2015 Cheltenham Festival - Triumph Hurdle History & Trends

This Grade 1 National Hunt race is open to colts & fillies aged four years old. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of 2m 1f. It's open to novice hurdlers and run on the 13th March, Gold Cup Day, the last day of the Cheltenham Festival at Prestbury Park. 

This race was established in 1939 and won by a horse called Grey Talk, trained by George Batchelor. 

In those early days it was held at Park Hurst, Surrey. Surprisingly it was contested by a number of horses trained in France. Indeed, six of the first seven winners were French-based. Unknown to many, Letser Piggott won this race in 1954. 

The Triumph Hurdle moved to Cheltenham in 1965 and became part of the Festival in 1968. Most notable winner include Clair Soleil (1953), Persian War (1967), Kribensis (1988) and Katchit (2007). All these juveniles went on to win the Champion Hurdle.

Nicky Henderson is the leading trainer with five wins. Last year's race was won in fantastic style by the Gordon Elliot-trainer Tiger Roll, ridden by Davy Russell at odds of 10/1, by three-and-a-quarter lengths. 

What about the Triumph Hurdle trends? Here are some pointers. 

• The vast majority of recent winners have won on their last start before the big day. 
• Generally horses have an official rating over 80 on the Flat and raced over one and a half miles.
•  Tiger Roll won in 2014, the year before we saw the impressive Our Conor. 
• However, there had been a twelve-year void for the Irish challengers before this duo shone.
•  English-trained horses hold the aces from a statistical pointer.
•  A preparatory race in the month before the festival is another key factor to finding a winner.
• Most runners have at least three runs over hurdles. 
• Fancied horse often go best - so outsiders are best watched. 

This year's leading lights are detailed by the first three favourite with the next best 20/1 bar (written: 5th February). 

Peace And Co (pictured) is fancied to run a big race and presently 7/4f. This bay gelding, a son of Falco out of a French mare, is trained by Nicky Henderson. It races in the familiar silks of Simon Munir & Isaac Souede. He started his hurdling career in Clairefontaine, France. Some six-months later, this four-year-old made an impressive debut for his new connections at Doncaster - prevailing by nineteen lengths. The dogs have been barking about this exciting prospect and it is fitting he made a winning return at Cheltenham in one of the Triumph Hurdle Trials, ridden by Barry Geraghty. Considering Henderson's charge pulled hard in the early stages that victory was all the more pleasing. With earnings of over £45,000 there could be more to come. 

The two major fancied include Irish hope Kalkir, trained by Willie Mullins. This grey gelding has won once in three starts to date. He is generally priced at 8/1. 

Nicky Henderson has a strong hand with stablemate Hargam, owned by J P McManus. This grey gelding, a son of Sinndar, has been busy with six races so far. His first three efforts were in France on the Flat, before racing at Cheltenham for new connection. In December, he beat Karezak, who had been similarly defeated by Peace And Co. His most recent victory at Musselburgh saw a ready success in the hands of A P McCoy. By all accounts Henderson looks the man to follow this year.
     

Triolo out to maintain perfect Aintree record in Grand National

Champion jumps trainer Nicky Henderson appears to be going all out to land his first ever victory in the Crabbie’s Grand National and is set to saddle four runners in the showcase event, including this year’s Hennessy Gold Cup hero Triolo D’Alene who has already tasted victory over the awesome spruce fences, writes Elliot Slater.

Henderson has gone close to winning the race on a number of occasions since the early 1980’s but the highest profile race in the sport has always alluded his grasp. This year, as well as current 20/1 shot Triolo D’Alene, the Seven Barrows handler is set to run the former Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Long Run (14/1) (pictured), the classy Hunt Ball (66/1), and the stayer Shakalakaboomboom (33/1), ninth in the 2012 renewal behind Neptune Collonges.

Of the Henderson quarter Triolo D’Alene is the one who has already learned how to win over the Aintree fences having announced himself as a potential Grand National winner when galloping to a memorable success in last year’s John Smith’s Topham Trophy over two-and-three-quarter-miles of the National course, staying-on bravely at the finish to deny Alan King’s useful Walkon by three-quarters-of-a-length.

After finishing third in a hot Ascot handicap on his seasonal bow the gelded son of Epalo showed he is really going places with a brilliant victory in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury in November where he stormed away from Rocky Creek to land a famous success. Ideally suited by decent ground, Triolo D’Alene didn’t race during the winter and reappeared in the Cheltenham Gold Cup last month where he was under pressure and beginning to fade when badly bumped at the second from home.

With a view to the Grand National, jockey Tony McCoy didn’t punish his mount at Cheltenham once his chance had gone, a factor that could prove highly significant if the seven-year-old is in the firing line at the business end of Saturday’s £1 million contest.

Henderson Eyes Further Gold Cup Glory

Nicky Henderson will be hoping Bobs Worth can add some glory to what has been a pretty disappointing season so far for the Champion Trainer. Last year’s Gold Cup winner is expected to return to the blue riband event in the sport where he is the short-priced favourite already in the Cheltenham Gold Cup betting odds to retain

Miller out to Enhance Tremendous Henderson Cesarewitch Record

Twenty-five years after his second National Hunt trainers’ championship success, the 2012/13 jumps season saw the popular, ruddy-faced Nicky Henderson back at the top of the tree after ending a run of seven successive seasons with the title for his arch-rival Paul Nicholls.

But Henderson – whose only major omission from his career CV is that elusive Aintree Grand National victory – is not just a jumps trainer and has proved himself well capable of taking on the best of the Flat handlers on their own turf, his win with Forgotten Voice at Royal Ascot this summer reminded everyone in the game just how astute the Master of Seven Barrows is.

At Newmarket on October 12, Henderson will be out to bag his third Cesarewitch Handicap in just 10 years, his Lieutenant Miller look to have leading claims and appearing to have been targeted at the marathon two-and-a-quarter-mile contest from an early stage this season.

Well supported in recent weeks down from 16/1 to a general offer of 12/1 with betfair online, the winning hurdler stays really well on the Flat and won nicely off a mark of 79 in a 17-furlong Doncaster handicap earlier in the season.

It was in defeat, however, that he really threw his hat into the Cesarewitch ring, the gelded son of Beat All running a brave race to be a close third to Well Sharp in the Ascot Stakes at the royal meeting in June, before failing by an agonising half-length to hold off Broxbourne in the two-mile-five-furlong Goodwood Stakes off a rising mark of 88.

A further rise in the weights to a new rating of 91 looks fair, and with Henderson’s fine record in the big Newmarket event it would be a brave man who will bet that Lieutenant Miller will not make the first four in what is always a tremendous spectacle on the Rowley Mile course.