Champion Hurdle Race Card

Often considered to be the feature race on Day One of Cheltenham, and one of the best hurdle races in the racing calendar, the Champion Hurdle - also known as the ‘Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy (Grade 1) (GBB Race) - is a real highlight of the Festival.

Here, the experts at TWE have detailed the race card in full and have given some useful extra information, covering some top Champion Hurdle tips, to recent Champion Hurdle winners and other key features of the race itself.

Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy Runners And Entries 2024

This is a full list of entries for the Champion Hurdle for this year's Cheltenham Festival. However, there are further declarations five days before the race, and then final declarations 48 hours before, so the lists may change.

Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy (Grade 1) (GBB Race)

1st
Paul Townend

State Man

Age: 7
Weight: 11.7
OR: 169
J:
 
Paul Townend
T:
 
W P Mullins
prominent on inner, not fluent 3 out, switched right and pressed leaders going easily home turn, led approaching last, ridden and kept on run-in
2nd
Jack Kennedy

Irish Point

Age: 6
Weight: 11.7
OR: 159
J:
 
Jack Kennedy
T:
 
Gordon Elliott
prominent, pressed leader going easily after 3 out, led narrowly home turn, soon faced challenge, headed approaching last, kept on run-in
3rd
James Bowen

Luccia

Age: 6
Weight: 11.2
OR: 140
J:
 
James Bowen
T:
 
Nicky Henderson
took keen hold, prominent on outer, in touch with leaders after 2nd, switched left 3 out, went third going okay before last, kept on run-in
4th
Daryl Jacob

Zarak The Brave

Age: 5
Weight: 11.7
OR: 152
J:
 
Daryl Jacob
T:
 
W P Mullins
took keen hold, held up in rear, mistake 5 out, headway after 2 out, went fourth before last, weakened run-in

Champion Hurdle Tips

Searching for all the latest Champion Hurdle tips? Then don’t worry as we have you covered. We’ll provide all the latest tips below as soon as we have them. Remember you can also get even more tips for the Festival on our wider Cheltenham tips page here.

You can also see all the latest odds for this race and learn which bookmakers are offering the best price on each horse in the race on our Champion Hurdle odds page.

Sorry, no tips are available today!

In addition to these useful Champion Hurdle tips, if you’re looking for more of our thoughts on who you should back in the race, take a look at our other Day One Cheltenham tips page to find out more and inform your bets.

You can also see all the latest odds for this race and learn which bookmakers are offering the best price on each horse in the race on our Champion Hurdle odds page.

More Information On The Champion Hurdle

The Champion Hurdle is the fourth race on Day One of the Festival - which is also known as ‘Champion Day’. It is the third of four Grade 1 contests on the day and is open to horses aged four years and over.

The National Hunt race is run over two miles and half a furlong and there are eight hurdles for the runners to negotiate. As we’ve mentioned earlier, the race is considered to be the feature race for Day One and that is shown in the prize money, with a pot of £450,000 available and over £250,000 going to the winner.

History of the Champion Hurdle

The race was simply known as the ‘Champion Hurdle’ when it started in 1927 and only first had sponsorship in 1978 from Waterford Crystal. The first race was won by a horse called Blaris and the prize back then was £365. Historically the race has always been held on a Tuesday, but throughout the majority of the 1960s and 70s, this was switched to Wednesdays, before moving back to Tuesdays in 1980.

Smurfit was the next sponsor to support the race in 1991, and this remained until bookmaker Stan James took over from 2010 to 2017. They were then replaced by parent company Unibet, who still have the rights to the race today.

Recent Champion Hurdle Winners And Notable Stats

If you want to know who the Champion Hurdle winners are, the following table has all the most recent records:


Year Winner Jockey Trainer
2023 Constitution Hill Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson
2022 Honeysuckle Rachael Blackmore Henry de Bromhead
2021 Honeysuckle Rachael Blackmore Henry de Bromhead
2020 Epatante Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson
2019 Espoir D'Allen Mark Walsh Gavin Cromwell (Ire)
2018 Buveur D'Air Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson
2017 Buveur D'Air Noel Fehily Nicky Henderson
2016 Annie Power Ruby Walsh Willie Mullins (Ire)
2015 Faugheen Ruby Walsh Willie Mullins (Ire)
2014 Jezki Barry Geraghty Jessica Harrington (Ire)

Nicky Henderson is also the most successful trainer for the Champion Hurdle in terms of winners. He has the record for nine wins with: See You Then (1985, 1986, 1987), Punjabi (2009), Binocular (2010), Buveur D'Air (2017, 2018), Epatante (2020), Constitution Hill (2023).

It’s currently a tie at four wins each between three jockeys, they are Tim Molony, Ruby Walsh and Barry Geraghty. The latter was the most recent winner in 2020 riding Epatante.

Champion Hurdle FAQs

Finding Tips For The Champion Hurdle

If you’re looking for our thoughts on who you should back in the Champion Hurdle take a look at our Day 1 Tips page to see everything, we’re backing for this race at the Cheltenham Festival.

You can also see all the latest odds for this race on our Champion Hurdle Odds page allowing you to see which bookmakers are offering the best price on each horse in the race.