Noel Fehily delivers scintillating ride to hand JP McManus a 1-2 in the Champion Hurdle.
Buveur D'Air, a 5/1 shot, ran out a strong winner in the Champion Hurdle, beating pre-race favourite Yanworth in the Champion Hurdle making Nicky Henderson the most successful trainer in the race’s history with six wins.
Jockey Noel Fehily delivered a very good ride on the six year-old and finished four and a half lengths clear of My Tent Or Yours, who ran on for second to complete a 1-2 for owner JP McManus. That win gave McManus his 50th success as an owner at the Festival. No other current owner has managed more than 15.
Much talked about before the race, Yanworth was disappointing while Moon Racer made a couple of mistakes when jumping and eventually pulled up in the race.
Noel Fehily had this to say about the 5/1 winner: “Early on I felt I was doing too much and I thought it took me a while to get him switched off."
“He’s just a very good horse. It’s just fantastic. It was a great performance.”
Henderson has now won two of the first four races at the 2017 Festival, having also landed the Arkle Trophy with Altior, who powered home to win by six lengths.
