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Cheltenham Festival: Five great Champion Hurdlers

It’s a great pub debate. Who was the best Champion Hurdler? Who was your favourite? Planet Sport has come up with a list that would certainly give the rest something to think about.

First run in 1927, when it was won by Blaris, the Champion Hurdle has since been the pinnacle for jumpers of the smaller obstacles.

There have been two so-called 'Golden Eras' of hurdling and both have included multiple Champion Hurdle winners. The first of these covered the period 1947-54.

National Spirit won the title in both 1947 and again a year later, before Hatton's Grace, trained by the late, great Vincent O'Brien, won three in a row for Ireland. The Brits then celebrated a treble winner through Sir Ken, for trainer Willie Stephenson.

The second golden era? Well, that included the first two horses on our list...

Night Nurse

Champion Hurdle wins: 1976, 1977

No list of great champion hurdlers can exclude Night Nurse. Others have won more hurdling titles than he did but some of performances remain as good as this discipline has ever seen.
Unbelievably, he cost just 1,300gns as a yearling. He achieved little on the Flat, winning a Ripon maiden over 1m1f, but it was when he was switched to hurdling that things began to blossom.

Now in the colours he made famous, the purple with pink cross belts and white cap of Reg Spencer, he won on his debut over obstacles at Market Rasen and never looked back. He could be forgiven for his Triumph Hurdle flop at the end of that first season over hurdles, which came on desperate ground at Cheltenham, and his climb to the top of the rankings continued in 1975-76.

The rise of his star could be charted through defeats of 1973 and 1975 champion Comedy Of Errors in two races before the Festival. Then in the big one itself he simply blew them all away, 1974 champion Lanzarote included, to make it eight successive wins that season and lift the crown.

Although he didn't go unbeaten in 1976/77, his winning run was extended to 10 starts before Bird's Nest got the better of him in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle and Dramatist managed to lower his colours in Kempton's Christmas Hurdle.

He bounced back to win a second Champion Hurdle in 1977, before dead-heating with future dual champion Monksfield in what remains on ratings the greatest hurdle race ever, the 1977 Templegate Hurdle at Aintree, which was less than an hour before Red Rum made history with his third Grand National triumph.

Although his powers over hurdles waned the following season, he went on to become a high-class chaser, and of course finished second in the 1981 Cheltenham Gold Cup to stablemate Little Owl.

Sea Pigeon

Champion Hurdle wins: 1980, 1981

Although his case is definitely more arguable - at his best over timber he was rated around half a stone inferior to stable companion Night Nurse's peak effort - it was the visual aesthetic that was so stunning with this former dual Champion Hurdler.
Bred to win a Derby - he'd finished seventh in that race in 1973 - he would remain successful in some top staying races on the Flat, while reaching the hurdling summit at the ripe old age of 10.
It's worth mentioning that, having represented Jeremy Tree in the Derby, Sea Pigeon's jumping career began under the tutelage of the late, great Gordon W Richards in Cumbria.
Owner Pat Muldoon then switched him from Richards to Peter Easterby's Malton yard after a fall out and he went on to finish fourth to Night Nurse in the 1977 Champion Hurdle.
By 1978, he was good enough to beat Night Nurse into third but this time Irish raider Monksfield got the better of him for the first of his two successes in the race.
Having cruised through the 1979 renewal of hurdling's blue riband, frustratingly 'The Pigeon' was again 'done' by Monksfield. On that occasion Jonjo O'Neill blamed himself for hitting the front too soon on the runner-up, allowing the lionhearted Irish horse to get back past him before the winning post.

All this time he had been kept busy in the summers, winning two Chester Cups and he went on to lift the Ebor Handicap at York under O'Neill in August '79, in a slide rule finish. Surely, however, his chance of lifting the hurdling crown had gone.

Rising 10 years of age at the start of the 1979/80 jumps season, Sea Pigeon won the Fighting Fifth on route to Cheltenham, but the stats were against him. In head-to-heads with dual champ Monksfield it was 5-0 to the Irish horse.

However, a slight change to the track ahead of the 1980 Champion Hurdle meant the race distance was shortened by about a furlong and, vitally, O'Neill had decided to play a longer waiting game on his mount.
This time, when travelling ominously well coming to the last, he held on to his mount, before tearing up the hill past Monksfield for a seven-length win.

With O'Neill injured, Sea Pigeon repeated the feat under an even more audacious ride by champion jockey John Francome a year later.

This time, with Pollardstown and a different Irish raider, Daring Run, apparently scrapping it out up front, Francome waited until half way up the run-in before asking his mount to kick in the turbo. He duly obliged by a length-and-a-half and remains the race's joint-oldest winner.

Istabraq

Champion Hurdle wins: 1998, 1999, 2000

From two dual champions to one who upstaged the pair of them, earning three titles! Yes, in total Istabraq won an incredible four successive Cheltenham Festival races and was denied an attempt at five in a row because there was no Festival in 2001 due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
He tried to bridge the gap with another win in 2002, but an injury early in the race saw him pulled up and connections understandably then called time on his career.
But what a career! 23 wins from his 29 starts over hurdles emphasises the gelding's dominance over his contemporaries.

The 1997/98 season saw him lift the crown for a first time under regular pilot Charlie Swann. No one can say he hadn't earned the right, having picked up the Hatton's Grace at Fairyhouse, and both the December Festival and Irish Champion Hurdles at Leopardstown on route. Sent off as favourite at Prestbury Park, he trounced a big field of 18 by 12-lengths.

