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| Stan James Champion Hurdle - Tue March 13th 2012 |
cheltenham festival / 2012 news /
Hurricane Fly Heads Champion Hurdle Entry
18/01/12
Defending champion Hurricane Fly is among 27 horses entered for the StanJames.com Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham on March 13.
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Willie Mullins' excellent hurdler has not been seen since his emphatic win at the Punchestown Festival last May, but is due to reappear in the Irish Champion Hurdle next weekend where he can dispel any doubts about his well-being.
Ireland's champion trainer has enviable strength in depth in the race, and has also entered Thousand Stars, So Young, Mikael D'Haguenet, Zaidpour, Final Approach and Flat Out.
Nicky Henderson is another with multiple entries. Spirit Son, due to have a racecourse gallop at Newbury on Thursday, 2010 champion Binocular, last year's third Oscar Whisky and the improving Grandouet comprise his strong squad.
Owner Michael Buckley admits it is "doubtful" Spirit Son will make his belated seasonal reappearance in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown on January 29.
The six-year-old won three of his four starts during his novice season for Nicky Henderson and was only beaten by Al Ferof in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham before sluicing up at Aintree.
It had been hoped the Champion Hurdle aspirant could lock horns with reigning champion Hurricane Fly in Ireland, but Buckley feels the race will come too soon for a horse who has been sidelined by injury so far this season.
Paul Nicholls also has a strong hand. Rock On Ruby, narrowly denied at the Festival last year, Greatwood scorer Brampour and the durable Celestial Halo could all represent the Ditcheat maestro.
The champion trainer's Zarkandar is due to have a racecourse gallop in the next 10 days in preparation for a likely run in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury on February 11.
Last season's Triumph Hurdle winner has not been seen since completing a spring double at Aintree last April, but a return to the track is imminent.
A possible improver could be Dermot Weld's Unaccompanied, who looked impressive when beating Thousand Stars in the Istabraq Festival Hurdle.
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"She was impressive in the Istabraq Festival Hurdle, when she was given a great ride by Paul Townend, and her run in the Triumph Hurdle last year was very good. She is better with a bit of give in the ground but she beat St Nicholas Abbey on the Flat last year and I can definitely see her as a contender for the Champion Hurdle."
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Oscars Well, Staying Article, Olofi and long-term absentee Bobby Ewing are also engaged at this stage.
STAN JAMES CHAMPION HURDLE FACTS
1. The Champion Hurdle was inaugurated in 1927, with a value to the winner of £365. The race was abandoned in 1931 due to
persistent frost, in 1943 and 1944 because of the Second World War, and in 2001 because of foot and mouth disease.
2. There have only been three sponsors of this great race since its inception. Waterford Crystal backed the contest from 1978 to 1990, while the Smurfit Group sponsored the race from 1991 to 2010. Stan James took over the sponsorship in 2011.
3. The largest field has been 24 (1964 and 1991) and the smallest three (1932). The first five runnings of the race saw a total of only 24 runners between them. The current safety limit is 28.
4. The Stan James Champion Hurdle is a contest for multiple winners. Peter Easterby and Nicky Henderson are the race’s most successful trainers, with five wins each. Easterby’s victories came courtesy of Saucy Kit (1967), Night Nurse (1976 and 1977) and Sea Pigeon (1980 and 1981). Nicky Henderson’s five victories so far have come with See You Then (1985, 1986 and 1987), Punjabi (2009) and Binocular (2010).
5. Among jockeys, Tim Molony won the race most often with four victories, on Hatton’s Grace (1951) and Sir Ken (1952, 1953 & 1954). A P McCoy is the most successful current jockey with three wins aboard Make A Stand (1997), Brave Inca (2006) and Binocular (2010).
6. The most successful owners are Dorothy Paget, who won the race four times thanks to Insurance (1932, 1933), Solford (1940) and Distel (1946), and J P McManus, who owned triple winner Istabraq (1998, 1999 and 2000) and Binocular (2010).
7. Istabraq, successful in the three Champion Hurdles from 1998 to 2000, was retired after failing to become the first horse to win the race four times in 2002. The four other three-time winners are Hatton’s Grace (1949-51), Sir Ken (1952-54), Persian War (1968-70) and See You Then (1985-87).
8. The race has been won seven times by entires, but only twice by mares - Dawn Run (1984) and Flakey Dove (1994).
9. Four greys have won, the most recent being Rooster Booster in 2003. The others were Kribensis in 1990, Our Hope in 1938
and Victor Norman in 1936. Only one roan horse has won the Champion Hurdle, Anzio in 1962.
10. Istabraq’s success in 2000 in a time of 3 minutes 48.1 seconds beat the previous Champion Hurdle record time, set by Make A Stand in 1997, of 3 minutes 48.4 seconds.
11. Dessie Hughes, who trained Hardy Eustace to win in 2004 and 2005, is only the fourth person to have both ridden and trained a Stan James Champion Hurdle winner, having partnered Monksfield in 1979. The others to have achieved this double were Fred Winter, Fred Rimell and Gerry Wilson.
12. As part of the Stan James sponsorship, the bookmaker is backing three races leading to the Stan James Champion Hurdle: November 26, 2011 – The StanJames.com Fighting Fifth Hurdle – Newcastle – won by Overturn
December 10, 2011 – The StanJames.com International Hurdle – Cheltenham – won by Grandouet
January 21, 2012 – The StanJames.com Champion Hurdle Trial – Haydock Park
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