In just over two weeks’ time, on Tuesday 10^th March, the iconic Cheltenham Roar will echo around Prestbury Park as the famous four-day Cheltenham Festival gets underway. Beginning with ‘Champion Day’, day one is centred around the Champion Hurdle: a Grade 1 race, ran over two miles and 87 yards. It’s the most prestigious hurdles race in the National Hunt calendar and has seen high-calibre winners in the past, including Persian War, Istabraq and three-time champion See You Then. This year’s Cheltenham odds are predicting Epatante, trained by Nicky Henderson to win the Champion Hurdle, as it enters its 90^th running, but let’s take a look back at the previous five winners.

2019: Espoir d’Allen

It was a third successive victory in the Champion Hurdle for owner J.P. McManus, but from an unlikely source, 16/1 chance, Espoir d’Allen. The five-year-old entered the Hurdle in good form, winning all but one of his previous 10 races, but was up against runners from big name stables. 

Favourite, Apple’s Jade faded out of contention before the end, while two-time winner Buveur d’Air fell at the third. Laurina and Melon were head-to-head, but with Mark Walsh in the saddle, Espoir d’Allen had plenty more in the tank, and led over the second-last, before drawing clear to finish 15 lengths ahead of Melon, with 80/1 rank-outsider Silver Streak in third.

It was to be his final race, as a freak accident in the stable led to the gelding being euthanised in August last year, with jockey Walsh hailing him “the best I have ridden without any doubt.”

2018: Buveur d’Air

It was a close-run race in 2018, but the 4/6 favourite, Buveur d’Air made it back-to-back wins in the Champion Hurdle, beating Melon by a neck. It was a thrilling encounter with former winner Faugheen setting the early ascendancy, before dropping off. Despite competition from the pace-setters, the only real threat was Mullins’ Melon. The two ran together, virtually side-by-side, but when Barry Geraghty riding Buveur d’Air once again, asked for more, he got it.

Despite difficult conditions and heavy ground, Buveur d’Air gained a slight advantage and while it couldn’t have been closer, he was victorious again. It was a record seventh win for both Henderson and McManus, with the trainer remarking: “It was a great contest to keep that up the whole way.”

2017: Buveur d’Air

French-bred Buveur d’Air’s victory in the 2017 Champion Hurdle marked owner McManus’ 50^th winner at Cheltenham – some feat. The second-favourite managed to overcome his stablemate My Tent Or Yours by four-and-a-half lengths, while the 2/1 favourite Yanworth never got into the race and eventually finished in seventh. With three jumps to go, Henry De Bromhead’s Petit Mouchoir was leading, but Henderson’s horses mounted a charge for one-two.

It was a second win for jockey Noel Fehily, who had previously won on Rock On Ruby in 2012, and he commented: “It’s fantastic. To win one was great, to win two is special.” Of Buveur d’Air, Henderson also added, “I just know he’s a very talented horse.”

2016: Annie Power

Annie Power became the first mare since Flakey Dove in 1994 to win the Champion Hurdle. The eight-year-old had famously fallen in the Mares’ Hurdle at the previous year’s Cheltenham Festival, but led from the start here to provide jockey Ruby Walsh with his second of an eventual three wins on day one.

Mullins’ mare was only entered into the race following injury to last year’s winner Faugheen, but it was a shrewd move from the Irishman. Henderson’s My Tent Or Yours returned to the track for the first time since April 2014 to mount a charge, but it wasn’t to be and he was eventually outpaced by Annie Power, who made light work of it – leading by four-and-a-half lengths. She became the fourth and to date, last mare to win the Champion Hurdle.

2015: Faugheen

It was glory for Mullins in the 2015 Champion Hurdle as he led a one-two-three, with the favourite Faugheen winning, and Arctic Fire and Hurricane Fly in second and third, respectively. In the lead-up to the race, talk had turned to jockey Walsh who decided to ride Faugheen rather than Hurricane Fly, who he’d previously ridden to victory twice. After the race, Walsh said: “The betting suggested it was an easy decision but I knew how they had both been working at home, so it was massive for me. But Faugheen is an incredible little horse.”There were only eight runners, the lowest number for over 30 years, but of those, four were serious contenders. Previous winner Jezki returned, but could only finish fourth. Faugheen led from the start and despite remaining closely grouped coming up to the penultimate hurdle, the Irish thoroughbred jumped the last with a three-length advantage. Arctic Fire managed to make progress on the straight but Faugheen was victorious by one-and-a-half lengths.