The National Spirit Hurdle is a Grade 2

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Fontwell Park over a distance of about 2 miles and 3

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hor ...

s (2 miles, 3 furlongs and 33 yards or ), and during its running there are ten hurdles to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in late February or early March. The event is named after National Spirit, a dual winner of the Champion Hurdle in the 1940s. National Spirit won five times at Fontwell Park, including three successive victories in the Rank Challenge Cup. The National Spirit Hurdle was established in 1965, and the inaugural running was won by Salmon Spray. During its early years it was also won by

Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. ...

. For a period the race was run over 2¼ miles, and it served as a trial for the Champion Hurdle (Beech Road won both events in 1989). It was discontinued in 1994, but its title was revived for a handicap race which took place annually from 1996 to 1998. It was relaunched as a conditions race over 2 miles and 2½ furlongs in 1999, and it was extended to its present length in 2004. The National Spirit Hurdle is now regarded as a trial for the Stayers' Hurdle. The only horse to have won both races in the same year was My Way de Solzen in 2006. Another horse to have achieved victory in both events, albeit in different seasons, was

Baracouda Baracouda was a top staying hurdler for racehorse trainer François Doumen in the late 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century. Amongst his major successes, he won the Stayers Championship, the World Hurdle twice, as well as winning 10 ...

Winners since 1971

References

* Racing Post: ** , , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , , , , , ** , {{Racing Post, 776745, 2021, 02, 28, 20 ----
fontwellpark.co.uk
– ''History of Fontwell Park Racecourse.''
pedigreequery.com
– ''National Spirit Hurdle – Fontwell.'' National Hunt races in Great Britain Fontwell Park Racecourse National Hunt hurdle races

Winners since 1971

See also

References