The Bective Stud Champion Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

aged five years or older. It is run at

Punchestown Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish National ...

over a distance of about 2 miles ½ furlong (2 miles and 100 yards, or ), and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. The race is for

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May. The event was formerly open to horses aged four or older, and for a period it was sponsored by BMW. The minimum age was raised to five in 1992, and Country Pride took over the sponsorship in 1993. The race was promoted from Grade 2 to Grade 1 status in 1998. The '' Evening Herald'' became the usual sponsor of the race in 2000. The event was subsequently backed by VC Bet, but the Evening Herald returned as sponsor in 2009. The race was rebranded as the Herald Champion Novice Hurdle in 2013 after the sponsoring newspaper changed its name. Ecomm Merchant Solutions took over sponsorship from the 2021 running and the current sponsors, Bective Stud, took over in 2022.

Records

Leading

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

since 1980 (5 wins): * Ruby Walsh - ''Iktitaf (2006), Hurricane Fly (2009), Faugheen (2014), Douvan (2015), Klassical Dream (2019)'' Leading trainer since 1980 (8 wins): * Willie Mullins - ''Hurricane Fly (2009), Blackstairmountain (2010), Faugheen (2014), Douvan (2015), Cilaos Emery (2017), Draconien (2018), Klassical Dream (2019), Echoes In Rain (2021)''

Winners since 1980

References

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 6 ...

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pedigreequery.com
– ''VC Bet Champion Novice Hurdle – Punchestown.''

– ''Racenews Archive (April 25, 2003).'' {{Race Meeting, Punchestown Festival, Turf National Hunt races in Ireland National Hunt hurdle races Punchestown Racecourse

Records

Winners since 1980

See also

References