Champion Hurdle
| Grade 1 race | |
| Location |
Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham, England |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1927 |
| Race type | Hurdle race |
| Sponsor | StanJames.com |
| Website | Cheltenham Racecourse |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 2m 87d (3,298 metres) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Four-years-old and up |
| Weight | 11 st 2 lb (4yo); 11 st 10 lb (5yo+) Allowances 7 lb for fillies and mares |
| Purse |
£400,000 (2017) First: £227,800 |
The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. As part of a sponsorship agreement with the online sportsbook StanJames.com, the race is now known as the Stan James Champion Hurdle. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ furlong (2 miles and 87 yards, or 3,298 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is the last leg of the Triple Crown of Hurdling and is scheduled to take place each year on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival in March.
As its title suggests, the Champion Hurdle is the most prestigious hurdling event in the National Hunt calendar. Its list of winners features many of the most highly acclaimed hurdlers in the sport's history, and several of these, such as National Spirit, Istabraq, Hatton's Grace, Persian War and Lanzarote, have had races named in their honour.
The first Champion Hurdle was run in 1927, and its inaugural winner, Blaris, was awarded prize money of £365. In its second year the event was won by Brown Jack, who subsequently became a prolific winner of long-distance flat races. The Champion Hurdle was abandoned in 1931 due to persistent frost, and in 1932 it was contested by just three horses – the smallest field in its history. The race was cancelled twice during World War II, in 1943 and 1944.
The 1947 renewal paved the way for a golden era in the Champion Hurdle with just 3 winners until 1955 – National Spirit, Hatton's Grace and Sir Ken, all of them etched into the list of greatest ever hurdlers. Even though it was postponed twice because of winter snows, taking place in mid-April, it proved most popular with a record attendance at that time of 30,000 racing fans. The winner National Spirit will become the second horse to retain the hurdling crown while the runner-up to him, a bay horse called Le Paillon trained by Alec Head's father, went on to race on flat and won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe the same year.
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