Having been beaten by Pridwell, under an outstanding ride by Sir Anthony McCoy at Aintree on his final start of the campaign, Istabraq went through the 1998/99 campaign unbeaten and unchallenged.

He picked up the same three Irish races on route to defend his crown. Although not at his best on the big day, he still had more than three lengths to spare over stable companion Theatreworld, with young pretender French Holly in third. Successes in both the Martell Aintree Hurdle and the Punchestown Champion Hurdle followed before the season was out.

The 1999/2000 campaign served only to underline Istabraq's dominance of the hurdling scene and, although tactically Swann came unstuck when the partnership gave best to the top-class Limestone Lad in the Hatton's Grace Hurdle, he won everything else asked of him. That included a four-length Champion Hurdle success over Hors La Loi, so joining an elite band of triple champions.

With nothing outstanding coming from the novice ranks, the way looked clear for him to win an unprecedented fourth title in 2001.

Despite a fall at the Leopardstown Christmas meeting, he got back on track at the same venue with yet another Irish Champion Hurdle success before foot and mouth put an end to his opportunity to make hurdling history at Cheltenham.

After that final Cheltenham tilt in 2002, the JP McManus-owned and Aidan O'Brien-trained superstar's injury led to retirement.

Debates rage come Festival time as to just how good he was by comparison to the greats.

Three wins suggests he'd have been in there pitching against them all come the final flight, though scrutiny of the abilities of his opponents has his detractors suggesting he was much the best of a moderate era.

Hurricane Fly

Champion Hurdle wins: 2011, 2013

Having upset the Irish by taking two horses either side of the brilliant Monksfield at the top of this piece (I didn't say this was the definitive list!) let's level things up here.

After Istabraq and another personal favourite in dual champ Hardy Eustace, came this classy sort, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by one of the great big-race jockeys the sport has seen, Ruby Walsh.

'The Fly' achieved the rare feat of regaining his crown after losing it and in total won 24 of his 32 starts over hurdles, including five successive Irish Champion Hurdles.

Having begun his career on the Flat in France, he took to hurdles well, enjoying a good first two seasons over timber before going through the 2010/11 campaign unbeaten in five starts.

His first visit to Cheltenham was a winning one, as Walsh guided home the 11/4 favourite to a cosy one-and-a-quarter length win over Peddlers Cross to become the champion hurdler.

All seemed set for a repeat a year later. By now the odds-on favourite after another Irish championship on the road to Prestbury Park, his finishing speed was blunted by a searching gallop, meaning he could only finished third behind Rock On Ruby and Overturn.
A Punchestown Champion Hurdle win on his final start that season showed he retained championship ability and after another Irish Champion Hurdle win, he was the subject of a monster gamble at Cheltenham, where he duly regained his crown. It was fitting that he beat Rock On Ruby into second place in becoming the first horse since Comedy Of Errors in 1975 to win the title back.
Although he never won the race again, Hurricane Fly remained a force to be reckoned with, running fourth (2014) and third (2015) in his last two attempts at the Champion Hurdle. He remains one of the best of the 21st Century.

Honeysuckle

Champion Hurdle win: 2021, 2022

What an amazing two years it has been for jockey Rachael Blackmore and trainer Henry de Bromhead, and this mare played a major part in it.

Now nine, she shot to prominence as a five-year-old, winning the Grade 1 Mares' Novice Championship over 2m4f at Fairyhouse under Blackmore, who has been on board for all 18 of the mare's races.

She went into open company against the opposite sex the following season, stamping her mark on the division with a Grade 1 Hatton's Grace Hurdle win, before landing the Irish Champion Hurdle and then her first Cheltenham Festival success in the 2020 running of the Grade 1 Mares' Hurdle.
Calls for her to have a crack at the blue riband came in earnest once she has won another Hatton's Grace in November of that year, before dotting up in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown in February 2021.

It was a case of 'next stop… the Champion Hurdle!' and she did not disappoint.

Despite picking holes in the performances of her nine opponents on the day, and that included former champion Epatante, Honeysuckle dominated the race to win by six-and-a-half lengths from Sharjah, putting up the best performance in winning the championship since Hurricane Fly.

It was precisely the same 1-2-3 at Punchestown a month later, proving that Cheltenham had been no fluke. With an easy eight-length success in the 2021 renewal of the Hatton's Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse.

De Bromhead's charge defended her title at Cheltenham in 2022 and claimed a hat-trick of Irish Champion Hurdle.
But all good things must eventually come to an end and Honeysuckle will not be going for a Champion Hurdle hat-trick in 2023.
Having lost her long unbeaten record first time out this season in the Hatton's Grace at Fairyhouse behind Teahupoo and Klassical Dream, then finishing second in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown, the dual champion hurdler will have one final run in the Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle.

Others to consider

Any multiple winner would certainly have plenty fighting their corner as one of the greats, while some one-off winners also still get their fans hot under the collar.

Persian War was a triple Champion Hurdle winner from 1969-70 and clearly merits a big mention, while Comedy Of Errors (1973 and 1975), the first to regain the title, was another star performer of his day.

Better than either was Monksfield (1978 and 1979), who was a big part of the second 'Golden Era' of hurdling. Dawn Run (1984) merits mention for, although she won it just once, she remains the only horse ever to have done the Champion Hurdle-Gold Cup 'double', while See You Then, who took her hurdling crown, held on to it for three years (1985, 1986 and 1987) and was the best of his generation.
In this century, Hardy Eustace (2004 and 2005) was a personal favourite, Faugheen (2015) won it just once but left an indelible impression in doing so, and Buveur D'Air (2017 and 2018) was the most recent dual winner.

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