Category: Horses

In the history of the Champion Hurdle, which dates back to 1927, the winning time has been under 3 minutes 50.00 seconds on just five occasions. Istabraq, who completed a hat-trick in the two-mile hurdling championship in 1998, 1999 and 2000, was responsible for two of those times and, indeed, set a new course record, of 3 minutes 48.10 seconds, when winning impressively in 2000.

That record stood until 2014, when it was smashed by Jezki – owned, like Istabraq, by J.P. McManus – who just edged out My Tent Or Yours in a driving finish, eventually coming home in a time of 3 minutes 45.25 seconds. While that time represented a significant improvement on the previous best, the course record was broken again just two years later by the mare Annie Power.

By that stage of her career, Annie Power had been beaten just once in 15 completed starts – and, even then, not by far in the Stayers’ Hurdle two years previously – and had famously fallen at the final flight, with the race at her mercy, in the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle the previous year. In receipt of a 7lb weight-for-sex allowance, she was sent off 5/2 favourite for the 2016 Champion Hurdle and duly obliged, making most of the running to beat the luckless My Tent Or Yours by 4½ lengths in a new course record time of 3 minutes 45.10 seconds.

Rated 191 by Timeform, Kauto Star was, unarguably, one of the greatest steeplechasers of all time. All told, he won 19 of his 23 steeplechases and amassed just shy of £2 million in winning prize money alone. As far as the Cheltenham Festival is concerned, Kauto Star made his first appearance, as a 6-year-old, in 2006, when he was sent of 2/1 favourite for the Queen Mother Champion Chase. He fell at the third fence on that occasion but, having won his next five races, including the King George VI Chase at Kempton, he returned to Cheltenham in 2007, for his first crack at the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Sent off 5/4 favourite, he quickened into the lead at the second last fence and, despite hitting the last, stayed on strongly to beat Exotic Dancer by 2½ lengths. The following year, 2008, Kauto Star was once again sent off favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, at 10/11, but proved no match for his stable companion Denman, who beat him 7 lengths. Nevertheless, he was back again in 2009, making history by becoming the first horse to regain his title with an impressive, 13-length win over Denman. That was that, in terms of winning, but Kauto Star actually ran in three more Gold Cups, making six in all.

No, contrary to the information supplied by a certain free, Internet-based encyclopaedia, Desert Orchid never started favourite for the Champion Hurdle. He did run in the Champion Hurdle, sponsored in those days by Waterford Crystal, twice, in 1984 and 1985, but the favourites in those renewals were Dawn Run, at 4/5, and Brown’s Gazette, at 4/6, respectively.

On the first occasion, after a successful season, which had included victory in the Grade One Tolworth Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown Park, Desert Orchid was actually sent off 7/1 second favourite behind Dawn Run. However, having disputed the lead with the favourite for most of the way, Desert Orchid came under pressure on the downhill run to the third-last flight and weakened out of contention to finish among the backmarkers.

On the second occasion, despite winning his preparatory race, the Oteley Hurdle – now the Contenders Hurdle – at Sandown, Desert Orchid was sent off as a largely unconsidered 20/1 chance in the Champion Hurdle. Once again, as was his customary style, he was always well to the fore, chasing the breakneck pace set by rank outsider Northern Trial. However, his early exertions took their toll and he weakened into last place before the field reached the top of the hill and was eventually pulled up in the race won by See You Then.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup, as a steeplechase, was inaugurated in 1924 and, as such, pre-dates the Champion Hurdle by three years. However, while the Champion Hurdle has seen 15 multiple winners down the years, the Cheltenham Gold Cup has seen just eight.

The first of them, Easter Hero, recorded back-to-back victories, both by 20 lengths, in 1929 and 1930, at a time when the Cheltenham Gold Cup was still run on the Old Course at Prestbury Park. The 1931 renewal of the Cheltenham Gold Cup was abandoned, due to frost, but for the next five years the race was dominated by ‘Steeplechaser of the Century’ Golden Miller, who also won the Grand National in 1934.

Following World War II, Cottage Rake completed a hat-trick of successes in 1948, 1949 and 1950 and Arkle – widely considered the greatest steeplechaser of all time – did likewise in 1964, 1965 and 1966, by which time the Cheltenham Gold Cup had been transferred to the New Course. More recently, L’Escargot won consecutive renewals in 1970 and 1971, Best Mate became the last horse to win three in a row in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and, in 2009, Kauto Star made history by becoming the first horse to recapture his title, having won in 2007 and finished second to stablemate Denman in 2008. Of course, Al Boum Photo won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2019 and 2020 and may yet win three, or more, in a row.