home >
Weatherbys Champion Bumper
Race Conditions
The Weatherbys Champion Bumper Open NH Flat Race (5:20pm) is a Class A Grade 1 flat race run over two miles and about half a furlong. It is open to horses aged between 4 and 6 years old. The total prize fund is £50,000.
Click here for free bets and special offers from the leading online bookmakers.
Recent Winners
The Champion Bumper is the only flat race run at the Festival and as well as some of the most exciting young horses in training the race now also attracts some of the best jockeys from the Flat, including Jamie Spencer who won the 2002 renewal on board Pizarro.
Despite only having a brief history, Irish trainer Willie Mullins already possesses a phenomenal record in the race and his entrants always have to be respected. It is also interesting to note that since Dato Star’s victory in 1995, only two non five year olds have been successful.
With the future in mind it will always be worth keeping an eye not just on the placed horses but also on some of the horses further back in the field, as the race is bound to throw up some future big race winners.
Whilst injury prevented Monsignor from ever fulfilling his potential, he did go on to win the following year’s SunAlliance Novices Hurdle, and the exploits of 1997 winner Florida Pearl speak for themselves. Trabolgen, French Holly, Iris’s Gift, Thisthatandtother, Rhinestone Cowboy and Wichita Lineman, to name but a few, were all beaten in their renewal of the Bumper but subsequently went on to make a big name for themselves over hurdles or fences.
| Year | Horse | Age | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Cousin Vinny | 5 | W Mullins | 12/1 | 2007 | Cork All Star | 5 | Mrs John Harrington | 11/2 |
| 2006 | Hairy Molly | 6 | J Crowley | 33/1 |
| 2005 | Missed That | 6 | W Mullins | 7/2F |
| 2004 | Total Enjoyment | 5 | T Cooper | 7/1 |
| 2003 | Liberman | 5 | M Pipe | 2/1F |
| 2002 | Pizarro | 5 | E O’Grady | 14/1 |
| 2000 | Joe Cullen | 5 | W Mullins | 14/1 |
| 1999 | Monsignor | 5 | M Pitman | 50/1 |
| 1998 | Alexander Banquet | 5 | W Mullins | 9/1 |
| 1997 | Florida Pearl | 5 | W Mullins | 6/1 |
| 1996 | Wither Or Which | 5 | W Mullins | 11/4 |
| 1995 | Dato Star | 4 | J Jefferson | 7/2 |
| 1994 | Mucklemeg | 6 | E O’Grady | 7/2F |
Key Trends
Last time out winners have won 14 of the 16 runnings.
Irish-trained horses have won 13 of the 16 runnings.
10 of the last 12 runnings have been won by a 5 year-old.
Willie Mullins has trained the winner 6 times in the last 12 years.
Watch the 2008 Champion Bumper Open:
2007 Review
The Festival bumper is one of the most eagerly anticipated races of the meeting, not just because of the interest in the race itself but also because of the future champions it so often unearths.
As befits a race of this name, the field looked as strong as ever, with over half the field boasting unbeaten records and one of those, CORK ALL STAR, was successful again here to prove himself the best horse of his type around. Despite his Flat pedigree, he ran on strongly to prove he has a potent mix of speed and stamina. The fact that he has also now won twice at Cheltenham also bodes well for his future in championship races.
Runner up Sophocles is also Flat bred and he lacks the size and scope of many of his rivals here. However, this was a tremendous effort and he did by far the best of the four year olds. Having run on strongly from well off the pace he would surely have got even closer to the winner had he not veered badly left on the run in under his inexperienced rider.
Aranleigh looked beaten turning for home but also stayed on strongly to claim third. He should improve when stepped up in trip over hurdles. Softer ground also suits and it is easy to see him running up a sequence in novice events in Ireland next season.
The mare, Shirley Casper was fourth. She has already won a point to point and so is another who will only improve when switched to hurdling. She also has the size and scope to jumps fences, a comment that applies equally to Crocodiles Rock who eventually finished sixth after helping to set the pace for a long way.
The well backed favourite, Mad Fish, travelled well for a long way and was not beaten far in eighth. In time, he may prove to be better than he showed here.
Off the rest, Lodge Lane, Isn’t That Lucky and Berings Express are all worthy of mention. For various reasons, all three didn’t help themselves by hanging right at different stages of the race. However, they had all travelled well enough to suggest that they have the talent to bounce back and win races in the future.
2006 Review
Once again, the Champion Bumper was dominated by the Irish, although perhaps not by one of the horses most punters thought would take the honours.
HAIRY MOLLY, a 33-1 shot whose trainer Joe Crowley is the father-in-law of Aidan O’Brien, had shown plenty of stamina in winning two of his four previous races and was clearly suited by the stiff uphill finish. He took the lead going well coming down the hill and stayed on strongly to repel the late challenges of Pressgang (second) and Kicks For Free (third). He is a three-mile chaser in the making.
Hairy Molly’s victory meant Paul Carberry completed a first and last race double on day two of the Festival.
Pressgang gave trainer Paul Webber another close second in the race after De Soto last year. He looked to be going better than the winner turning for home, but his greenness counted against him as he hung right up the straight losing balance and momentum at a crucial point. Connections were left to rue the fact that they couldn’t get another race into the horse before the Festival.
Perce Rock, in fourth, was another to run green. He would also have preferred softer ground, but remains a serious prospect for the future.
Sandwiched in between was Kicks For Free in third. He’d been hugely impressive in winning his previous two starts, but was beaten on merit here.
Dancing Hero, Lord Over and Female all looked short of pace, and can improve when stepped up in trip over hurdles, whilst Burnt Oak was one of several runners in behind to take the eye. There should be plenty of races to be won with him in the future.
There was no apparent excuse for the flop of the well backed favourite, Equus Maximus.
Triple Epsom Derby winning jockey Johnny Murtagh was also out of luck on his first ride at the Festival. Murtagh, the former Irish champion jockey on the Flat in his native Ireland, finished unplaced on the Willie Mullins trained Ballytrim.