A two mile race for the fastest hurdlers in national hunt racing. An ability to travel well at speed and jump without losing momentum is crucial.

Below we go into the race in much more detail. We will cover stats and trends our expert tipsters have highlighted in forum posts or blogs and pick out some of the key form points they have highlighted.



Hurricane Fly on the way to winning the Champion Hurdle

Champion Hurdle Last Ten Winners

Table below shows the last ten winners of the race, their age at the time of winning, trainer, jockey and odds (starting price).

Year	Horse	Age	Trainer	Jockey	Price
2017	Buveur DAir	7yo	N Henderson	N Fehily	5/1
2016	Annie Power	8yo	W Mullins	R Walsh	5/2F
2015	Faugheen	7yo	W Mullins	R Walsh	4/5F
2014	Jezki	6yo	Mrs J Harrington	B Geraghty	9/1
2013	Hurricane Fly	9yo	W Mullins	R Walsh	13/8F
2012	Rock On Ruby	7yo	P Nicholls	N Fehily	11/1
2011	Hurricane Fly	7yo	W Mullins	R Walsh	11/4F
2010	Binocular	6yo	N Henderson	AP McCoy	9/1
2009	Punjabi	6yo	N Henderson	B Geraghty	22/1
2008	Katchit	5yo	A King	R Thornton	10/1

Champion Hurdle Trends

16 / 16	Was sent off no bigger than 9/2 last time out
16 / 16	Had won a race that season
16 / 16	Finished in the first four last time out
16 / 16	Made their debut at Class 4 level or lower
16 / 16	Had previously won at least 2 races going left handed
16 / 16	Had made between 1-5 starts that season
16 / 16	Had recorded 5+ career wins
16 / 16	Had a jockey who had at least one other ride at Cheltenham that day
16 / 16	Had previously contested a Grade 1
16 / 16	Were no older than 9yo
15 / 16	Had previously been ridden by the jockey 3+ times
15 / 16	Had held an official rating of 150+ during their career
15 / 16	Had made 8+ starts over the distance or further

Champion Hurdle Trends Analysis

Since 2002 we have seen plenty of strong Champion Hurdle winner trends, all had won previously that season and ran no more than five times, had won at least twice on a left handed track and recorded at least five career wins.

In the past 8 years only one of the winners was sent off bigger than 9/1, during that time there have been four winning favourites.

Jockey experience on the horse seems important with 15 of the last 16 winners being previously ridden by the jockey at least three times.

Champion Hurdle Trainer Statistics

Below is a table of how some of the top trainers have fared in the last ten years in the Champion Hurdle:

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places (Inc Wins)	Win LSP	Each Way LSP
W P Mullins	16	4	8	-4.32	-1.77
Nicky Henderson	23	3	10	16.00	12.10
Paul Nicholls	8	1	2	4.00	0.95
Alan King	8	1	1	3.00	-1.00
Mrs John Harrington	3	1	1	7.00	3.40
Nigel Twiston-Davies	6	0	2	-6.00	-3.97
Donald McCain	5	0	2	-5.00	-1.55
Noel Meade	5	0	0	-5.00	-5.00
David Pipe	4	0	1	-4.00	-3.05
E J OGrady	3	0	0	-3.00	-3.00

Amazingly Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins were responsible for eighteen of the thirty horses that have finished 1-2-3 in the last ten Champion Hurdles.

Henderson's supporters will be doing best however thanks to the big priced victories of Punjabi (22/1) and Binocular (9/1) and Henderson added to his tally when successful with Buveur D'Air (5/1) last year.

Champion Hurdle Form Tips and Analysis

Last Year's OLBG Cheltenham Champion Tipster 'marksutherland' likes Elgin each way:

"Trainer Alan King knows what it takes to win a champion hurdle having won it previously with Katchit. Elgin's form took a massive boost when Call Me Lord finished second on Saturday. Elgin is a previous course winner and has winning form in the forecast conditions and would not be surprised if Alan Kings choice to supplement this horse was rewarded."

See more tips on the Champion Hurdle here via the OLBG forum.

The next race on Day 1 is the highlight of the Cheltenham Festival: The OLBG Mares Hurdle! Check out the tips and race preview for our race here.