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Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy
Race Conditions
The Champion Hurdle (3:15pm) is the highlight of day one of the Cheltenham Festival and the most prestigous hurdle race run all season. It is open to horses aged four years old and upwards, and carries a total prize fund of £360,000.
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Recent Winners
Some of the greatest names in the sport grace the race’s role of honour including Persian War, Bula, Night Nurse, Monksfield, Sea Pigeon, See You Then and Istabraq.
Interestingly, despite it being the race all the best hurdlers are aimed at, multiple winners are not uncommon as Hardy Eustace proved a couple of years ago. This is probably partly due to the unique requirements of the race. Horses with previous course form, and especially previous Festival form, have fared particularly well in the event. In addition, you often need a horse that stays further than two miles, as the good record in the race of recent SunAlliance Novices Hurdle winners shows.
| Year | Horse | Age | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Katchit | 5 | A King | 10/1 |
| 2007 | Sublimity | 7 | John G Carr | 16/1 |
| 2006 | Brave Inca | 8 | C Murphy | 7/4F |
| 2005 | Hardy Eustace | 8 | D Hughes | 7/1F |
| 2004 | Hardy Eustace | 7 | D Hughes | 33/1 |
| 2003 | Rooster Booster | 9 | P Hobbs | 9/2 |
| 2002 | Hors La Loi III | 7 | J Fanshawe | 10/1 |
| 2000 | Istabraq | 8 | A O’Brien | 8/15F |
| 1999 | Istabraq | 7 | A O’Brien | 4/9F |
| 1998 | Istabraq | 6 | A O’Brien | 3/1F |
| 1997 | Make A Stand | 6 | M Pipe | 7/1 |
| 1996 | Collier Bay | 6 | J Old | 9/1 |
| 1995 | Alderbrook | 6 | K Bailey | 11/2 |
| 1994 | Flakey Dove | 8 | R Price | 9/1 |
Course
The race is run over two miles and about half a furlong on the Old Course at Cheltenham. Invariably, a huge cheers rings out from the packed grandstands when the runners pass the enclosures for the first time. However, it is often the jumping out in the country that sorts the field out, and whilst the lucky few may still be cruising coming down the hill, the petrol tank can quickly empty quickly once the contenders turn off the final bend and face the punishing climb to the finish.
Key Trends
22 of the last 25 winners won last time out.
2008 winner Katchit was the first five-year-old since 1985 to win the race.
Just 3 winners older than eight since 1951.
14 of the last 17 winners had finished 1st or 2nd at the Cheltenham Festival before.
17 of the last 18 winners started in the first 6 in the betting.
Watch the 2008 Champion Hurdle:
2008 Champion Hurdle Result
| Place | Horse | Trainer | Age | Jockey | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katchit | A King | 5 | Robert Thornton | 10/1 |
| 2 | Osana | D E Pipe | 6 | Tom Scudamore | 9/2 |
| 3 | Punjabi | N J Henderson | 5 | B J Geraghty | 25/1 |
| 4 | Sublimity | John G Carr | 8 | P A Carberry | 7/1 |
| 5 | Straw Bear | N J Gifford | 7 | A P McCoy | 20/1 |
| 6 | Catch Me | E J O´Grady | 6 | R Walsh | 10/1 |
| 7 | Afsoun | N J Henderson | 6 | Mick Fitzgerald | 16/1 |
| 8 | Farmer Brown | P Hughes | 7 | D N Russell | 50/1 |
| 9 | Kawagino | J W Mullins | 8 | Wayne Kavanagh | 200/1 |
| 10 | Harchibald | Noel Meade | 9 | P Carberry | 13/2 |
| 11 | Blythe Knight | J J Quinn | 8 | Dougie Costello | 50/1 |
| 12 | Ebaziyan | W P Mullins | 7 | D J Condon | 33/1 |
| 13 | Contraband | Paul Murphy | 10 | T J Dreaper | 250/1 |
| 14 | Sizing Europe | Henry De Bromhead | 6 | Andrew J McNamara | 2/1F |
| PU | Bobs Pride | D K Weld | 6 | Denis O´Regan | 66/1 |
2007 Review
The hurdling crown was kept in Ireland for yet another year, but the role of honour for this great race was not graced again by one of the previous champions Brave Inca or Hardy Eustace, but by a new name - SUBLIMITY - and this was a truly remarkable performance from a horse running only his sixth race over hurdles. It was also only his second start this year – in his first he beat a field that contained only one horse rated over 100.
