The Fighting Fifth 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 Great Britain 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 or older. It is run at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

over a distance of about 2 miles and half a furlong (2 miles and 46 yards, or 3,261 metres), and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. The race is the first leg of the

Triple Crown of Hurdling The Triple Crown of Hurdling is awarded to a horse that wins all three of the open, two-mile Grade 1 Hurdling races in any given English National Hunt season: #The Fighting Fifth Hurdle, held at the Newcastle Racecourse #The Christmas Hurdle, he ...

scheduled to take place each year in late November or early December.

History

The event was established in 1969, and the inaugural running was won by Mugatpura. Its title refers to the "Fighting Fifth", the nickname of the

Royal Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and ...

. In the year prior to the race's launch, the regiment (formerly known as the 5th Regiment of Foot) was amalgamated with three others to form the

Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as, "The Fusiliers") is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st Battalion, part of the Regular Army, is an ...

. There were two triple winners of the Fighting Fifth Hurdle during the 1970s:

Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farce, farcical Shakespearean comedy, comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addit ...

and Bird's Nest. The latter also finished first in 1980 but after a stewards' inquiry he was relegated to second place behind

Sea Pigeon Sea Pigeon (1970–2000) was an American-bred, British-trained racehorse who excelled in both National Hunt and flat racing. In a racing career which lasted from 1972 until 1981 he competed in eighty-five races, and won thirty-seven times. He ...

. The Fighting Fifth Hurdle was formerly classed at Grade 2 level, and for a brief spell in the 1990s it was run as a limited handicap. Its past sponsors have included

Bellway Homes Bellway plc is a residential property developer and housebuilder based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The company was founded in 1946 by Joh ...

Newcastle Building Society Newcastle Building Society is the eighth largest building society in the UK, with its headquarters in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is a member of the Building Societies Association. At December 2022, the Society had total assets of more tha ...

and Pertemps and the race has been sponsored by

Betfair Betfair is a British Gambling, gambling company founded in 2000. Its product offering includes betting exchange, sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Business operations are led from its headquarters in London, alongsi ...

since 2019. It was promoted to Grade 1 status in 2004, and it is now the first top-grade hurdle race of the British National Hunt season.

Records

Most successful horse (3 wins): *

– ''1972, 1973, 1974'' * Birds Nest – ''1976, 1977, 1979'' Leading jockey (3 wins): *

Barry Geraghty Barry Geraghty (born 16 September 1979) is a retired Irish jockey. He is the second most successful jockey of all time at the Cheltenham Festival. Geraghty rode his first winner in January 1997 and three years later he became the Irish Champ ...

- ''Punjabi (2008), Buveur d'Air (2017, 2018)'' Leading trainer (9 wins): *

Nicky Henderson Nicholas John Henderson (born 10 December 1950) is a British racehorse trainer. He has been British jump racing Champion Trainer six times. Background His father was Johnny Henderson who was one of the founders of the Racecourse Holdings Tr ...

- ''Landing Light (2001), Punjabi (2008), My Tent Or Yours (2013), Buveur d'Air (2017, 2018), Epatante (2020, 2021 (2021 a

dead heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...

)), Constitution Hill (2022), Sir Gino (2024)''

Winners

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 ...

: ** , , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , , , , , ** , , , , ,
pedigreequery.com
– ''Fighting Fifth Hurdle – Newcastle.'' * {{cite book, title=Ladbrokes Pocket Companion 1990/91, year=1990, publisher=Aesculus Press, isbn=1-871093-21-X, page=43

External links

* Race Recordings (1974-2011
youtube.com
National Hunt races in Great Britain Newcastle Racecourse National Hunt hurdle races Horse races established in 1969 1969 establishments in England

History

Records

Winners

See also

References

External links