The County Handicap Hurdle is a Premier Handicap National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong (2 miles and 179 yards, or 3,382 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
| Premier Handicap race | |
| Location | Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham, England |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1920 |
| Race type | Hurdle race |
| Sponsor | BetMGM (2024) |
| Website | Cheltenham |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 2m 179y (3,382 metres) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Five-years-old and up |
| Weight | Handicap |
| Purse | £100,000 (2023) 1st: £56,270 |
| 2024 | ||
 |  |  |
| Absurde | L'eau Du Sud | Pied Piper |
| Previous years | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | ||
 |  |  |
| Faivoir | Pied Piper | Filey Bay |
| 2022 | ||
 |  |  |
| State Man | First Street | Colonel Mustard |
| 2021 | ||
 |  |  |
| Belfast Banter | Petit Mouchoir | Milkwood |
| 2020-2011 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ||
 |  |  |
| Saint Roi | Aramon | Embittered |
| 2019 | ||
 |  | |
| Ch'tibello | We Have A Dream | Countister |
| 2018 | ||
 |  |  |
| Mohaayed | Remiluc | Whiskey Sour |
| 2017 | ||
 | |  |
| Arctic Fire | L'Ami Serge | Ozzie The Oscar |
| 2016 | ||
 |  |  |
| Superb Story | Fethard Player | Sternrubin |
| 2015 | ||
|  |  |
| Wicklow Brave | Sort It Out | Quick Jack |
| 2014 | ||
 | |  |
| Lac Fontana | Arctic Fire | Montbazon |
| 2013 | ||
|  |  |
| Ted Veale | Tennis Cap | Manyriverstocross |
| 2012 | ||
|  |  |
| Alderwood | Edgardo Sol | Sailors Warn |
| 2011 | ||
 | |  |
| Final Approach | Get Me Out of Here | Nearby |
| 2010-2001 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | ||
 |  |  |
| Thousand Stars | Arcalis | Dee Ee Williams |
| 2009 | ||
 | |  |
| American Trilogy | Stradbrook | Cockney Trucker |
| 2008 | ||
 |  |  |
| Silver Jaro | Psycho | French Saulaie |
| 2007 | ||
 |  |  |
| Pedrobob | Ouninpohja | Premier Dane |
| 2006 | ||
| |  |
| Desert Quest | Noble Request | Adamant Approach |
| 2005 | ||
 |  |  |
| Fontanesi | Stance | Borora |
| 2004 | ||
 |  |  |
| Sporazene | Hawadeth | Copeland |
| 2003 | ||
 |  |  |
| Spirit Leader | Balapour | Through The Rye |
| 2002 | ||
|  |  |
| Rooster Booster | Landing Light | Geos |
| 2000-1991 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | ||
|  |  |
| Master Tern | Danegold | Spokesman |
| 1999 | ||
 |  |  |
| Sir Talbot | Decoupage | Toto Toscato |
| 1998 | ||
 |  |  |
| Blowing Wind | Advocat | Bless Me Sister |
| 1997 | ||
 | |  |
| Barna Boy | Carlito Brigante | Penny A Day |
| 1996 | ||
 |  |  |
| Star Rage | Romancer | Non Vintage |
| 1995 | ||
_Ltd.svg) | |  |
| Home Counties | Family Way | Test match |
| 1994 | ||
 |  |  |
| Dizzy | Diplomatic | Steel Dawn |
| 1993 | ||
 |  |  |
| Thumbs Up | High Baron | Spinning |
| 1992 | ||
 | _Ltd.svg) |  |
| Dusty Miller | Bank View | Viking Flagship |
| 1991 | ||
 |  |  |
| Winnie The Witch | Celtic Bob | One For The Pot |
| 1990-1988 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | ||
 |  |  |
| Moody Man | Smart Performer | Persillant |
| 1989 | ||
 |  |  |
| Willsford | Travel Mystery | Fiefdom |
| 1988 | ||
 |  |  |
| Cashew King | Sunbia | Rampallion |
History
The County Hurdle was established in 1920, and its inaugural winner was Trespasser, ridden by George Duller. Its title between 1995 and 2016 was the Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle in honour of Vincent O'Brien, an Irish racehorse trainer who retired in 1994. During his career O'Brien recorded a total of twenty-three victories at the Cheltenham festival.
