- Christmas Hurdle
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For the horse race in Ireland, see Christmas Hurdle (Ireland).
Grade 1 race
Christmas HurdleLocation Kempton Park,
Sunbury, EnglandRace type Hurdle race Sponsor William Hill Website Kempton Park Race information Distance 2 miles (3,219 metres) Track Turf, right-handed Qualification Four-years-old and up Weight 11 st 7 lb
Allowances
7 lb for fillies and maresPurse £100,000 (2009)
1st: £57,010The 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), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year during the King George VI Chase meeting on Boxing Day.
Contents
History
During the 1960s Kempton staged a 2-mile handicap race on Boxing Day called the Kempton Park Handicap Hurdle. Its winners included Salmon Spray and Saucy Kit – both subsequent winners of the Champion Hurdle. The race was abandoned in 1967 and 1968, and it returned in the guise of the Christmas Hurdle in 1969.
Three winners of the race in its present format have gone on to victory in the Champion Hurdle. The first was Lanzarote, the winner of the latter event in 1974, and the others are Dawn Run (1983–84) and Kribensis (1989–90).
The race has served as the second leg of the WBX Hurdling Triple Crown since 2006. This is a bonus scheme which offers a prize of £1,000,000 to any horse which wins the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, the Christmas Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle in the same season. [1]
Records
Most successful horse since 1969 (2 wins):
- Coral Diver – 1969, 1971
- Lanzarote – 1973, 1975
- Kribensis – 1988, 1989
- Intersky Falcon – 2002, 2003
- Harchibald – 2004, 2008
Leading jockey since 1969 (3 wins):
- Andrew Turnell – Tree Tangle (1974), Beacon Light (1977), Bird's Nest (1979)
- Richard Dunwoody – Kribensis (1988, 1989), Mighty Mogul (1992)
Leading trainer since 1969 (4 wins):
- Noel Meade – Harchibald (2004, 2008), Jazz Messenger (2006), Go Native (2009)
Winners since 1969
Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer 1969 Coral Diver 4 Terry Biddlecombe Fred Rimell no race 1970 [1] 1971 Coral Diver 6 Terry Biddlecombe Fred Rimell 1972 Canasta Lad 6 Jeff King Peter Bailey 1973 Lanzarote 5 Richard Pitman Fred Winter 1974 Tree Tangle 5 Andrew Turnell Bob Turnell 1975 Lanzarote 7 John Francome Fred Winter 1976 Dramatist 5 Bill Smith Fulke Walwyn 1977 Beacon Light 6 Andrew Turnell Bob Turnell 1978 Kybo 5 Bob Champion Josh Gifford 1979 Bird's Nest [2] 9 Andrew Turnell Bob Turnell 1980 Celtic Ryde 5 John Francome Peter Cundell no race 1981 [3] 1982 Ekbalco 6 Jonjo O'Neill Roger Fisher 1983 Dawn Run 5 Jonjo O'Neill Paddy Mullins 1984 Browne's Gazette 6 Dermot Browne Monica Dickinson 1985 Aonoch 6 Jimmy Duggan Sally Oliver 1986 Nohalmdun 5 Peter Scudamore Peter Easterby 1987 Osric 5 Graham McCourt Mick Ryan 1988 Kribensis 4 Richard Dunwoody Michael Stoute 1989 Kribensis 5 Richard Dunwoody Michael Stoute 1990 Fidway 5 Steve Smith Eccles Tim Thomson Jones 1991 Gran Alba 5 Graham McCourt Richard Hannon 1992 Mighty Mogul 5 Richard Dunwoody David Nicholson 1993 Muse 6 Mark Richards David Elsworth 1994 Absalom's Lady 6 Paul Holley David Elsworth no race 1995–96 [4] 1997 Kerawi 4 Carl Llewellyn Nigel Twiston-Davies 1998 French Holly 7 Andrew Thornton Ferdy Murphy 1999 Dato Star 8 Lorcan Wyer Malcolm Jefferson 2000 Geos 5 Mick Fitzgerald Nicky Henderson 2001 Landing Light 6 Mick Fitzgerald Nicky Henderson 2002 Intersky Falcon 5 Charlie Swan Jonjo O'Neill 2003 Intersky Falcon 6 Liam Cooper Jonjo O'Neill 2004 Harchibald 5 Paul Carberry Noel Meade 2005 Feathard Lady [5] 5 Ruby Walsh Colm Murphy 2006 Jazz Messenger 6 Niall Madden Noel Meade 2007 Straw Bear 6 Tony McCoy Nick Gifford 2008 Harchibald 9 Paul Carberry Noel Meade 2009 Go Native 6 Davy Condon Noel Meade 2010 Binocular [6] 7 Tony McCoy Nicky Henderson 1 The 1970 running was abandoned because of snow.
2 Celtic Ryde finished first in 1979, but he was relegated to second place after a stewards' inquiry.
3 The race was abandoned in 1981 because of frost.
4 It was cancelled in 1995 due to snow and frost, and in 1996 due to frost.
5 The race was switched to Sandown Park in 2005 as Kempton was closed for redevelopment.
6 The "2010" race was run on January 15, 2011, after Kempton Park's 2010 Boxing Day meeting was cancelled due to snow and frost.References
- ^ "What is the WBX Hurdling Triple Crown?". wbxtriplecrown.com. http://www.wbxtriplecrown.com/whatis.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
- pedigreequery.com – Christmas Hurdle – Kempton.
- Ladbrokes Pocket Companion 1990/91. Aesculus Press. 1990. p. 47. ISBN 1-871093-21-X.
See also
Categories:- National Hunt races in Great Britain
- Kempton Park Racecourse
- National Hunt hurdle races
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