Fighting Fifth Hurdle Tips & Odds

The history of the Fighting Fifth Hurdle

First established in 1969, the Fighting Fifth Hurdle has a long and rich history with some of the best hurdlers of all time claiming the win at Newcastle Races.

At one stage, the Fighting Fifth was one of the premier races outside of the Champion Hurdle in the UK with legendary animals like Comedy Of Errors, Night Nurse, Birds Nest and Sea Pigeon all claiming the victory in the golden era of the 1970's.

The race received a huge boost in 2004 when it was boosted to Grade One level and now takes its place in the calendar as the first top level hurdle race of the season in the UK.

Who is the most iconic winner of the Fighting Fifth Hurdle?

We have already mentioned some of the star names to have won the Fighting Fifth Hurdle with some legendary names claiming the victory in Newcastle which does make it very hard to pick out just one. Multiple Champion Hurdle winners have claimed the win in the north-east but if we are going to pick one then it has to be the great Comedy Of Errors.

The Fred Rimell trained gelding was one of the great horses of the decade with his two wins in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham the clear highlight. Away from Prestbury Park, Comedy Of Errors won the Fighting Fifth Hurdle three times, the Welsh Champion Hurdle and the Scottish Champion Hurdle among many others as he earned a reputation as one of the best horses of the century.

Are there any trials for the Fighting Fifth Hurdle?

The Fighting Fifth Hurdle is the first big Champion Hurdle trial of the season so the Cheltenham race the previous season is often a good place to start when looking for potential runners in Newcastle each winter. The Supreme Novices' Hurdle and the Ballymore at Prestbury Park are also races that could provide runners for the Fighting Fifth a the young horses step up into open company and test their Champion Hurdle claims for the first time.