For many years the County Hurdle was traditionally the last race to be run at the Festival. However, a new running order was announced ahead of the 2009 meeting, and it is now the second race on the final day. The race held Grade 3 status until 2022 and was reclassified as a Premier Handicap from the 2023 running when Grade 3 was renamed by the British Horseracing Authority.[1]
Records
Most successful horse since 1946:
- no horse has won this race more than once since 1946
Leading jockey since 1946 (4 wins):
- Ruby Walsh – Sporazene (2004), Desert Quest (2006), American Trilogy (2009), Final Approach (2011)
- Paul Townend - Wicklow Brave (2015), Arctic Fire (2017), State Man (2022), Absurde (2024)
Leading trainer since 1946 (7 wins):
- Willie Mullins – Thousand Stars (2010), Final Approach (2011), Wicklow Brave (2015), Arctic Fire (2017), Saint Roi (2020), State Man (2022), Absurde (2024)
List of renewals
| Date | Winner | SP | Age | Weight (st-lb) | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Runners | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920, 11 March | Trespasser | 4/7F | 4 | 11-09 | George Duller | J. M. Bell | P. Heybourn | 8 | [2] |
| 1921, 3 March | Water Bottle | 5/1 | — | 11–13 | F. Croney | A. Scott | A. Scott | 12 | [3] |
| 1922, 9 March | Lukeston | 100/30 | — | 12-02 | F. Rees | Harrison | E. Tattersall | 7 | [4] |
| 1923, 7 March | Assaroe | 6/1 | — | 11–10 | F. Brown[a] | Newey | Stanley Howard | 7 | [5] |
| 1924, 12 March | Argo | 2/1F | — | 11-08 | George Duller | Coulthwaite | Lord Londesborough | 13 | [6] |
| 1925, 11 March | Rosecome | 100/7 | 5 | 10-06 | J. East | W. McKie | A. Sanders | 15 | [7] |
| 1926, 9 March | Checktaker | 5/2F | 5 | 11–11 | George Duller | H. Harrison | Harrison | 13 | [8] |
| 1927, 8 March | Rolie | 7/1 | 6 | 11-06 | H. Cheshire | T. Rimell | T. Rimell | 11 | [9] |
| 1928, 14 March | Truthful James | 7/1 | — | 11-03 | Parvin | Powell | Milne | 15 | [10] |
| 1929, 13 March | Castlederg | 8/1 | 7 | 11-02 | F. Rees | Whitelaw | Whitelaw | 14 | [11] |
| 1930, 12 March | Gonedry | 9/2 | 8 | 10–11 | P. Dennis | H. Dyke Dennis | Pellerin | 15 | [12] |
| no race 1931 [b] | |||||||||
| 1932, 3 March | Fouquet | 11/4 | 5 | 10-00 | W. Stott | F. Wootton | S. Wootton | 10 | [13] |
| 1933, 9 March | Hightide IV. | 20/1 | 7 | 11-03 | Wilson | Bullock | T. Richardson | 13 | [14] |
| 1934, 8 March | Jack Grange | 8/1 | 5 | 10-00 | W. Hollick | Barthropp | Sir A. McAlpine | 17 | [15] |
| 1935, 14 March | Polly Stephens | 2/1F | 8 | 11-00 | Ingham | Cundell | Rieb | 15 | [16] |
| 1936, 12 March | Back Isle | 7/1 | 8 | 11-03 | Fulke Walwyn[a] | Roberts | C. Jones | 21 | [17] |
| no race 1937 [b] | |||||||||
