The Champion Hurdle is one of the feature races on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival. This is a Group One National Hunt hurdle race which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a total distance of two mile and half a furlong makes up the third leg of the Triple Crown of Hurdling after Newcastle’s Fighting Fifth Hurdle and the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park Racecourse.
Champion Hurdle 2022 Stats
| Date | Tuesday, 15th March 2022 |
| Start Time | 15:30 |
| Race Distance | Two mile and half a furlong |
| Number of Jumps | Eight |
| Race Type | Hurdle |
| Purse | £337,500 |
| Horses’ Minimum Age | Four years or older |
Champion Hurdle Betting Odds
| Horse | Novibet Odds |
| Honeysuckle | 9/20 |
| Appreciate It | 3/1 |
| Teahupoo | 7/1 |
| Epatante | 10/1 |
| Adagio | 14/1 |
| Zanahiyr | 14/1 |
| Tommys Oscar | 20/1 |
| Saint Roi | 33/1 |
| Not So Sleepy | 50/1 |
| Glory And Fortune | 66/1 |
2022 Champion Hurdle Betting Tips
Last year’s winner Honeysuckle is the odds on favourite at the top of the Champion Hurdle betting. This follows from her superb six and a half lengths victory at Leopardstown’s Dublin Racing Festival in February. That win represented her third straight Irish Champion Hurdle success, and she is well fancied to maintain her unbeaten record at the Cheltenham Festival. Like Shishkin in the 2022 Queen Mother Champion Chase betting, Honeysuckle is one of the shortest priced favourites at this year’s festival.
The eight year old mare oozes class and is a perfect 13 for 13 over hurdles, with nine of those wins coming at the very highest level. If anything, she is even better than last time out. She won the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse for the third year in a row back in November before, as noted above, she defended her Irish Champion Hurdle crown at Leopardstown in February.
Honeysuckle looks almost unbeatable but at such short odds there will be those among you looking for a little bit more value. They could do a lot worse than considering Appreciate It. As a novice last season, he won three Group One hurdle races, the most recent of these was his 24 length winning run in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
The only concern on the six year old is that he hasn’t been out yet this season with his previous run coming here as a novice at Prestbury Park for last year’s festival opener. Still, the manner in which he blew what was a very talented field apart twelve months ago was something to behold. Even more so when you consider Soaring Glory was beaten by 28 lengths but managed to get within two and a half lengths of Epatante in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day.
Speaking of 2020 Champion Hurdle winner Epatante, showed her class with a dominant win in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton. Her trainer Nicky Henderson is reported to be very happy with the mare but she looks a little off the top two.
All About The Champion Hurdle
The Group One Champion Hurdle is run on the left handed Old Course at Cheltenham and takes place over a distance of two miles and one half furlong. In total, there are eight hurdles that need to be cleared. Make no mistake, this is the most prestigious hurdling event in the National Hunt calendar. The race represents the last leg of the Triple Crown of Hurdling and is scheduled to take place each year as the fourth race of the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival in March. The race is also the final leg of the Road to Cheltenham which is a series of top class hurdles races that is made up of the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, the International Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle Trial.
A History Of The Champion Hurdle
First contested in 1927, the Champion Hurdle is the UK’s most illustrious hurdle race. In 1939, the race crowned its first wining mare in African Sister. From 1947 to 1955, there were just three separate winners National Spirit, Hatton’s Grace and Sir Ken, all of whom are today remembered as being among etched the list of greatest ever hurdlers. More still, as National Spirit was closing in on his second Champion Hurdle, further down the field, a horse called Hatton’s Grace was in motion. This horse would later go on to become the first three time winner of the race. This achievement was later matched by Sir Ken, who posted three successive victories in the 1950s.
During the 1970s, the race found its third three time winner in Persian War, while the 1977 renewal was declared by the Racing Post to be the strongest of fields ever assembled. Dawn Run’s win in 1984 saw her become only the second mare to win the Champion Hurdle. Two seasons later she won the most prestigious chase in National Hunt racing, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and remains the only horse to have completed the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup double.
Ten years later in 1994 the race’s third mare was crowned when Flakey Dove came home in first place. The fourth mare to win the race was Annie Power who won the winner of the 2016 renewal, while in 2020 Epante became the race’s fifth. More recently the latest winning mare was Honeysuckle in 2021. On the back of Honeysuckle that day was Rachael Blackmore who became the first female jockey to partner a winner of the Champion Hurdle. Blackmore would finish the festival with six winners across the four days and became the first female jockey to win the Ruby Walsh Trophy for leading Cheltenham jockey.
See You Then dominated the Champion Hurdle between 1985 and 1987 became the event’s fourth three time winner. This was a feat last accomplished by was Istabraq, whose successes came in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Istabraq can count himself unlucky to not have broken the record and amassed an unprecedented fourth Champion Hurdle. He was the hot favourite for the 2001 renewal but that year’s event was cancelled due to a nationwide breakout of foot and mouth disease in the UK that year causing the legend to miss out on his chance of making history.
Since 1980, the Champion Hurdle has been continually run on a Tuesday, having previously been run on Wednesdays and Thursdays. This race’s list of winners includes some of the most highly acclaimed hurdlers in the history of horse racing. A number of these have had other races named in their honour. These are National Spirit, Istabraq, Hatton’s Grace, Persian War and, finally, Lanzarote.
Former Winners of Champion Hurdle
| Year | SP Odds | Winner | Jockey | Trainer |
| 2021 | 11/10 Fav | Honeysuckle | Rachael Blackmore | Henry de Bromhead |
| 2020 | 2/1 Fav | Epatante | Barry Geraghty | Nicky Henderson |
| 2019 | 16/1 | Espoir d’Allen | Mark Walsh | Gavin Cromwell (IRE) |
| 2018 | 4/6 Fav | Buveur d’Air | Barry Geraghty | Nicky Henderson |
| 2017 | 5/1 | Buveur d’Air | Noel Fehily | Nicky Henderson |
| 2016 | 5/2 Fav | Annie Power | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins (IRE) |
| 2015 | 4/5 Fav | Faugheen | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins (IRE) |
| 2014 | 9/1 | Jezki | Barry Geraghty | Jessica Harrington (IRE) |
| 2013 | 13/8 Fav | Hurricane Fly | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins (IRE) |
| 2012 | 11/1 | Rock On Ruby | Noel Fehily | Paul Nicholls |
Champion Hurdle Records
- In 1932 the race was contested by just three horses.
- At 2/5, Sir Ken is the shortest priced horse to have won the race.
- The first mare to win the Champion Hurdle was African Sister in 1939.
- In 2000, Istabraq became the event’s fifth three time winner.
- The only horse to have won this race as well as the Cheltenham Gold Cup is Dawn Run.
Champion Hurdle Betting FAQs
Who is the favourite to win the Champion Hurdle?
This could change but right now it is Honeysuckle.
Which channel broadcasts the Champion Hurdle?
In Ireland, viewers looking to watch the race can do so on Virgin Media.
What is the distance of the Champion Hurdle?
The race’s length is two miles and half a furlong.
Is this a right handed track or a left handed track?
The race takes place on a left handed track.
Are winning favourites common or rare in the Champion Hurdle?
There have been six starting price favourites in the past ten renewals of the Champions Hurdle, so winning favourites are more common.
