Andy Holding provides his thoughts on the 2026 Champion Hurdle after some recent races have provided more context.
Champions Hurdle
The Fighting Fifth Hurdle was set to provide more clarity in this division moving forward, but as events transpired, it offered more questions than answers.
For the third time in four starts, Constitution Hill failed to complete, falling in almost identical fashion to his two previous exits and the audible gasp from the crowd was felt through the TV screen.
No sooner had everyone gathered their breath, inexplicably, The New Lion, went and repeated the dose at the exact same hurdle and similar to the Champion Hurdle, the door was left wide open for Golden Ace to walk through.
Whether The New Lion would have won had he stayed upright is open to debate and his quest to be a proper Champion Hurdle candidate all revolves around his next performance and how he recovers from this potential confidence-denting fall.
As for Constitution Hill, his career looks in tatters following this repeat offence and it is hard to see connections subject him to any further potential damage. Current odds of 16-1 make little or no appeal.
Golden Ace, once again, was considered a lucky winner by many, but it all depends on how you interpret being lucky. In jumping eight flights of hurdles at speed for the second time running better than her opposition she created her own good fortune and for that reason, she deserves more praise than she has been afforded.
Through all this mess, Lossiemouth has been the chief beneficiary as far as her Champion Hurdle credentials are concerned and she looks to enhance her claims for the blue riband at Leopardstown over Christmas.
Victory there would go a long way to justify her current odds of 2-1 and surely connections wouldn’t be able to justify going down the Mares Hurdle route for the second time.
| Champion Hurdle 2026 Winner | Best Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Lossiemouth | 2/1 | bet365 |
| Sir Gino | 5/1 | William Hill |
| The New Lion | 5/1 | bet365 |
| William Munny | 8/1 | bet365 |
| Golden Ace | 14/1 | Betfred |
Odds last updated at 11:45, Wednesday 3rd December.
As for one of her likely main dangers at the Dublin venue, William Munny – put up on my ten-to-follow several weeks ago at 12-1 – he finds himself around the 8-1 mark for the Champion Hurdle without yet kicking a ball.
Should he come through his first test of the season later this month with flying colours, the option of going down the novice chase route would surely be shelved and Barry O’Connell’s inmate remains one of the most intriguing contenders for the Champion Hurdle division – especially given the continued enhancement of the form of last season’s Supreme.
The real fly in the ointment, especially given to the exploits of Constitution Hill, could turn out to be Sir Gino if connections decide to switch him back over hurdles.
With Anzadam not exactly setting the world alight in the Fighting Fifth in the same colours, Sir Gino has the option of putting his Champion Hurdle credentials on the line in the Christmas Hurdle and victory there would cause the biggest shockwave in the ante-post market for the opening-day feature.
