Champion Hurdle Tips & Odds
The Champion Hurdle is the feature race on day one of the Cheltenham Festival and takes place at 15:30 on Tuesday 11th March, 2025. Read More
Attracting the premier two-mile hurdlers in training in the UK & Ireland, the Grade 1 feature's runners and odds can be found here, as well as our Cheltenham tips come the day of the race.
You can also find out to place a bet with some of the best horse racing betting sites and open a new betting account on this dedicated Champion Hurdle page.
#AD 18+ New Customers Only Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.
-
3
1/5 -
2
1/4 -
3
1/5 -
3
1/5 -
3
1/5 -
3
1/5 -
3
1/5 -
3
1/5
Cheltenham 16:00
Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy (Grade 1) (GBB Race)
- 4yo+, 16 Runners
- Jumps,Turf , 2m 87y
Racecard
Stats Filter
- Sort By Number
- Sort By Odds
- Sort By RP Rating
- Sort By Topspeed
• 1 (5) = Horse number with the draw number in brackets.
• Number alongside the horse name is the days since the horse last ran.
• Numbers/letters under the jockey silk is the horse form with the most recent figure on the right. Numbers = finishing position (0 = finished outside the top 10), P = pulled up, F = fell, U = Unseated, B = brought down, R = refused, C = carried out, D = disqualified, HR = hit rails, L = left at start, O = ran out, S = slipped up, V = void race. A dash between figures indicates a year between the runs and a slash indicates a new season.
• % alongside jockey/trainer names = strike rate in last 30 days.
• Key to pointers: C = Course winner, D = Distance winner, CD = Course & Distance winner, BF = Beaten Favourite last time out, WS = Has had wind surgery since last run, LT = Longest Travellers, b = Wearing blinkers, b1 = Wearing blinkers for the first time, h = Wearing a hood, h1 = Wearing a hood for the first time, t = Wearing a tongue strap, t1 = Wearing a tongue strap for the first time, v = Wearing a visor, v1 = Wearing a visor for the first time, p = Wearing cheek pieces. OR = Official Rating. RPR = Racing Post Rating. Topspeed is a figure calculated using race times and the going to show how fast the horse can run.
Champion Hurdle Tips
Below is our tip for this year's Champion Hurdle...
Constitution Hill
About the Champion Hurdle
The Champion Hurdle is the feature race on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival, Champion Day, which is traditionally held on a Tuesday in March. A Grade One contest, the Champion Hurdle is run on the old course over a distance of two miles and 87 yards, and its roll of honour features several well-known names, including Istabraq, See You Then, and Persian War.
The Champion Hurdle was first run in 1927, with the Bill Payne-trained Blaris taking the inaugural crown. The race quickly grew in popularity, and flourished in the immediate post-war period, with just three horses - National Spirit, Hatton’s Grace and Sir Ken - sharing the crown between them from 1947-1954. The seventies would also prove to be a golden era for hurdling, with Persian War sealing a third straight win in the race in 1970, before Bula, Comedy of Errors, Night Nurse and Monksfield would all go on to become dual-winners of the race in the same decade. The eighties would prove to be just as significant, with Sea Pigeon completing a double in 1981, and Dawn Run becoming just the second mare to win the race in 1984, before winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup two years later - she remains the only horse to complete that particular double.
See You Then was another marquee figure from that decade, winning three straight renewals from 1985-1987, something which was matched at the turn of the century by the great Istabraq, whose wins came in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Istabraq would be robbed of the chance to complete an unprecedented four-timer in 2001 due to the foot and mouth crisis, and he would be retired when pulled up in the race a year later. More recently, Hurricane Fly became the first horse to regain the Champion Hurdle when winning the race for a second time in 2013, while Buveur d’Air won back-to-back renewals in 2017 and 2018 for Nicky Henderson, before being denied the hat-trick by fellow J.P. McManus horse Espoir D’Allen in 2019. Henry De Bromhead's Honeysuckle was a dual winner of the race in 2021 and 2022.
With 2023 winner Constitution Hill missing as Nicky Henderson's yard fell unwell, STATE MAN got his deserved Champion Hurdle and landed his eighth Grade 1 in a routine win from Irish Point.
Champion Hurdle Key Trends
- Eight of the last 10 winners have been sent off as favourite
- Eight of the last 10 winners have been trained in Ireland
- Three of the last 10 winners have been Mares
- Nine of the last 10 winners have won their previous race.
