Champion Hurdle Tips Constitution Hill v Brightdaysahead

The Champion Hurdle is the jewel in the crown of 2m hurdling. Ran as the feature event on Cheltenham’s opening day, this season’s race is shaping up to be the hottest renewal for a number of years. Here’s a rundown of the leading contenders…

Constitution Hill

Trained by Nicky Henderson, Constitution Hill is perhaps the most talented hurdler of his generation and an odds-on favourite to become Champion Hurdler once again.

After announcing himself as a future superstar with a dominant win in the 2022 Supreme, he confirmed his status as an exceptional talent by winning the Champion Hurdle the following year.

A series of minor injuries meant he was unable to defend his title last season, but return from year-long absence to beat Lossiemouth in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton before completing a simple task to follow up in the International on Trials Day.

Henderson looks for his tenth Champion Hurdle with the still-unbeaten Constitution Hill, who will follow in the footsteps of Hurricane Fly and Comedy Of Errors, if able to regain his title after a year’s hiatus.

Brighterdaysahead

Brighterdaysahead met with a shock defeat in the Dawn Run here last season but has only gone from strength to strength since. She built on a winning return at Down Royal to edge past State Man in the Morgiana before giving that rival a beating of over 30 lengths in the Matheson.

Mares have a strong record in the Champion Hurdle, with four winners in the past nine renewals, and she’ll prove a formidable opponent in receipt of weight from the geldings.

State Man

The reigning champion, State Man, trained by Willie Mullins, was no match for Consitution Hill in 2023 but in that rival’s absence, he clinched the 2024 title with a decisive victory. State Man has met defeat at the hands of Brighterdaysahead twice so far this season, but took of advantage Lossiemouth’s fall to notch a tenth victory at Grade 1 level in the Irish Champion Hurdle last time.

He’s a consistent sort, but it’s hard to see where he could turn the tables with either Constitution Hill or Brighterdaysahead this time around.

Other Contenders

Golden Ace caused a minor upset when getting the better of Brighterdaysahead in the Dawn Run last season. Similarly to that rival and Lossiemouth, she also has the option of the Mares Hurdle, but will head into the Festival on the back of a game win in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton.

That win came at the chief expense of Burdett Road, who is also more than entitled to his place in the Champion Hurdle lineup after a good season which has seen him win the Greatwood and finish a creditable third in the Christmas Hurdle.

That being said, both would likely need to find significant improvement to aim for anything better than a placing.

Day 1 Cheltenham featured races quick links:

• 13:30 Supreme Novices Hurdle Tips
• 14:10 Arkle Challenge Trophy Tips
• 14:50 Ultima Handicap Tips
• 15:30 Champion Hurdle Tips
• 16:10 Mares Hurdle Tips
• 16:50 Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle Tips
• 17:30 National Hunt Chase

Past Previews:

We were looking to forward to a battle between 2023 Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill and runner up State Man in the feature race on Champions Day but sadly it’s not to be.

Nicky Henderson, with a yard far from firing on all cylinders, chose to withdraw Constitution Hill for health reasons, leaving us with State Man as odds-on favourite.

It is practically impossible to oppose the Mullins horse, with Paul Townend again the reins, given his only defeat in 11 starts was in this race last year.

Out of the seven remaining runners it’s about who follows State Man home. Currently Irish Point, a multiple winner for Gordon Elliot, heads the Cheltenham tips and is priced at 11/2 and looks the likely runner up. Interesting for a place at a bigger price is Not So Sleepy.

If you want to play the 6 horse challenge see our tips here.

Hughie Morrison’s charge has finished the last three editions of this in fifth place and is fancied by many to go a couple of places better.

At 22/1 the 12 year-old is worth checking out with Sean Bowen at the helm.

Our each-way would go on Nemean Lion.

The Kerry Lee trained horse looked in fine form when landing a Grade 2 at Wincanton recently – second was Colonel Mustard who also runs in the race.

Nemean Lion is good value for a place at 25/1, especially if you can find a bookie offering extra places.

It would be a major surprise if anything other than State Man wins this race.

Previous Articles:

There really is only one place to start when talking about this race and its with our Champion Hurdle tips.

The Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, a two-mile race, is a pinnacle event for the speed merchants in national hunt racing. In this race, the ability to maintain a high speed and hurdle efficiently without losing momentum is essential.

