The feature race on day 1 of the Cheltenham Festival is the Champion Hurdle, which is a Grade 1 race run over 2m 87y and takes place in 2027 at 4.00pm on Tuesday 16 March.
Our team of tipsters including Andrew Mount and Matty Sutcliffe will provide their Champion Hurdle tips here…
Andrew Mount’s Champion Hurdle Tips
Alexei looks a value bet in the Champion Hurdle. Andrew likes the look of his performance in the Greatwood Hurdle on his only visit to Cheltenham and believes that a strong pace here will suit him better than at Ascot and Wincanton the last twice.
Matty Sutcliffe’s Champion Hurdle Tips
Matty believes that we are yet to see the full ability of The New Lion on display. The confidence-boosting run in the Unibet Hurdle last time out should have him spot on for this rise in class to the big time.
Champion Hurdle Bookmaker Odds – Race 4, Tuesday 10th March 4:00
All About The Unibet Champion Hurdle in 2027
Open to horses of ages four and upwards, the Champion Hurdle is the ultimate hurdling prize. A slick, graceful, speedy hurdler is one of the enjoyable sights in racing and some of the most celebrated horses in National Hunt history have laid claim to the trophy.
The 2026 Champion Hurdle is set to be a wide open renewal with Dan Skelton’s The New Lion, Gordon Elliott’s Brighterdaysahead and dual Mares’ Hurdle heroine Lossiemouth three of the leading contenders. Jeremy Scott’s Golden Ace was a shock winner of the race 12 months ago and is set to try and retain her crown, whilst last year’s Triumph Hurdle hero Poniros adds more depth to the race.
Champion Hurdle Qualifications/Trends
Check out all the Champion Hurdle trends ahead of the 2026 Champion Hurdle:
Champion Hurdle History
The Champion Hurdle’s inaugural running was in 1927 and comprised a mere four runners. Ironically, in this age where we moan about small fields, no Champion Hurdle field was greater than six until 1935.
The Gold Cup and Grand National’s prominence often overshadowed the hurdling scene, which did not really take off until the post-war years. Talented horses such as Brown Jack and Insurance won it prior to 1939, but the latter’s owner, Miss Dorothy Paget was possibly more distracted by her brilliant five-time Gold Cup winner Golden Miller racing at the same time.
Two horses were especially responsible for the Champion Hurdle’s growing popularity. For six years between 1949 and 1954 only two horses won the race: both Hatton’s Grace and Sir Ken rattled off hat-tricks in the race, the former being an early star for Vincent O’Brien before that family began its dynasty on the flat.
Of all the championship races, the Champion Hurdle has the greatest history of repeat winners. A run from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, all of Persian War, Bula, Comedy Of Errors, Night Nurse, Monksfield and Sea Pigeon all won the race at least twice (the first-named three times). The era is often seen as the “Golden Age” of hurdlers.
Of all the debates as to who is the greatest, the battle for supremacy in the Champion Hurdle’s roll call is perhaps the most competitive. Any one of the Golden Age sextet would be worthy of that mantle, though just a few years later, Dawn Run won the race. That came in 1984, two years before she became the first and only horse to win both the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup.
Many would point to Istabraq as the best ever. His three successive wins came in serene style, and he was probably denied a fourth due to the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001.
13 years later, Hurricane Fly regained his Champion Hurdle crown. His two Festival successes were among a scarcely believable 22 Grade 1 wins throughout his career, the most by any horse in history.
Winners since 2000
| Year | Horse | Jockey/Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Istabraq | J:Charlie Swan T:Aidan O’Brien | 8/15F |
| 2001 | VOID | J:N/A T:N/A | VOID |
| 2002 | Hors La Loi III | J:Dean Gallagher T:James Fanshawe | 10/1 |
| 2003 | Rooster Booster | J:Richard Johnson T:Philip Hobbs | 9/2 |
| 2004 | Hardy Eustace | J:Conor O’Dwyer T:Dessie Hughes | 33/1 |
| 2005 | Hardy Eustace | J:Conor O’Dwyer T:Dessie Hughes | 7/2F |
| 2006 | Brave Inca | J:Tony McCoy T:Colm Murphy | 7/4F |
| 2007 | Sublimity | J:Philip Carberry T:John Carr | 16/1 |
| 2008 | Katchit | J:Robert Thornton T:Alan King | 10/1 |
| 2009 | Punjabi | J:Barry Geraghty T:Nicky Henderson | 22/1 |
| 2010 | Binocular | J:Tony McCoy T:Nicky Henderson | 9/1 |
| 2011 | Hurricane Fly | J:Ruby Walsh T:Willie Mullins | 11/4F |
| 2012 | Rock On Ruby | J:Noel Fehily T:Paul Nicholls | 11/1 |
| 2013 | Hurricane Fly | J:Ruby Walsh T:Willie Mullins | 13/8F |
| 2014 | Jezki | J:Barry Geraghty T:Jessica Harrington | 9/1 |
| 2015 | Faugheen | J:Ruby Walsh T:Willie Mullins | 4/5F |
| 2016 | Annie Power | J:Ruby Walsh T:Willie Mullins | 5/2F |
| 2017 | Buveur D’Air | J:Noel Fehily T:Nicky Henderson | 5/1 |
| 2018 | Buveur D’Air | J:Barry Geraghty T:Nicky Henderson | 4/6F |
| 2019 | Espoir d’Allen | J:Mark Walsh T:Gavin Cromwell | 16/1 |
| 2020 | Epatante | J:Barry Geraghty T:Nicky Henderson | 2/1F |
| 2021 | Honeysuckle | J:Rachael Blackmore T:Henry De Bromhead | 11/10F |
| 2022 | Honeysuckle | J:Rachael Blackmore T:Henry De Bromhead | 8/11F |
| 2023 | Constitution Hill | J:Nico De Boinville T:Nicky Henderson | 4/11F |
| 2024 | State Man | J:Paul Townend T:Willie Mullins | 2/5F |
| 2025 | Golden Ace | J:Lorcan Williams T:Jeremy Scott | 25/1 |
| 2026 | Lossiemouth | J:Paul Townend T:Willie Mullins | 7/5F |
Cheltenham Festival Racing Schedule
| Time | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 1:20 | Supreme Novices’ Hurdle | 2m 87y |
| 2:00 | Arkle Challenge Trophy | 1m 7f 199y |
| 2.40 | Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle | 2m 87y |
| 3:20 | Ultima Handicap Chase | 3m 1f |
| 4:00 | Champion Hurdle | 2m 87y |
| 4.40 | Sun Racing Plate Handicap Chase | 2m 4f 127y |
| 5:20 | National Hunt Chase | 3m 5f 201y |