Previous Winners Of The Champion Hurdle
| Year | Winner | Winning Jockey | Winning Trainer | Starting Price | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | State Man | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | 2/5 Fav | 7 |
| 2023 | Constitution Hill | Nico De Boinville | Nicky Henderson | 4/11 Fav | 6 |
| 2022 | Honeysuckle | Rachael Blackmore | Henry de Bromhead | 8/11 Fav | 8 |
| 2021 | Honeysuckle | Rachael Blackmore | Henry de Bromhead | 11/10 Fav | 7 |
| 2020 | Epatante | Barry Geraghty | Nicky Henderson | 2/1 Fav | 6 |
| 2019 | Espoir D'allen | Mark Walsh | Gavin Cromwell | 16/1 | 5 |
| 2018 | Buveur D'Air | Barry Geraghty | Nicky Henderson | 4/6 Fav | 7 |
| 2017 | Buveur D'Air | Noel Fehily | Nicky Henderson | 5/1 | 6 |
| 2016 | Annie Power | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins | 5/2 Fav | 8 |
| 2015 | Faugheen | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins | 4/5 Fav | 7 |
| 2014 | Jezki | Barry Geraghty | Jessica Harrington | 9/1 | 9 |
| 2013 | Hurricane Fly | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins | 13/8 Fav | 9 |
Frequently Asked Questions About The Champion Hurdle
When is the Champion Hurdle?
The race takes place at 15:30 on Tuesday 11th March 2025.
Where can I watch the Champion Hurdle?
Watch the race live on ITV1 and the subscription channel Racing TV which also offers options to stream the race via their streaming services.
Alternatively, most bookmakers offer a free live horse racing stream allowing you to watch the race after you've placed a bet or have a funded account
Who is the most iconic winner of Champion Hurdle?
Like in many of the races at the Cheltenham Festival, a case can be made for several Champion Hurdle winners as the greatest of all time, though it is difficult to ignore the Aidan O’Brien-trained Istabraq. An outstanding novice, Istabraq won the Royal Sun Alliance Novices’ Hurdle in 1997 (now known as the Ballymore), and quickly took control of the two-mile division the following season, winning four straight starts before winning his first Champion Hurdle crown in 1998. Istabraq’s remarkable winning run came to an end on his next start in the Aintree Hurdle, but that start came in atrocious conditions, and he quickly regained the winning thread, winning the Champion Hurdle for the second year running the following season, before completing the hat-trick in 2000 - becoming just the fifth horse to do so. Istabraq was robbed of the chance to seal an unprecedented four-timer in 2001 due to the foot and mouth crisis, and although his career would end with a whimper in the 2002 Champion Hurdle - when pulled-up, he bowed out as a true hurdling great regardless.
Are there any trials for the Champion Hurdle?
There are several trials for the Champion Hurdle throughout the season, though the most important is considered to be the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle and the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton. Other races to note during the season are the Elite Hurdle and the Kingwell Hurdle (both at Wincanton), the Ascot Hurdle, the Champion Hurdle Trial (Haydock), the Contenders Hurdle (Sandown), the Betfair Hurdle (Newbury), and the Greatwood Hurdle and the International Hurdle (both at Cheltenham). Over in Ireland, it could be worth keeping an eye on the WKD Hurdle (Down Royal), the Morgiana Hurdle (Punchestown), the Hatton's Grace Hurdle (Fairyhouse), the Red Mills Hurdle (Gowran Park) and the Ryanair Hurdle and the Irish Champion Hurdle (both at Leopardstown).
Who is the most successful jockey in the Champion Hurdle?
The joint-most successful jockeys in the history of the Champion Hurdle is currently shared between Tim Molony, Ruby Walsh, and Barry Geraghty, with four wins apiece. The latter’s wins in the race came with Punjabi (2009), Jezki (2014), Buveur D'Air (2018), and Epatante (2020). Ruby Walsh won with Hurricane Fly (2011 and 2013), Faugheen (2015), and Annie Power (2016), while Tim Molony won the Champion Hurdle with Hatton’s Grace (1951) and Sir Ken (1952, 1953, 1954).
Who is the most successful trainer in the Champion Hurdle?
The most successful trainer in the history of the Champion Hurdle is Nicky Henderson, who won the race on eight occasions, training See You Then (1985, 1986, 1987), Punjabi (2009), Binocular (2010), Buveur d’Air (2017 & 2018) and Epatante in 2020.