The 2017 Champion Hurdle was a

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

held at

Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham Racecourse at Prestbury Park, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, hosts National Hunt horse racing. Its most prestigious meeting is the Cheltenham Festival, held in March, which features several Grade I races including the Chel ...

on Tuesday 14 March 2017. It was the 87th running of the

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a ...

. Eleven horses started the race. The winner of the race was

Buveur d'Air Buveur d'Air (foaled 12 May 2011) is a retired French-bred British-trained AQPS racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. After winning twice in his native France he moved to England and won the Top Novices' Hurdle in 2016. In the following ...

, a six year old French-bred British-trained racehorse ridden by

Noel Fehily Noel Fehily (born 24 December 1975) is a retired Irish professional horse racing jockey. Throughout his professional career, he has enjoyed substantial success including the King George VI Chase and Champion Hurdle, despite enduring significant inj ...

and trained by Nicky Henderson. The 5/1 winner was the 50th winner at Cheltenham for owner

JP McManus John Patrick McManus (born 10 March 1951) is an Irish businessman and racehorse owner. His career lasted from the 1980s to the 2010s. He was one of the biggest shareholders of Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, until his stake was Glazer ...

The Runners

Yanworth was sent off as the 2/1 favourite after displaying the best form over 2 miles of the British contenders throughout the season, winning the

Christmas Hurdle The Christmas Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres ...

by over 3 lengths from The New One (10/1) who in turn was having his 4th consecutive attempt of winning the race. Petit Mouchoir (6/1) was representative of the Irish best hope coming on the back of two Grade 1s including the

Irish Champion Hurdle The Irish Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and du ...

in which Footpad (14/1) finished only 1 length in second and was the choice of Ruby Walsh in this race from the Willie Mullins yard who had left home with injuries both of the previous Champion Hurdle winners in

Annie Power Annie Power (foaled 20 March 2008) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. A National Hunt horse specialising in hurdle racing, she won fifteen of her seventeen races including the Johnstown Novice Hurdle, Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Novice H ...

(2016) and

Faugheen Faugheen ( foaled 2 May 2008) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2015 Champion Hurdle and back-to-back Christmas Hurdles in 2014 and 2015. His best performance on a racecourse came in the 2016 Irish Champion Hurdle f ...

(2015). Trainer Nicky Henderson took advantage of the situation at the head of the market and changed the plans of his horse Buveur D'Air (5/1) at the end of January which started the season over fences but had good credentials over hurdles after placing third in a very competitive renewal of last season's

Supreme Novices' Hurdle The Supreme Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of a ...

. The rest of the contenders included Brain Power (13/2) who was coming on back of two handicap wins but hadn't had a prep race during the current calendar year, same as My Tent Or Yours (16/1) who last ran in December a distant fourth to Yanworth in the

and was also beaten by The New One in his previous outing for the

Bula Hurdle The International Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the New Course ...

but had a good record in the

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a ...

coming 2nd the previous two times he ran in it. Sceau Royal (25/1), Wicklow Brave (22/1) and Cyrus Darius (50/1) represented the outsiders of the field.

The Race

Buveur d'Air settled in mid-division as Petit Mouchoir set the early pace, and moved into contention after the fifth flight. He overtook Petit Mouchoir approaching the final obstacle and drew away on the run-in to win by four and a half lengths. My Tent Or Yours stayed on to take second ahead of Petit Mouchoir, Footpad and The New One. Yanworth started as the 2/1 favourite but never settled and finished seventh.

Race details

* Sponsor:

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* Purse: * Going: Good to Soft * Distance: 2 miles 87 yards * Number of runners: 11 * Winner's time: 3m 50.90s

Full result

* Abbreviations: nse = nose; nk = neck; shd = short head; hd = head; dist = distance; PU = pulled up

References

External links

2017 Champion Hurdle
at the Racing Post {{Champion Hurdle

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a ...

2017

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a ...

2010s in Gloucestershire March 2017 sports events in the United Kingdom