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JCB Triumph Hurdle
Race Conditions
The JCB Triumph Hurdle (1:30pm) is a Class A Grade 1 hurdle run over two miles and a furlong. It is only open to four year old novices. The total prize fund is £40,000.
Recent Winners
The final day of the Festival gets underway with the cavalry charge that is the Triumph Hurdle. The race always attracts a large field, which means that luck in running is critical.
All the runners are four year olds and so inexperience has also tended to be a problem in the past. However, it seems to be less so these days with more horses coming to the juvenile ranks straight from lengthy careers on the Flat.
Because they are so much more battle hardened than their more traditionally jumps bred counterparts, it is becoming almost impossible to win the race with anything other than either a decent recruit from the Flat or a French bred runner – racehorses in France begin schooling and racing over obstacles much earlier than British or Irish horses.
Of the most recent winners, the ill fated Detroit City was rated 100 on the Flat, Penzance was rated 86 at his best, Made In Japan was rated 87, Spectroscope was rated 73, Scolardy was rated 83 in Ireland, Snow Drop was actually trained in France and Katarino had run three times over obstacles there (including once over fences) before he even began his juvenile career in England.
2007 victor, Katchit, was the first winner of this race since Kribensis in 1988 to go on to win the Champion Hurdle. On the whole, most winners tend to need much longer trips as their careers progress. Paddy’s Return, for example, became a top class staying hurdler, Katarino won the Fox Hunters’ Chase at Aintree over 2m 5½f two years in a row and, most notably of all, Commanche Court won the Irish National and was placed in a Gold Cup.
| Year | Horse | Age | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Zaynar | 4 | N J Henderson | 11/2 |
| 2008 | Celestial Halo | 4 | P F Nicholls | 5/1 |
| 2007 | Katchit | 4 | A King | 11/2 |
| 2006 | Detroit City | 4 | P J Hobbs | 7/2F |
| 2005 | Penzance | 4 | A King | 9/1 |
| 2004 | Made In Japan | 4 | P Hobbs | 20/1 |
| 2003 | Spectroscope | 4 | Jonjo O’Neill | 20/1 |
| 2002 | Scolardy | 4 | W Mullins | 16/1 |
| 2000 | Snow Drop | 4 | F Doumen | 7/1 |
| 1999 | Katarino | 4 | N Henderson | 11/4 |
| 1998 | Upgrade | 4 | N Twiston-Davies | 14/1 |
| 1997 | Commanche Court | 4 | T Walsh | 9/1 |
| 1996 | Paddy’s Return | 4 | F Murphy | 10/1 |
| 1995 | Kissair | 4 | M Pipe | 16/1 |
| 1994 | Mysilv | 6 | D Nicholson | 2/1F |
Key Trends (data includes 2009 Festival)
13 of the last 15 winners won last time out.
11 of the last 16 winners started in the first 4 in the betting.
15 of the last 16 winners had won at least twice.
2009 Triumph Hurdle Review
The last three winners of the juvenile hurdling championship, Detroit City, Katchit and Celestal Halo, all went on to make a sizeable impact in the top 2m hurdles events the following season and this looked a high-quality renewal with half a dozen candidates going into the race with RPRs of 138 or more to their name. The pace was solid and this form should hold up well.
There was drama as Ebadiyan, who had been up there all the way, cocked his jaw and ran out at the second-last flight, before two of the leading contenders fought out a fine finish. Zaynar successfully defended his unbeaten hurdles record, supplementing a debut win over Walkon at Newbury and a victory at Ascot in which he had not impressed everyone. Fitted with cheekpieces in order to sharpen him up, having worked lazily at home, he raced in touch but needed shaking up going into a couple of flights. Well placed from the top of the hill, he bumped Jumbo Rio landing over two out but soon led. The challenges appeared from Walkon and Starluck, but he found sufficient for pressure up the hill, pricking his ears and looking to idle a little in front.
Our full race review will be added here shortly.
2008 Triumph Hurdle Review
The introduction of the Fred Winter Hurdle has undoubtedly had a positive impact on this race, as it has led to smaller, classier fields and less hard luck stories. Those changes should allow the cream to more readily rise to the top and that certainly happened here with the two big guns locking horns from some way out and having the race between them turning for home.
In the end, it was a performance of real guts, as well as quality, that finally saw second favourite CELESTIAL HALO overcome his market rival, Franchoek, for the runner up persistently challenged the winner all the way up the straight, but simply couldn’t get by. The win was even more meritorious for the fact that Celestial Halo had led the field for almost the entire race and consequently was a sitting duck for all his rivals.
He has the size and scope to go on over hurdles and the Champion Hurdle could well be on the agenda next season, although time may show that he’ll need further than two miles when competing against the very best.
Franchoek will almost certainly be stepped up in trip next season. He lost little in defeat here but didn’t have the turn off foot to get past the winner. He has had a terrific season, but also a number of hard races, and they may have caught up with him here. He should bounce back, though, as he’s as game, consistent and tough as they come and there are plenty more good performances in him.