| 1938, 10 March | Prince Rouge | 10/1 | 8 | 10–12 | J. Prendergast[a] | W. Stubbs | Mrs D. Thomas | 17 | [18] |
| 1939, 9 March | Abbot's Own | 13/2 | 8 | 12-01 | H. Nicholson | O'Sullivan | Mrs E. Scott | 17 | [19] |
| 1940, 20 March | Sam Brown | 6/1 | 6 | 11-01 | T. Rimell | trained privately | M. C. Willes | 10 | [20] |
| 1941, 20 March | Celibate II | 7/1 | 9 | 11-04 | Hollick | D. Dick | Mrs D. P. Dick | 19 | [21] |
| 1942, 21 March | Red April | 100/8 | 5 | 11–13 | E. Foley | Stalbridge | M. Jones | 21 | [22] |
| no race 1943–45 [c] | |||||||||
| 1946, 14 March | Vidi | 6/1 | 5 | 11–10 | Don Butchers | Reg Hobbs | A. E. Saunders | 27 | [23] |
| no race 1947 [d] | |||||||||
| 1948, 4 March | Cape Light | 2/1F | 5 | 11-01 | Joe Maguire | Ivor Anthony | — | 21 | [24] |
| no race 1949 [e] | |||||||||
| 1950, 9 March | Blue Raleigh | 25/1 | 7 | 10-00 | Jimmy Power | Bobby Renton | Mrs L. Brotherton | 19 | [25] |
| 1951, 25 April | Southwick | 100/7 | 7 | 10-03 | George Spann | J. Whiting | — | 21 | [26] |
| 1952, 6 March | Ballymacan | 100/7 | 5 | 10–12 | Bryan Marshall | Neville Crump | H. D. Waddington | 20 | [27] |
| 1953, 5 March | Teapot II | 4/1 | 8 | 12-07 | Pat Taaffe | Clem Magnier | — | 16 | [28] |
| 1954 | Bold Baby | 8 | 12-00 | Paddy Powell | Michael Dawson | ||||
| no race 1955 [e] | |||||||||
| 1956 | Pommel | 9 | 10–11 | Steve Boddy | John Waugh | ||||
| 1957 | Flaming East | 8 | 10-05 | Peter Pickford | Ricky Vallance | ||||
| 1958 | Friendly Boy | 6 | 10-05 | Liam Brennan | Joe Osborne | ||||
| 1959 | Approval | 13 | 11-02 | Derek Leslie | Syd Mercer | ||||
| 1960 | Albergo | 6 | 12-05 | Doug Page | Clem Magnier | ||||
| 1961 | Most Unusual | 6 | 10-07 | Josh Gifford | Bill Ransom | ||||
| 1962 | Sky Pink | 5 | 10–11 | Fred Winter | Ryan Price | ||||
| 1963 | Bahrain | 6 | 10-06 | Tommy Carberry | Dan Moore | ||||
| 1964 | Icy Wonder | 5 | 10-02 | Jeff King | Vernon Cross | ||||
| 1965 | Mayfair Bill | 6 | 10-04 | Andrew Turnell | Bob Turnell | ||||
| 1966 | Roaring Twenties | 6 | 11-02 | George Milburn | Ken Oliver | ||||
| 1967 | Cool Alibi | 5 | 10-09 | Roddy Reid | Rodney Bower | ||||
| 1968 | Jolly Signal | 6 | 10–11 | Jimmy Uttley | Earl Jones | ||||
| 1969 | Gay Knight | 5 | 10-03 | Aly Branford | Les Kennard | ||||
| 1970 | Khan | 6 | 09-11 | Lord Petersham[a] | Delmer Harty | ||||
| 1971 | Carry Off | 7 | 10-01 | David Goulding | Nigel Angus | ||||
| 1972 | Cold Day | 6 | 10-08 | Ron Hyett | Katie Gaze | ||||
| 1973 | Current Romance | 7 | 10-07 | David Nicholson | Frenchie Nicholson | ||||
| 1974 | True Song | 5 | 11-02 | Gary Old | Donald Underwood | ||||
| no race 1975 [f] | |||||||||
| 1976 | Java Fox | 6 | 10-01 | George Jones[a] | Roy Cambidge | ||||
