The Champion Four Year Old Hurdle is a Grade 1

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

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 milli ...

aged four years. 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 Nationa ...

over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), 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 with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May. The race is currently sponsored by the

Ballymore Group Ballymore Group is an Ireland-based international property development company. The majority of the company's employees and business activities are located in the UK. History Ballymore Group was founded in 1982 by Sean Mulryan, who is the c ...

The field usually includes horses which ran previously in the

Triumph Hurdle The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and ...

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, and the last to win both events was Lossiemouth in 2023.

Records

Leading

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), 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 ...

since 1980 (5 wins): *

Ruby Walsh Rupert "Ruby" Walsh (born 14 May 1979) is an Irish former jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen. Widely regarded as one of the greatest National Hunt racing, National Hunt ...

- ''Holy Orders (2001), Sporazene (2003), Diakali (2013), Abbyssial (2014), Bapaume (2017)'' Leading trainer since 1980 (11 wins): *

Willie Mullins William Peter Mullins (born 15 September 1956) is an Irish racehorse horse trainer, trainer and former jockey. He is a nineteen-time List of Irish National Hunt races, Irish National Hunt Champion trainer. Mullins is the most successful traine ...

- ''Holy Order (2001), Quatre Heures (2006), Diakali (2013), Abbyssial (2014), Petite Parisienne (2015), Apple's Jade (2016), Bapaume (2017), Saldier (2018), Vauban (2022), Lossiemouth (2023), Kargese (2024)''

Winners since 1980

References

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing, and sports betting publisher published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 60,629 ...

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pedigreequery.com
– ''Punchestown Champion Four Year Old 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