Daryl Carter has all the key stats and trends for the Champion Hurdle.
The Champion Hurdle is the feature Grade 1 Hurdle race run on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival. The JP McManus owned, Buveur D’Air, is the only horse in the past ten years to win back-to-back Champion Hurdles, doing so in 2017 and 2018. The same horse fell in the 2019 renewal when bidding for a hat-trick of wins but his owner claimed victory with the ill-fated five-year-old Espoir D’Allen.
Nicky Henderson is the leading British trainer in recent times with three victories, one shy of leading Irish trainer Willie Mullins on four.
Short and sweet but stacked full of information, below I have highlighted some ten-year stats and trends that any savvy punter looking to make it pay at the Cheltenham Festival in 2020 will want on their side.
2019 winner Espoir D’Allen won the race by 15l in impressive fashion.
Espoir D'Allen causes a big upset, winning the Unibet Champion Hurdle at @CheltenhamRaces!
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 12, 2019
Watch the #CheltenhamFestival LIVE on @ITV pic.twitter.com/kjOw6e0UbZ
Past Winners:
|
YEAR |
WINNER |
AGE |
WGT |
SP |
TRAINER |
JOCKEY |
RPR |
|
2019 |
Espoir D'Allen |
5 |
11-10 |
16/1 |
Gavin Cromwell |
Mark Walsh |
171 |
|
2018 |
Buveur D'Air |
7 |
11-10 |
4/6F |
Nicky Henderson |
Barry Geraghty |
165 |
|
2017 |
Buveur D'Air |
6 |
11-10 |
5/1 |
Nicky Henderson |
Noel Fehily |
170 |
|
2016 |
Annie Power |
8 |
11-3 |
5/2F |
W P Mullins |
R Walsh |
162 |
|
2015 |
Faugheen |
7 |
11-10 |
4/5F |
W P Mullins |
R Walsh |
170 |
|
2014 |
Jezki |
6 |
11-10 |
9/1 |
Mrs John Harrington |
Barry Geraghty |
171 |
|
2013 |
Hurricane Fly |
9 |
11-10 |
13/8F |
W P Mullins |
R Walsh |
173 |
|
2012 |
Rock On Ruby |
7 |
11-10 |
11/1 |
Paul Nicholls |
Noel Fehily |
171 |
|
2011 |
Hurricane Fly |
7 |
11-10 |
11/4F |
W P Mullins |
R Walsh |
171 |
|
2010 |
Binocular |
6 |
11-10 |
9/1 |
Nicky Henderson |
A P McCoy |
172 |
At a glance- 10 year trends
Age Counts:
7yo’s have been favoured in the race; Espoir D’Allen in 2019 is the only 5yo to win the race in the past ten years.
The age breakdown is as follows: 9yo – 1 win, 8yo- 1 win, 7yo -4 wins, 6yo – 3 wins.
Price matters:
5 of the last 10 favourites have won the race. Only two horses have won at double-figure odds (11/1, 16/1).
The average SP is 7/1.
Britain or Ireland?
Ireland comes out on top in the head to head winning 6-4. Of those six, four have been trained by Willie Mullins and the British contenders have been trained by Nicky Henderson winning the race three times in the past ten years.
Recent run:
The average break for a Champion Hurdle winner is 47.6 days.
7yos typically have had more time off the track prior to this race than their younger counterparts.
Official Rating:
The average Official Rating of a Champion Hurdle winner is 165. Buveur D’Air was the lowest rated hurdler to win the Champion Hurdle in the past 10 years with an official rating of 157 in 2017 and no other horse rated lower than 160 has won the race in the past 10 years.
A winner last time out:
Only two horses in the past ten years have managed to land a Champion Hurdle off the back of a defeat, Rock On Ruby and Jezki defied the trends in 2012 and 2014.
8/10 have won on their previous start.
Course Form:
9/10 Winners had previous course form as expected and 6/10 had won here at Cheltenham.
In-depth stat analysis (in partnership with Dave Young)
Below we have highlighted a range of stat figures based on the past 10 winners of the race and these can be used to better effect closer to the time of the race. Some hold serious in-depth information. The below table highlights the average, maximum and minimum on a range of subjects including age, starting price, trip last time out, official ratings, Racing Post Ratings, top speed figures and trip (distance run prior). Course form has been added along with recent runs of the past 10 winners.
|
Top Age |
7yo (4) |
|
Top Jockey |
Ruby Walsh (4) |
|
Top Trainer |
Willie Mullins (4) |
|
Course Raced at LTO |
Leopardstown/Sandown (3) |
|
|
|
|
Average Age |
6.8 |
|
Max Age |
9 |
|
Min Age |
5 |
|
|
|
|
Average SP |
6.83 |
|
Max SP |
17 |
|
Min SP |
1.66 |
|
|
|
|
Average Trip LTO (f) |
16.4 |
|
Max Trip LTO (f) |
20 |
|
Min Trip LTO (f) |
16 |
|
|
|
|
Average OR |
165.1 |
|
Max OR |
172 |
|
Min OR |
157 |
|
|
|
|
Average RPR |
164.3 |
|
Max RPR |
172 |
|
Min RPR |
156 |
|
|
|
|
Average TS |
131.3 |
|
Max TS |
160 |
|
Min TS |
79 |
|
|
|
|
Average Max Trip (f) |
16.35 |
|
Max Max Trip (f) |
20 |
|
Min Max Trip (f) |
15.5 |
|
|
|
|
Average Min Trip (f) |
17.7 |
|
Max Min Trip (f) |
20 |
|
Min Min Trip (f) |
16 |
|
|
|
|
Had Run at Course |
9/10 |
|
Had Won at Course |
6/10 |
|
Had Won LTO |
8/10 |
|
Unbeaten at Course |
2/9 |
|
Unbeaten that Season |
7/10 |
|
Won More Than Once That Season |
7/10 |
|
|
|
|
Had Run in Last 3 Weeks |
0/10 |
|
Had Run in Last 4 Weeks |
1/10 |
|
Had Run in Last 5 Weeks |
1/10 |
|
Had Run in Last 6 Weeks |
4/10 |
|
Had Run in Last 7 Weeks |
7/10 |
|
Had Run in Last 8 Weeks |
8/10 |
What to look for
• 6yo or 7yo
• SP odds of 7/1 or shorter
• Had run over 2m last time out
• Has an Official Rating of 165 +
• Has hit a Racing Post Rating of 164
• Unbeaten that season
• Won last time out
• Has course experience
• Has run in the past 8 weeks
25 days to go until the Cheltenham roar.
— Oddschecker Racing (@OddsRacing) February 14, 2020
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