| 1977 | Kilcoleman | 5 | 10-07 | Tommy Kinane | Billy Boyers | ||||
| no race 1978 [f] | |||||||||
| 1979 | Monte Ceco | 6 | 10–12 | Colin Tinkler | Fred Rimell | ||||
| 1980 | Prince of Bermuda | 5 | 10-00 | Steve Knight | Bob Turnell | ||||
| 1981 | Staplestown | 6 | 10-07 | Tommy Ryan | Edward O'Grady | ||||
| 1982 | Path of Peace | 6 | 10-06 | Jonjo O'Neill | Chris Thornton | ||||
| 1983 | Robin Wonder | 5 | 10-03 | Jeff Davies | David Elsworth | ||||
| 1984 | Hill's Guard | 5 | 10–11 | Andrew Stringer | Andrew Scott | ||||
| 1985 | Floyd | 5 | 10-05 | Colin Brown | David Elsworth | ||||
| 1986 | Jobroke | 6 | 10-03 | Jonjo O'Neill | Peter Easterby | ||||
| 1987 | Neblin | 8 | 11-00 | Richard Guest | Toby Balding | ||||
| 1988, 17 March | Cashew King | 9/1 | 5 | 10-04 | Trevor Wall | Bryan McMahon | Mrs J A Wall | 24 | [29] |
| 1989, 16 March | Willsford | 11/1 | 6 | 10-08 | Michael Bowlby | Jenny Pitman | A M Kaplan | 21 | [30] |
| 1990, 15 March | Moody Man | 9/1 | 5 | 11-02 | Peter Hobbs | Philip Hobbs | James Burley | 20 | [31] |
| 1991, 14 March | Winnie the Witch | 33/1 | 7 | 09-08 | David Bridgwater | Ken Bridgwater | Paddocks Thoroughbred Racing Ltd | 26 | [32] |
| 1992, 12 March | Dusty Miller | 9/1 | 6 | 10-06 | Jamie Osborne | Simon Sherwood | Watership Down Racing | 27 | [33] |
| 1993, 18 March | Thumbs Up | 16/1 | 7 | 10-02 | Richard Dunwoody | Nicky Henderson | Michael Buckley | 21 | [34] |
| 1994, 17 March | Dizzy | 12/1 | 6 | 10-00 | Tony Dobbin | Peter Monteith | Lt-Col W L Monteith | 24 | [35] |
| 1995, 16 March | Home Counties | 14/1 | 6 | 10–12 | James Moffatt | Dudley Moffatt | Roxy Cinemas (dalton) | 23 | [36] |
| 1996, 14 March | Star Rage | 14/1 | 6 | 10-00 | Dean Gallagher | Jimmy Harris | J David Abell | 28 | [37] |
| 1997, 13 March | Barna Boy | 14/1 | 9 | 10–12 | Richard Dunwoody | Nicky Henderson | Lynn Wilson | 20 | [38] |
| 1998, 19 March | Blowing Wind | 15/8F | 5 | 11-08 | Tony McCoy | Martin Pipe | P A Deal | 27 | [39] |
| 1999, 18 March | Sir Talbot | 10/1 | 5 | 10-00 | Timmy Murphy | Jim Old | W E Sturt | 28 | [40] |
| 2000, 16 March | Master Tern | 9/2F | 5 | 10-03 | Tony Dobbin | Jonjo O'Neill | John P McManus | 21 | [41] |
| no race 2001 [g] | |||||||||
| 2002, 14 March | Rooster Booster | 8/1 | 8 | 11-01 | Richard Johnson | Philip Hobbs | Terry Warner | 21 | [42] |
| 2003, 13 March | Spirit Leader | 10/1 | 7 | 11-07 | Barry Geraghty | Jessica Harrington | D Thompson | 28 | [43] |
| 2004, 18 March | Sporazene | 7/1J | 5 | 10–13 | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls | Ged Mason & David Jackson | 23 | [44] |
| 2005, 18 March | Fontanesi | 16/1 | 5 | 10–10 | Timmy Murphy | Martin Pipe | The Johnson Family | 30 | [45] |
