Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy Preview - Cheltenham Festival
Published on: 10/03/2020
Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy Preview - Cheltenham Festival
March 10, 2020 15:30pm - Cheltenham
Distance: 2m 0f 87y
Grade: (Grade 1) (Class 1) (4yo+)
Runners: 17
Winner: £264,610
Going: Soft
The first feature race of the Festival gets underway on Day One as the runners line up for the Unibet Champion Hurdle. This is the championship race for 2m hurdlers and has been a proving ground for some of the biggest names in hurdling. Top former winners include Night Nurse, Persian War, Sea Pigeon, Istabraq and two-time winner Buveur D`Air who fell when defending his title last year.
With no Honeysuckle present, plenty will be opting for Epatante but not everyone is convinced following her performance at last year`s Cheltenham Festival. Despite that, she has been beaten just once in five starts over hurdles since then and impressed when beating the likes of Silver Streak and Ballyandy in the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day
Another strong contender is Pentland Hills who has two Grade One wins to his name but has had a couple of blips this season. The hope is that wind surgery has resolved those issues and he can return to form in this race. If that is the case then the 10/1 price looks great value.
Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy Winners - past six years:
2014: Jezki (6) - Barry Geraghty (Jessica Harrington)
2015: Faugheen (7) - Ruby Walsh (Willie Mullins)
2016: Annie Power (8) - Ruby Walsh (Willie Mullins)
2017: Buveur d`Air (6) - Noel Fehily (Nicky Henderson)
2018: Buveur d`Air (7) - Barry Geraghty (Nicky Henderson)
2019: Espoir d`Allen (5) - Mark Walsh (Gavin Cromwell)
Latest Betting odds:
Epatante 5/2
Cilaos Emery 8/1
Pentland Hills 10/1
Supasundae 11/1
Darver Star 12/1
Coeur Sublime 16/1
Sharjah 16/1
Call Me Lord 16/1
Ballyandy 22/1
By Neil Morris
Published on: 10/03/2020
Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (10/03/2020 14:14:38) but are subject to change.
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