At the time of writing, Buveur D’Air
stands on the cusp of greatness as he attempts to become the first
horse since Istabraq, and just the sixth in all, to win the Champion
Hurdle three times. His Timeform Annual Rating, of 167, is some way
adrift of that awarded to the greatest hurdlers since the early
Sixties, so we’ve reviewed the previous triple winners of the
Champion Hurdle to see how they compare. Check out the
Cheltenham Betting Guide for a more up-to-date take on this unmissable festival of racing.
Istabraq (1998, 1999, 2000)
Owned, like Buveur D’Air, by J.P.
McManus, trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by Charlie Swan,
Istabraq was awarded a Timeform Annual Rating of 180, alongside
Monksfield and inferior, by 2lb, only to Night Nurse in the Timeform
era. Having quickened clear for an impressive, 4-length win over Hors
La Loi III in the millennium renewal of the Champion Hurdle,
Istrabraq was denied the opportunity to defend his title – and
attempt an unprecedented four-timer – after an outbreak of
foot-and-mouth disease forced the cancellation of the entire
Cheltenham Festival in 2001. He did return for the Champion Hurdle
the following year, but was pulled up before the third flight and
never raced again.
See You Then (1985, 1986, 1987)
Beaten favourite in the Triumph Hurdle
in 1984, See You Then was an ill-tempered, but fragile, gelding, who
was rarely seen on the racecourse between his three Champion Hurdle
victories. He was trained, like Buveur D’Air, by Nicky Henderson
and ridden, on all three occasions, by Steve Smith-Eccles, who
deputised for the injured John Francome in 1985 and kept the ride
when Francome retired shortly afterwards. Despite limited racecourse
appearances – between 1984/85 and 1986/87 he had just ten starts,
winning eight of them – See You Then earned a Timeform Annual
Rating of 173.
Persian War (1968, 1969, 1970)
Trained by Colin Davies and ridden to
all three Champion Hurdle victories by Jimmy Utley, Persian War was
awarded a Timeform Annual Rating of 179, 1lb inferior to Istabraq,
and therefore fourth on the all-time list, according to the respected
ratings organisation. The winner of the Triumph Hurdle in 1967,
Persian War also finished second, beaten 4 lengths, behind Bula in
the Champion Hurdle in 1971. Indeed, had he not been shuffled from
pillar-to-post, among six trainers, by his owner Henry Alper, he nay
have been even more successful.
Sir Ken (1952, 1953, 1954)
Trained by Willie Stephenson and ridden
by Tim Molony – who also won the Champion Hurdle on Hatton’s
Grace in 1951 – Sir Ken recorded his three successive victories in
the Champion Hurdle in the period before Timeform ratings were
published for National Hunt racing and, as such, is difficult to
compare with different generations. Nevertheless, Sir Ken had the
distinction of being returned at odds of 2/5 in 1953, making him the
shortest-priced winner in the history of the Champion Hurdle.
Hatton’s Grace (1949, 1950,
1951)
Trained by Vincent O’Brien and ridden
on the first two occasions by Aubrey Brabazon and on the last by Tim
Molony, Hatton’s Grace was a plain, cheaply bought gelding, who
didn’t see a racecourse until he was six years old and didn’t win
the Champion Hurdle until he was nine. However, after an unlikely
victory over the seemingly invincible National Spirit in 1949, he
followed up in 1950 and in 1951, as an 11-year-old, became the first
horse to complete a hat-trick in the Champion Hurdle. He remains one
of just two horses of that age – the other being Sea Pigeon in 1981
– to win the Champion Hurdle.
