2013 Champion Hurdle Result

Hurricane Fly produced a scintillating display to land the 2013 Champion Hurdle as the well-backed 13/8 favourite got the better of a gutsy Rock On Ruby to land the Grade One blue riband event and etch his name along some of the greats of the hurdling division.

Rock On Ruby was sent to the front from the outset and he set a blistering gallop, but Ruby Walsh cajojed the 2011 winner into contention turning for home and he duly quickened in tremendous fashion and propelled up the home straight to win by two-and-a-half lengths.

4:00 Stan James Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy Grade 1 Cl1 2m110y
1. Hurricane Fly - R Walsh - W P Mullins 13/8 Fav
2. Rock On Ruby - N Fehily - H Fry 11/2
3. Countrywide Flame - D O'Regan - J J Quinn 16/1
9 Ran

Champion Hurdle History

The Champion Hurdle is another of the highlights of the Cheltenham Festival each season in March, it falls on the first day of the Festival and more often than not it proves to be one of the most exciting race if the entire week.

It cannot quite match the prestige of the Cheltenham Gold Cup but it certainly can for drama, as the season’s best horses at 2 miles over the smaller obstacles do battle for the biggest race in their class. The betting for the Champion Hurdle runs right through the season until the Festival with thousands wagered on the race in the ante post market as well as on race day itself.

The Champion Hurdle was first run in 1927 on the Old Course at Cheltenham and since then there have been some legendary winners of the race, any horse that wins the Champion Hurdle immediately writes their name into the record books and has to be of the very highest quality. There have been four horses who have won the race three times with the two most recent being See You Then in the 80’s and the brilliant Istabraq in the late 90’s, who was actually trained by Aidan O’Brien, better known for his training of flat horses. It was highly likely that he would have gone onto to win a record 4th in 2001 as well had the Festival not been cancelled due to the foot and mouth outbreak.

See You Then was trained by Nicky Henderson who has trained the winner of the Champion Hurdle on no less than five occasions, as well as the three wins in the 80’s he has won back-to-back races with Punjabi in 2009 and most recently Binocular in 2010. Henderson has a knack of getting his runners just right for the big day and punters can do a lot worse than follow him in the big race. Any horse who wins the Champion Hurdle will need to have speed as well as stamina as the pace is always fast and furious around the Old Course, which means that it is difficult for mares to compete with their male counterparts in the Champion Hurdle. In fact, only two mares have ever won the race with the first one being Dawn Run in 1984, and the second being Flakey Dove in 1994 with both proving to be winners of the highest quality.

The excitement of the Champion Hurdle makes it many horse racing fans race of the season from a fans and a punting point of view, and at the moment that is showing no signs of slowing down with the quality of the race seemingly increasing with every passing year.

2013 Champion Hurdle Runners and Form

The Champion Hurdle attracts a select amount of classy hurdlers and even though it won't have as many runners as the leading handicaps at the Cheltenham Festival it will be oozing with class. So, we will keep abreast of the latest form guides as well informing you of the runners that are declared for the race in March.