| 2006, 17 March | Desert Quest | 4/1J | 6 | 10–10 | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls | Mrs M Findlay | 29 | [46] |
| 2007, 16 March | Pedrobob | 12/1 | 9 | 10-00 | Philip Carberry | Tony Mullins | Barry Connell | 28 | [47] |
| 2008, 14 March | Silver Jaro | 50/1 | 5 | 10–13 | Noel Fehily | Tom Hogan | Miss M A Masterson | 22 | [48] |
| 2009, 13 March | American Trilogy | 20/1 | 5 | 11-00 | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls | Fulton,Donlon,Kilduff & Scott-MacDonald | 27 | [49] |
| 2010, 19 March | Thousand Stars | 20/1 | 6 | 10-05 | Katie Walsh[a] | Willie Mullins | Hammer & Trowel Syndicate | 28 | [50] |
| 2011, 18 March | Final Approach | 10/1 | 5 | 10–12 | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins | Douglas Taylor | 26 | [51] |
| 2012, 16 March | Alderwood | 20/1 | 8 | 11-01 | Tony McCoy | Thomas Mullins | John P McManus | 26 | [52] |
| 2013, 15 March | Ted Veale | 10/1 | 6 | 10-06 | Bryan Cooper | Tony Martin | John Breslin | 28 | [53] |
| 2014, 14 March | Lac Fontana | 11/1 | 5 | 10–11 | Daryl Jacob | Paul Nicholls | Potensis Limited | 28 | [54] |
| 2015, 13 March | Wicklow Brave | 25/1 | 6 | 11-04 | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | Wicklow Bloodstock Limited | 24 | [55] |
| 2016, 18 March | Superb Story | 8/1 | 5 | 10–12 | Harry Skelton | Dan Skelton | Holt, Robinson, Taylor & Miller | 26 | [56] |
| 2017, 17 March | Arctic Fire | 20/1 | 8 | 11–12 | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | Wicklow Bloodstock Limited | 26 | |
| 2018, 16 March | Mohaayed | 33/1 | 6 | 10–08 | Bridget Andrews | Dan Skelton | Mrs June Watts | 24 | |
| 2019, 15 March | Ch'tibello | 12/1 | 8 | 11-05 | Harry Skelton | Dan Skelton | Can't Say No Partnership | 24 | |
| 2020, 13 March | Saint Roi | 11/2 | 5 | 10-13 | Barry Geraghty | Willie Mullins | John P McManus | 23 | |
| 2021, 19 March | Belfast Banter | 33/1 | 6 | 10-00 | Kevin Sexton | Peter Fahey | Direct Bloodstock Ltd | 23 | |
| 2022, 18 March | State Man | 11/4F | 5 | 11-01 | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | Mrs J Donnelly | 26 | |
| 2023, 17 March | Faivoir | 33/1 | 8 | 10-07 | Bridget Andrews | Dan Skelton | Mrs S Lawrence | 24 | |
| 2024, 15 March | Absurde | 12/1 | 6 | 10-10 | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | H O S Syndicate | 17 | |
See also
References
- pedigreequery.com – Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle – Cheltenham.
- racenewsonline.co.uk – Racenews Archive (21 February 2008).
- Ladbrokes Pocket Companion 1990/91. Aesculus Press. 1990. p. 64. ISBN 1-871093-21-X.
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