The success was just as remarkable for the relative ease with which it was obtained. The field he faced here couldn’t have been more contrasting to than the one he demolished on his seasonal debut at Navan, as it included the last three Champion Hurdlers and another four Grade 1 winners. However, Sublimity was always travelling incredibly well out the back of the field and he could be named the winner from some way out.
In winning here, he was confirming the immense promise he showed when an unlucky fourth in last season’s Supreme Novices Hurdle, and judging by this performance he will be hard to beat in any strongly run race over two miles. He was an excellent horse on the level for Michael Stoute and he used his Flat race speed here to cruise past Brave Inca and Hardy Eustace after the final flight.
Both Brave Inca and Hardy Eustace have always been strong stayers rather than out and out speed merchants, and both were always going to be vulnerable to a horse with a better turn of foot. Neither lost anything in defeat. Brave Inca ran his usual game race and kept chasing the winner right the way to the line. He is nine years old now though and connections may decide to step him up in trip or try him over fences, as another win in this race may be beyond him now.
He and old rival Hardy Eustace went at it hammer and tongs from midway down the far side until right up to the final flight. Hardy Eustace faded on the run in, though, and finished fourth. His jockey, Conor O’Dwyer reported that the field had travelled significantly quicker in this race than in any of the previous Champion Hurdles he has run in and as a consequence he wasn’t able to dictate affairs from the front in quite the same way as he has in the past. There were no excuses and like Brave Inca he may have an alternative target if he comes back to the Festival next year.
Afsoun was the horse who passed Hardy Eustace on the run in. In fact, Nicky Henderson’s runner finished best of all and would have been closer to the winner had he not been hampered by the fall of Iktitaf two out and had he jumped the last better. Nevertheless, this was a career best effort from Afsoun, whose connections have said right throughout the season that they believe their horse belongs at this level. He is another for whom stamina is his forte, and the unrelenting gallop and stiff uphill finish played to his strengths.
Neither Detroit City nor Straw Bear ran any sort of a race and whilst the latter could be excused his flop on the basis that he burst a blood vessel, there was no obvious reason why Detroit City should have run such a stinker. He was being niggled along as early as the first flight and never travelled at all at any time during the race. His supporters were given fleeting hope when he was rousted along by Richard Johnson to join the leaders going out into the country, however it was always hard work for this popular grey and his effort was short lived. A reason for this poor performance will surely come to light. He was legless crossing the line and a shadow of the horse who has lit up the hurdling scene for a season and a half.
Asian Maze was also disappointing and appears to have fallen out of love with the game, whilst Kawagino replicated his career best effort in this race last year by staying on well to claim a never nearer fifth, beaten a similar distance to that in 2006. He saves his best for the good ground in the spring.
Iktitaf was in the process of running a cracking race when crashing out at the second last. He appeared to still be travelling well enough at the time, but he hasn’t always found much off the bridle in the past. The hill may well have tested him to the limit, but he is another who shows improved form on better going.
2006 Review
A classic Champion Hurdle that was won in typically gritty and gutsy style by a horse and jockey who are made for each other.
It is surely no accident that the further improvement BRAVE INCA has found this season has coincided with him being regularly partnered by Tony McCoy. The two of them share so many characteristics that it is not surprising that McCoy can get the best out of this horse like nobody else.
