What does history have to say about the Champion Hurdle? Make a more informed Cheltenham bet by reading our Champion Hurdle trends guide.
Ranking highly among the most respected hurdling events of the year, the Champion Hurdle is certainly a race that has great history and prestige. A highlight of day 1 at Cheltenham Festival, it is a true test of speed, challenging jockeys and their horses to race across 2m½f with eight hurdles to jump along the way.
With the race approaching, it’s wise to look back over time to see what we can learn about the race’s history – and how this can help choose a winning horse this time around.
This blog will take you through trends and statistics that to help you make the most informed Champion Hurdle bet possible. So, let’s discuss the most important and interesting Champion Hurdle stats that you need to know about:
Key Champion Hurdle trends
The Champion hurdle is a race open to horses aged 4fouror older and was first run in 1927. The race has a winners list that boasts some of the most highly commended hurdlers in the history of the sport.
Since it began, certain stats have come to light that could influence how you bet on it this time around: if you keep in mind some of the following trends, your decisions should be made a little easier.
Does the favourite usually win the Champion Hurdle?
Although they are invariable expected to win, favourites don’t always dominate every event. But, for the Champion Hurdle favourites have typically come out on top. In fact, if we look back on the last 15 years, only five horses have won the race and not been favourites:
Golden Ace (2025) – 25/1
Espoir d’Allen (2019) – 16/1
Buveur d’Air (2017) – 5/1
Jezki (2014) – 9/1
Rock On Ruby (2012) – 11/1
Notably, Golden Ace’s win in 2025 came with some good fortune, with the favourite, State Man, falling at the final hurdle! This does mean that upsets aren’t very common or likely to happen, though – of course.
To see more about how favourites fair across all events, read our guide discussing how often favourites win at Cheltenham!
What is the average age of a Champion Hurdle winning horse?
Although the entry age for the Champion hurdle is four years old, it seems that it takes a few years before most horses go on to win it. In the last 15 years, horses aged seven are the most successful, with the Champion Hurdle being won six times in that period by a horse of that age:
Golden Ace (2025) – 7 years
State Man (2024) – 8 years
Constitution Hill (2023) – 6 years
Honeysuckle (2022) – 8 years
Honeysuckle (2021) – 7 years
Epatante (2020) – 6 years
Espoir d’Allen (2019) – 5 years
Buveur d’Air (2018) – 7 years
Buveur d’Air (2017) – 6 years
Annie Power (2016) – 8 years
Faugheen (2015) – 7 years
Jezki (2014) – 6 years
Hurricane Fly (2013) – 9 years
Rock On Ruby (2012) – 7 years
Hurricane Fly (2011) – 7 years
The prime age range appears to be between six and eight, with Espoir d’Allen being a younger outlier at 5 years old, and Hurricane Fly being an older outlier, winning the race for a second time aged nine. When looking at younger winners of the Champion Hurdle, historically, Katchit (2008) is the only horse aged five other than Espoir d’Allen to win since See You Then all the way back in 1985.
How many Champion Hurdle winners won last time out?
Though each race poses its own unique challenges, in the case of the Champion Hurdle, reviewing whether a horse won their last outing appears to be a strong indicator that they have a good chance of achieving victory here. In the last 15 years, the winner has won last time out 13 times:
Golden Ace (2025) – 1st in the Kingwell Hurdle
State Man (2024) – 1st in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle
Constitution Hill (2023) – 1st in the Christmas Hurdle
Honeysuckle (2022) – 1st in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle
Honeysuckle (2021) – 1st in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle
Epatante (2020) – 1st in the Christmas Hurdle
Espoir d’Allen (2019) – 1st in the Limestone Lad Hurdle
Buveur d’Air (2018) – 1st in the Contenders Hurdle
Buveur d’Air (2017) – 1st in the Contenders Hurdle
Annie Power (2016) – 1st in the punchestown.com Mares Hurdle
Faugheen (2015) – 1st in the Christmas Hurdle
Jezki (2014) – 4th in the BHP Insurance Irish Champion Hurdle (didn’t win last time out)
Hurricane Fly (2013) – 1st in the BHP Insurance Irish Champion Hurdle
Rock On Ruby (2012) – 2nd Christmas Hurdle (didn’t win last time out)
Hurricane Fly (2011) – 1st in the BHP Insurance Irish Champion Hurdle
Rock On Ruby (2012) and Jezki (2014) are the only exceptions to this pattern, with them placing 2nd and 4th respectively in their previous races.
When did Champion Hurdle winners last compete?
