The 1989 Champion Hurdle was a

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...

held at

Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham Racecourse at Prestbury Park, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, hosts National Hunt horse racing. Racing at Cheltenham took place in 1815, but comprised only minor flat races on Nottingham Hill. The first racing on Cleeve ...

on Tuesday 14 March 1989. It was the 60th running of the

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years ...

. The winner was Tony Geake's

Beech Road Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted species in ...

, a seven-year-old

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

gelding A gelding (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɛldɪŋ/) is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated Camelidae, camels. By compa ...

trained in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

Toby Balding Gerald Barnard Balding Jr. OBE (23 September 1936 – 25 September 2014), known as Toby Balding, was a British racehorse trainer, one of the few to have won the "big three" British jump races—the Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup and C ...

and ridden by

Richard Guest Richard Guest (born 14 August 1967) is an artist and short story author. Educated at the Slade School of Art 1986–1990, he began his writing career with two operas, ''The Swiss Admiral's Trousers'' (1986) and ''The Maginot Line'' (1987) which w ...

. Beech Road's victory was a first in the race for jockey, trainer and owner. Beech Road had established himself as a useful handicap hurdler in his early career but failed to complete the course when tried over

fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

on two occasions in the early part of the 1988/1989 National Hunt season. He was switched back to hurdling and earned a place in the championship with a twenty length win in the National Spirit Hurdle at Fontwell Racecourse in February. In the 1989 Champion Hurdle he started a 50/1 outsider and won by two lengths from Celtic Chief, with the 1988 winner

Celtic Shot Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in third place. The 11/8 favourite Kribensis finished seventh. Twelve of the fifteen runners completed the course.

Race details

* Sponsor:

Waterford Crystal Waterford Crystal is an Irish manufacturer of crystal glassware, especially cut glass products. It is named after the city of Waterford in Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base on the edge of Waterford was cl ...

* Purse: £83,614; First prize: £50,206 * Going: Good to Soft * Distance: 2 miles * Number of runners: 15 * Winner's time: 4m 02.10

Full result

* Abbreviations: nse = nose; nk = neck; hd = head; dist = distance; UR = unseated rider; PU = pulled up; LFT = left at start; SU = slipped up; BD = brought down

Winner's details

Further details of the winner, Beech Road * Sex: Gelding * Foaled: 8 April 1982 * Country: United Kingdom * Sire: Nearly A Hand; Dam: North Bovey (Flush Royal) * Owner: Tony Geake * Breeder: J. Tilling

References

{{Champion Hurdle

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years ...

Champion Hurdle, 1090