Incredibly, the champion jockey was having to push the winner along as early as the third flight and he actually administered a few reminders on touching down after the fourth. However, BRAVE INCA responded as only he can and by the time the field turned for home only the big three remained in contention.
BRAVE INCA, Macs Joy and Hardy Eustace had all been involved in last year’s finish, but this time around they past the finishing post in a slightly different order.
The race was run at a frantic pace from start to finish, which wasn’t surprising given that there were at least five front runners in the line up. The quality of the field was also hard to question featuring, as it did, five of last year's first seven home, as well as the first and second from last year’s Triumph Hurdle, and last year’s Supreme Novices Hurdle winner. In the end, the time was more than four seconds faster than that taken by Noland in this year’s Supreme Novices Hurdle, run earlier in the day.
Early on, nothing could go with the German trailblazer, Fiepes Shuffle, who led the field to half way before weakening rapidly. By the time the runners began to descend the hill BRAVE INCA was pretty much back on the bridle and disputing the lead with Hardy Eustace, and he was in the lead on his own turning for home.
It was at this point that the eye was drawn to the figure of Barry Geraghty, still sitting motionless on Macs Joy, just in behind the front two. Indeed, Macs Joy got within a length of the winner shortly after the last but the terrier like BRAVE INCA wouldn’t allow him to get any closer and bravely battled on up the run in to score by just over a length, with Hardy Eustace back in third. The front three pulled nicely clear of the remainder, to give the form a very solid look.
This was BRAVE INCA’S fifth win in six races, and he has shrugged off his bridesmaid’s tag in spectacular fashion this season. Last year it seemed that only his battling qualities were keeping him competitive in the top two mile hurdles and that he would probably need a step up in trip to be at his best. This year, though, the penny has really dropped and winning is becoming a habit for Colm Murphy’s charge.
There is no doubt that he’d come out on top in any scrap up the run in and so it is going to take a pretty special horse to get by him next year. The biggest hope for his rivals may be that his connections are considering a switch to fences, with a tilt at the Gold Cup a possible long term aim.
Macs Joy definitely seemed to benefit from his lighter campaign this season. If the race had been run on a flat track, then his greater speed may just have got him past BRAVE INCA, but this hill is made for the winner and it is hard to see the runner up reversing places on anything other than very quick ground.
Hardy Eustace didn’t relinquish his crown without a fight. There is no doubt that the horse didn’t get the recognition he deserved after his first success in this race in 2004. However, thanks to his win last year and the very creditable effort here, he will surely now go down as one of the great Festival specialists of modern times. A less interrupted campaign next year may see him give BRAVE INCA even more to do.
Al Eile improved on his seventh last year to finish fifth. He is probably better on a flat track and may need further than two miles at this level, on this ground.
Arcalis clearly wasn't at his best and his stable were out of form going into this meeting. He could yet be a threat at this level on genuinely quick ground, given how impressive he was when winning at last year’s Festival. He still did best of the British.
Briareus was unable to adopt his normal forcing tactics, but instead of sulking he showed a very willing attitude to stay on strongly in the closing stages. He clearly wasn’t totally out of his depth in a field of this quality and has had a good season.
Kawagino, meanwhile, ran a massive race and has improved out of all recognition. The quicker the ground the better for this horse, and he would have finished a lot closer to the principals had he not been badly hampered by the fall of Penzance at the last.
Penzance was a couple of lengths ahead of Kawagino when coming down and, though well held, was in the process of running a better race than of late. Had he stood up, he would have confirmed last year’s Triumph Hurdle form with Faasel and Admiral. The Champion Hurdle remains a tough race for five year olds though.
The disappointment of the race was Asian Maze’s fall. Connections had made the brave decision to run their mare in this race rather than the World Hurdle and it would have been fascinating to see how she would have fared. Interestingly enough, her jockey, Ruby Walsh, is convinced that she could compete with the best over this minimum trip. She was certainly still traveling well enough when coming down at the fourth.