhile moving early on in the antepost markets. Either to get a worthwhile price on a likely favourite or to lock in favourable each way terms on a challenger. Similarly, with the strength at the top of the market, it could be worth playing in the Betting Without market too, if you feel you can identify the horse to follow home the strong favourite.
How to pick a winner in the Champion Hurdle
With nine victories in the race, anything put forward by Nicky Henderson has to be respected. That said, since 2011, Willie Mullins has recorded six victories to Nicky Henderson’s four. With Willie winning two of the last three and if it was not for State Man falling at the last in the penultimate renewal, he’d have won the last three. Therefore, there is a good chance that the pair will have the winner between them but on recent data, you’d be leaning towards Willie Mullins.
In terms of trends, that age range of six to eight looks to be the place to be and the top of the market rewards you more often than not. As also touched upon, the ladies have been winning more than the men lately, so keep an eye out for talented mares with that crucial 7lb allowance!
As I type this in August, one horse ticks all of the above boxes and that is the defending Champion Hurdler - Lossiemouth. She is trained by Willie Mullins, she heads the market as the clear 2/1-5/2 favourite (10/1 bar), she’ll only be eight years old for the 2027 renewal and she gets that valuable 7lb allowance being a mare. With two of the most talented 2m hurdlers lost in 2026 - Constitution Hill to the Flat and Sir Gino to infection, she could well retain her crown!
