Champion Hurdle Guide: Distance, History, Last 10 Winners and What the Table Shows

Quick facts

Live race page, runners and prices: /races/champion-hurdle.

What the race asks

The Champion Hurdle is the two-mile hurdling championship of the season and the race that gives the opening day its name. The Old Course is the sharper, tighter of Cheltenham's two main tracks with an earlier turn for home, so the race rewards a horse that can travel at a strong pace, jump quickly at speed and still find more on the hill. It is, in short, a speed test with a stamina sting at the end. The Supreme Novices' Hurdle, run over the same course and distance as the Festival opener, is the traditional pointer to the following year's Champion Hurdle.

History in brief

Our race database records the Champion Hurdle as first run in 1927; the full roll of honour will be published year by year as it is verified against source. The last ten runnings, verified, are below. They divide neatly into a British-dominated first half (Nicky Henderson won four of the first seven) and an Irish-dominated second half (four of the last six went to Henry de Bromhead or Willie Mullins).

Last 10 winners

Source: Wikipedia yearly race pages; 2026 cross-checked against Sky Sports, ESPN, Racing Post and RTÉ. Rachael Blackmore retired from race-riding on 12 May 2025; Barry Geraghty and Noel Fehily are also retired.

What the table actually shows

Counted only from the ten rows above.

Favourites

Working: seven rows carry a favourite marker. Of those, four SPs are shorter than evens (4/6, 8/11, 4/11, 2/5); 11/10, 7/5 and 2/1 are odds-against. Honeysuckle's 11/10 in 2021 is the nearest miss to a fifth odds-on winner.

Price bands

The distribution is the point: the race has been won either by a market leader or by a genuine outsider, with nothing in between in the last ten years. The shortest winning SP is 2/5 (State Man, 2024); the longest is 25/1 (Golden Ace, 2025).

Trainers and jockeys

Ireland v Britain

Using the trainer bases in our trainer database: Henderson and Scott train in Britain (5 wins); Mullins, de Bromhead and Cromwell in Ireland (5 wins). A 5–5 split — a marked contrast with the Gold Cup, where Ireland has 9 of the last 10.

Repeat winners

Buveur d'Air (2017, 2018) and Honeysuckle (2021, 2022) each won twice; eight different horses account for the ten runnings. Both back-to-back winners were favourites for their second win.

What the table cannot tell you

It holds no ages, ratings, going or previous-run data. We have not verified, for instance, which winners had run in a particular trial, so we publish no trend on that.

The 2027 picture as of 14 September 2026

Lossiemouth is the defending champion. Third-party reports seen on 9 June 2026 quoted her at about 5/2 favourite, with Mydaddypaddy around 14/1 and Old Park Star — the 2026 Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner for Nicky Henderson — around 16/1. These are indicative prices reported by third parties, not live odds from a named bookmaker. Brighterdaysahead, second in 2026, and King Rasko Grey, the 2026 Turners Novices' Hurdle winner, are among the other horses on our race page.

For context: seven of the last ten winners were favourites, but a 5/2 September favourite implies only about a 29% chance and carries months of non-runner risk. See the ante-post guide.

Before you bet: a checklist

1. Speed over two miles: the Old Course rewards pace and slick jumping; a horse that needs further is at a disadvantage.
2. Market shape: the last ten winners were either at 5/1 or shorter or at 16/1 or bigger — the middle of the market has been empty.
3. Novice form: the Supreme is run over the same course and distance; Old Park Star won it in 2026.
4. Ante-post terms: is non-runner no bet on offer? If not, price the stake-loss risk.
5. Each-way: standard terms in an 8+ runner non-handicap are three places at 1/5 odds — see the each-way guide.

This is analysis, not a tip. 18+. BeGambleAware.org.