Cheltenham Festival Legends: Three of the best horses to win the Champion Hurdle

There appears to be a new queen as far as the Cheltenham Festival’s Champion Hurdle is concerned. With Rachael Blackmore in the saddle, Henry de Bromhead’s Honeysuckle stormed to a six-and-a-half length victory in the Day One feature race last year and the trusty trio are tipped to defend their championship hurdling crown with ease when the 2022 renewal rolls around in just a few weeks’ time — with the 14-time unbeaten horse a good choice to use your Cheltenham best offer on.

At just eight years old, the mare could have the hurdling division at her peril for another couple of years yet — which would see her write her name in Champion Hurdle history and perhaps even become one of jump racing’s true greats if she can keep this unbeaten record in tact for a while longer! She would certainly be in an elite winners’ enclosure, so let’s take a look at three of the best modern-day horses to win the Grade 1 two-mile, half-a-furlong race. Read on to find out more.

Hurricane Fly

Hurricane Fly may have missed out on joining the likes of Persian War, See You Then and Sir Ken on three Champion Hurdle victories, as he finished third behind Arctic Fire and Faugheen ‘The Machine’ on his hat-trick attempt at the 2015 Festival, but you can take absolutely nothing way from the Willie Mullins-trained horse. He won the Champion Hurdle successively in 2013 and 2014 and truly dominated the two-mile division for much of his career — landing four straight Punchestown Champion Hurdles, five successive Irish Champion Hurdles and four December Festival Hurdles between 2010 and 2014. All-in-all, Hurricane Fly won a huge 22 Grade 1 races!

Istabraq

The only horse of the modern era to win the Champion Hurdle three times in a row, Istabraq was the king of hurdling in the late 1990s/early 2000s. The Aidan O’Brien-trained horse boasted an impressive record of 23 victories over hurdles from 29 races, including winning the Champion Hurdle successively between 1998 and 2000. Bred for flat racing, Istabraq had an unsuccessful flat career — winning just twice in 11 attempts. But he defied all expectations over hurdles, winning 23 major races in the space of just four years — including four Irish Champion Hurdles, four December Festival Hurdles and two Hatton’s Grace Hurdles. Up until 2013, the December Festival Hurdle was even named the Istabraq Festival Hurdle in his honour.

Hardy Eustace

Another two-time winner of the Champion Hurdle, Hardy Eustace won the Grade 1 race back-to-back in 2004 and 2005 — beating Rooster Booster by five lengths for his maiden success before winning by nothing more than neck clear of Harchibald to defend his title the following year. Trained by the late Dessie Hughes, Hardy Eustace missed out on a hat-trick victory in 2006 — finishing over four lengths behind Brave Inca. Grade 1 victories were few and far between for Hardy Eustace after those dual Champion Hurdle wins, with only the 2007 Irish Champion Hurdle and the Morgiana Hurdle in 2008 to follow.