Champion Hurdle Preview
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
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.
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.
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.
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.