Annie Mullins was a super sub for Willie Mullins in 2016 following up his 1-2-3 in 2015 with Faugheen, Artic Fire and Hurricane Fly.
Champion Hurdle Stats
Prep Races
Previous Cheltenham Festival form (not necessarily winning) has been shown by a host of recent winners. Only Hurricane Fly and Sublimity have won without a first three finish at the previous Festival since Make Stand won as a Novice in 1997.
5 of the last 13 winners ran in the first 3 of the previous years Champion Hurdle, 3 winners finished in first 3 in the Neptune, with Katchit and Rooster Booster winning the previous years Triumph and County Hurdles respectively. Jezki had been third in the 2013 Supreme Novices Hurdle.
- 10 of the last 13 winners won their prep race
- 8/12 had won a Grade 1 or Grade 2 Hurdle during the season
- 11/13 ran between 24 and 51 days beforehand
- 9/12 had run between 10 and 20 times over hurdles
- 10/12 reappeared before the New Year
- 9/12 ran in either the Kempton Christmas Hurdle or Leopardstown Ryanair Hurdle
Age Stats
- 10/12 were aged between 6 and 8
- In 2013 Hurricane Fly became only the third 9 year old winners since Sea Pigeon in 1982 ( the other was Rooster Booster in 2003)
- There has only been one five year old winner ( Katchit ) since See You Then in 1985
Jockey/Trainer Stats
- Ruby Walsh and Willie Mullins are 4 time winners in the last decade
- Barry Geraghty and Tony McCoy have all won the race twice in the last decade
- Nicky Henderson has trained the winner twice since 2005
Champion Hurdle Winners 2007-2016
Champion Hurdle Trivia
- Ruby Walsh is the jockey currently racing with most race wins (4)
- Retired Champ AP McCoy’s was also a 3 time winner . His Champion Hurdle wins were on Binocular (2010), Brave Inca (2006) and Make A Stand (1997)
- The Martin Pipe trained Make A Stand won the race as a novice – there is more here
- The other jockey with most race wins is Tim Molony – he won the race four times in a row from 1951 to 1954
- Three of Tim Molony’s win came on Sir Ken ( 1952-154)
- Other three time Champion Hurdle winners are Istrabraq (1998-2000), See You Then (1985-1987), Persian War (1968-70) and Hatton’s Grace ( 1949-51)
- See You Then’s trainer Nicky Henderson is joint leading trainer on 5 wins with Peter Easterby
- Henderson’s other winners were on Punjabi (2009) and Binocular (2010)
Cheltenham Festival Race Stats and Trends
