The Triumph 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. It is run on the New Course at

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 ...

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. The race is for juvenile

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 Cheltenham Festival in March. It is the leading event in the National Hunt calendar to be exclusively contested by juveniles, and it is the opening race on the final day of the Festival.

History

The event was established in 1939, and it was originally held at Hurst Park in Surrey. During the early part of its history it was regularly contested by horses trained in France – six of the first seven winners were French-based. The

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, 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 spor ...

jockey

Lester Piggott Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and horse trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the grea ...

achieved one of his twenty hurdle victories in this race in 1954. Hurst Park closed in 1962 and the Triumph Hurdle was not run in 1963 or 1964. The race was transferred to Cheltenham in 1965, and for a period thereafter it was sponsored by the

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

. It was initially held during the venue's April meeting, but it became part of the Festival in 1968. The Elite Racing Club took over the sponsorship in 1997, and JCB became the sponsor in 2002. Winners of the Triumph Hurdle often go on to compete in subsequent editions 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 ...

. Four horses have achieved victory in both events – Clair Soleil, Persian War, Kribensis and

Katchit Katchit (23 February 2003 – 9 January 2013) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse, the peak of whose flat racing and hurdling career came in 2008 when, against the odds, he won the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festiv ...

Records

Leading jockey (5 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 ...

– ''Spectroscope (2003), Zaynar (2009), Soldatino (2010), Peace And Co (2015), Ivanovich Gorbatov (2016)'' Leading trainer (7 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 ...

– ''First Bout (1985), Alone Success (1987), Katarino (1999), Zaynar (2009), Soldatino (2010), Peace And Co (2015), Pentland Hills (2019)''

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 ...

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bbc.co.uk
– ''Hurst Park in Surrey.''
cheltenham.co.uk
– ''Media information pack (2010).''
pedigreequery.com
– ''Triumph Hurdle – Cheltenham.'' *

External links

* Race Recordings (1974, 1979-2012
youtube.com

Triumph Hurdle
– ''Cheltenham Festival Fans'' {{Cheltenham Festival National Hunt races in Great Britain Cheltenham Racecourse National Hunt hurdle races Recurring sporting events established in 1939 1939 establishments in England

History

Records

Winners

See also

References

External links