In the past 20 years, the record for the fastest winning time in the Champion Hurdle was set by Annie Power, trained by W P Mullins and ridden by R Walsh.

Annie Power achieved this feat in 2016 with a time of 3:45.10. In contrast, the slowest winning time in recent history was recorded by Katchit, trained by Alan King and ridden by Robert Thornton, who completed the race in 4:08.10 during the 2008 renewal.

Constitution Hill has clearly shown he is a bit of a freak.

From his debut at Sandown to a breathtaking Supreme he has done nothing but blitz his rivals which has given him plenty of plaudits.

Champion Hurdle Trends

Analyzing the trends for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham reveals several key factors to consider:

Age Factor: Most winners (12 out of 16) in recent years have been aged six to eight. Annie Power, winning in 2016 at age nine, was an exception.

This trend raises questions about the chances of older horses like nine-year-olds Honeysuckle and Epatante, ten-year-old Sharjah, and the younger contenders, five-year-olds Vauban and Pied Piper.

Importance of Recent Form: All 16 previous winners placed in the top four in their last race, with 15 in the top three and 13 winning their last race. Constitution Hill and State Man exemplify this trend, both coming off strong performances.

Course Form at Cheltenham: 13 of the last 16 winners had run at the previous year’s Cheltenham Festival, with 11 placing in the top four.

While there have been exceptions like Espoir D’Allen and Epatante, previous festival performance is generally a good indicator.

Punchestown Festival Experience: A significant number of past winners (9 out of 15) competed at the previous year’s Punchestown Festival, with 8 winning there. State Man fits this trend, having won a Grade One race at Punchestown.

Class and Grade One Victories: A high level of class is crucial. Ten of the last 16 winners had at least two Grade One national hunt race wins, with nine winning at least three. Constitution Hill, State Man, Epatante, and Honeysuckle all meet this criterion, though only the first two are likely contenders this year.

Pedigree: Ten of the last 16 winners were sired by a Group One flat race winner. Notably, Epatante and Honeysuckle, recent winners of the race, fit this trend, whereas current favorite Constitution Hill does not.

Constitution Hill has been named in the same breath as some of the greats such as Night Nurse, Istabraq and Golden Cygnet. This season has shown he’s only getting better with a devastating performance up at Newcastle when dominating from the front.

He brushed aside former Champion Hurdle winner Epatante,which he also did when following up a month later at Kempton on Boxing Day. His turn of foot is devastating and his jumping has been impeccable in just five starts. This is the freakish nature that with so little experience he’s already so good.

You can read about Champion Hurdle Winners in our latest guide for 2024.

Of course he is a short price going into the festival and one of the British ‘Bankers’ of the week so would not be a betting proposition for me.

The next leading protagonist and likely to be chasing the tale of Constitution Hill is State Man. His rise through handicaps after winning the County Hurdle at last year’s Festival has seen him go from a rating of 141 to 167 and like the favourite he’s continued progressing in Grade One’s this season.

Read more about Cheltenham Festival tips at the 2024 Festival here.

He won the Morgiana,Matheson’s & Irish Champion Hurdle beating two time winner of this race Honeysuckle. He’s dominated from the front in all his runs this season but last year showed he can also be effective behind the pace. He will be there to pick up the pieces if anything happens to the Michael Buckley owned gelding.

Theoretically, you are looking for a horse to finish third in this market and one at a bigger price and I’m willing to give another chance to First Street which is available at decent Champion Hurdle odds Before I carry on I must say he is also in the County Hurdle which he ran a stormer in last year but is considerably higher in the handicap.

First Street won the Gerry Fielden on his first start this season when giving away top weight to Grivetana & Teddy Blue.

This route has been used before to win Champion Hurdles with Rock On Ruby & more recently Epatante. He stepped up in trip on New Year’s Day in the Relkeel when just denied by stronger stayers and the ground was possibly on the softer side for him. He was disappointing last time in the Kingwell at Wincanton but I think he struggled with the turns on the right handed track.

I know Tuesday is on the sharper speedier track of the old course but returning left handed I think will help him get his jumping rhythm back.

At 66’s Non Runner No Bet I think he’s overpriced each way.

Constitution Hill will more than likely bolt up in this year’s renewal of the Champion Hurdle but his stable companion First Street will outrun his odds to finish in the placings if connections decide to run him.