Similarly to knowing their previous form, knowing when a horse last raced is also a handy piece of information to keep in mind. This helps to show the ideal rest period between races, whilst also maintaining a level of race fitness and competitiveness in order to see success. The last 15 years of the Champion Hurdle has shown a wide spread of time between races for the victors:
Golden Ace (2025) – 24 days
State Man (2024) – 37 days
Constitution Hill (2023) – 78 days
Honeysuckle (2022) – 37 days
Honeysuckle (2021) – 38 days
Epatante (2020) – 75 days
Espoir d’Allen (2019) – 44 days
Buveur d’Air (2018) – 38 days
Buveur d’Air (2017) – 38 days
Annie Power (2016) – 27 days
Faugheen (2015) – 74 days
Jezki (2014) – 44 days
Hurricane Fly (2013) – 44 days
Rock On Ruby (2012) – 78 days
Hurricane Fly (2011) – 51 days
Looking at the data, the average time between competing in a prior race and winning the Champion Hurdle was roughly 48 days across the last 15 years. However, there are many horses that are way off this average, with Rock On Ruby (2012), Faugheen (2015), Epatante (2020), and Constitution Hill (2023) all having over 74 day’s rest.
The most common range appears to be between 37 and 44 days, with eight of the last 15 winning horses fitting this category. So, despite there not being a super clear pattern for the optimum period of rest between races, this seems to be the ideal gap between competition for horses to be successful.
Are Champion Hurdle winners usually British or Irish trained?
The last 15 years of the Champion Hurdle have been primarily dominated by Irish trainers: winning nine times compared to British trainers’ 6.
However, looking at only the last 10 years, things have been completely even with five wins apiece. So, when picking a horse to back next time you bet on the Champion Hurdle, whether they are British or Irish trained doesn’t really appear to matter too much.
Golden Ace (2025) – British trained
State Man (2024) – Irish trained
Constitution Hill (2023) – British trained
Honeysuckle (2022) – Irish trained
Honeysuckle (2021) – Irish trained
Epatante (2020) – British trained
Espoir d’Allen (2019) – Irish trained
Buveur d’Air (2018) – British trained
Buveur d’Air (2017) – British trained
Annie Power (2016) – Irish trained
Faugheen (2015) – Irish trained
Jezki (2014) – Irish trained
Hurricane Fly (2013) – Irish trained
Rock On Ruby (2012)- British trained
Hurricane Fly (2011) – Irish trained
Which trainer has seen the most success in the Champion Hurdle?
Trainers are a vital contributor to victory, despite the jockeys and horses themselves getting much of the instant glory and spotlight. Here, in the Champion Hurdle, both Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins have trained nine of the last 15 winners, with four and five wins respectively:
Golden Ace (2025) – Jeremy Scott
State Man (2024) – Willie Mullins
Constitution Hill (2023) – Nicky Henderson
Honeysuckle (2022) – Henry De Bromhead
Honeysuckle (2021) – Henry De Bromhead
Epatante (2020) – Nicky Henderson
Espoir d’Allen (2019) – Gavin Cromwell
Buveur d’Air (2018) – Nicky Henderson
Buveur d’Air (2017) – Nicky Henderson
Annie Power (2016) – Willie Mullins
Faugheen (2015) – Willie Mullins
Jezki (2014) – Jessica Harrington
Hurricane Fly (2013) – Willie Mullins
Rock On Ruby (2012)- Paul Nicholls
Hurricane Fly (2011) – Willie Mullins
In the competition’s rich history, though, Nicky Henderson is out in front with the most wins: reaching a total of nine in 2023 with Constitution Hill. Recently though, Henry De Bromhead has won two within the last five years, achieving back-to-back victories with Honeysuckle in 2021 and 2022.
Why is it important to consider Champion Hurdle trends?
When betting on the Champion Hurdle, looking into the data, trends, and statistics will always provide you with useful information that can help inform your betting decision: whether it’s past performances and form indicating that a horse may see success, or a certain trainer has started to dominate.
While they aren’t surefire ways to predict future results, keeping multiple trends in mind, will certainly increase your chances of a winning bet. For more tips and information about how to prepare for any other races at Cheltenham, take a look at our Cheltenham blog page and read more guides like this.
Champion Hurdle recent winners
Finally, to learn more about previous winners of the race, check out our Champion Hurdle Winners blog. For now, let’s do one last summary of the last five winners of the Champion Hurdle so it’s fresh in your mind when placing your next bet:
Golden Ace (2025)
State Man (2024)
Constitution Hill (2023)
Honeysuckle (2022)
Honeysuckle (2021)