Nothing else ever really looked like winning and the order changed little throughout. Won In The Dark put up a career best effort to finish third, whilst there was a decent gap back to Songe in fourth who justified his connections’ decisions to swerve the Fred Winter.
Of the rest, Serabad (sixth) and Personal Column (seventh) are the most interesting as they have the size and scope to go on and jump fences.
2007 Triumph Hurdle Review
After last year’s excellent renewal, this race looked another top quality Triumph Hurdle and it produced one of the performances of the meeting as KATCHIT simply bounded clear of his rivals in the straight to win by nine lengths – an amazing winning margin in such a competitive heat.
There can now be no doubt that Katchit is the best juvenile around and time may show him to be the best for many years. Indeed, he may easily develop into a serious Champion Hurdle contender next season.
All this seems a million miles from the hopes connections had for the horse when he started his hurdling career, as he wasn’t that good on the Flat and his trainer thought he was tough but no superstar. However, he has improved no end for the change of code and also seems to love Cheltenham - this was his fourth consecutive win here.
He has a great attitude to racing, jumps particularly well for a young horse and seemed to improve further for encountering some better ground over hurdles for the first time here. He’s not the biggest, but is all heart and will prove hard to beat at any level. The only proviso is the poor record of five year olds in the Champion Hurdle in recent years, a statistic that Detroit City failed so spectacularly to improve on this year.
The rest were simply running for places from a long way out. Liberate won that battle despite being niggled at by Richard Johnson from some way out. He was more of a stayer on the Flat and should relish a step up in trip next season.
Mobaasher ran really well to finish in the frame on only his third start over hurdles. He travelled well through the race, as you’d expect from a horse who was as smart as him on the Flat, and should be able to use his turn of foot to good effect over hurdles in the coming months.
Having been up with the pace throughout, Punjabi looked the main danger to the winner coming down the hill. However, he just seemed to run out of gas turning for home and faded into fourth. He may get closer to the winner if the two cross swords on Aintree’s flatter track. Connections may also decide to ride him with more restraint in the future.
J’y Vole was another who could be spotted travelling smoothly for much of the race. She only ran twice on the Flat and this was her first start over hurdles on anything other than very soft ground. It didn’t seem to inconvenience her and she is certainly worth keeping an eye on.
Crookhaven definitely enjoyed the better going and he belied his huge odds to run a personal best in seventh. He was decent on the Flat and could be equally good at this game if kept to this surface. It certainly shouldn’t be long before he breaks his duck over hurdles.
There were plenty of disappointments in the race.
Favourite Lounaos was bang there at the top of the hill and seemed to have no excuses. She may prefer softer ground and was probably flattered by her proximity to Hardy Eustace in the AIG Champion Hurdle last time out.
After all being prominent until halfway Duty, Mountain and Pauillac all faded tamely and the latter two were pulled up in the end. Again, all three may have not enjoyed the ground, although Mountain, in particular, was disappointing given his quality on the Flat and the form he showed when winning his only previous start over hurdles. He won’t be a novice next season and may prove hard to place, as the handicapper is unlikely to show him much mercy.
2006 Triumph Hurdle Review
Possibly the best Triumph Hurdle of recent years was won in scintillating fashion by DETROIT CITY in a manner that had many punters doing a double take to check that we really were watching Phillip Hobbs’ four year old rather than the other grey who carried these colours so gloriously in recent years, Rooster Booster.
Connections will seldom have dreamed it possible that the ever popular ex Champion Hurdler could be replaced, but this victory will surely have owner Terry Warner contemplating another crack at the race Rooster Booster won so imperiously in 2003.
It is one of the most quoted statistics in the game that five year old hurdlers have a terrible record in Champion Hurdles (seventy horses have tried and failed since See You Then was successful in 1985). However, very few juveniles have the size and scope of this horse and his lazy style of running suggests we haven’t seen anything like the best of him yet.
The pace here was strong from the off, and the race was won in record time confirming the initial visual impression that this was a top class effort from the winner, who was five lengths clear at the death.
As is his custom, Detroit City was being pushed along from as early as the fourth but, as with Brave Inca earlier in the week, this proved to be no barrier to success as he outstayed the runner up, Fair Along, after the last.
Surprisingly for such a competitive race, the first two had the contest to themselves from some way out and Fair Along emerges with great credit, having led for most of the way. He has run well at Cheltenham in the past and is a real top of the ground sort.
Blazing Baileys stayed on best of the rest to take third. He has improved out of all recognition since his switch from the Flat and will be even better over further next year (a comment that also applies to the likes of Turko in 6th and Mahogany Blaze in 7th). He has a very willing attitude and will surely win more races.
Afsoun ran as well as could be expected given his interrupted preparation for the race, whilst Breathing Fire would surely have been placed had he not fallen at the last. He is another who is considerably better on decent ground.