Which races constitute the so-called 'Triple Crown of Hurdling'?

As the same suggest, the Triple Crown of Hurdling consists of a trio of Grade 1 hurdle races, in which horses compete at level weights, but with allowances for age and gender, over the minimum distance of two miles, or thereabouts. In chronological order, as far as the British National Hunt calendar is concerned, the races in question are the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle, the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park and the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The Champion Hurdle, run over an official distance of 2 miles and 87 yards on the Old Course at Prestbury Park in March, is far and away the oldest of the three, having been established, under the auspices of the 'indefatigable' Frederick Cathcart, in 1927. The Fighting Fifth Hurdle, which takes its name from the nickname of the former Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and is run over 2 miles and 46 yards in late November or early December, and the Christmas Hurdle, run over 2 miles on Boxing Day, are more recent additions to the programme, having both been inaugurated in 1969.

In the last four decades or so, a dozen horses, including the likes of Sea Pigeon, Dawn Run and, more recently, Faugheen, have won two of the three races. Perhaps the unluckiest loser of all, though, was Punjabi, trained by Nicky Henderson, who was a narrow winner of the Fighting Fifth Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle but, in between times, fell at the second-last flight, when nearly upsides, in the Christmas Hurdle; in so doing, he missed out on a £1,000,000 bonus, offered by the now-defunct World Bet Exchange (WBX), for winning all three races.

In fact, no horse ever won the bonus, which was only offered between 2006 and 2010 but, beforehand, Kribensis, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, won the Triple Crown of Hurdling in 1989/90 and, afterwards, Buveur D'Air and Constitution Hill, both trained by Nicky Henderson, did so again in 2017/18 and 2022/23. The hitherto unbeaten Constitution Hill is pencilled in for all three races, once again, in 2023/24, so may well repeat the feat for the second season running.

Which horses finished first, second and third in the 1986 Cheltenham Gold Cup?

The history books record that the 1986 Cheltenham Gold Cup was won by the 15/8 favourite Dawn Run, trained by Paddy Mullins and ridden by Jonjo O'Neill, but younger readers may ask, with some justification, 'So what?' Well, it would be fair to say that the bare result in no way does justice to what turned out to be a monumental event in the history of National Hunt racing.

Two years previously, Dawn Run had justified odds-on favouritism in the Champion Hurdle, under O'Neill, but despite making a winning start to her steeplechasing career at Navan in November, 1984, missed her intended target at the 1985 Cheltenham Festival, the Sun Alliance Chase, with ligament damage. Consequently, when she returned to the Festival in 1986, she had raced just five times over fences and unseated her regular jockey, Tony Mullins, in her preparatory race for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Holsten Distributors Chase – now the Cotswold Chase – two months previously.

In the Cheltenham Gold Cup itself, Dawn Run was controversially reunited with O'Neill and, despite her inexperience, was sent off an optimistic favourite in a vintage renewal of the Blue Riband event. The opposition included first three home in the 1985 Cheltenham Gold Cup, Forgive 'N Forget, Righthand Man and Earls Brig, the first three home in the 1985 King George VI Chase, Wayward Lad, Combs Ditch and Earls Brig, again, and the Welsh National winner, Run And Skip.

Dawn Run led over the second-last fence, but was joined, and passed, by Wayward Lad and Forgive 'N Forget on the run to the final fence and, briefly, looked booked for third place at best. The veteran Wayward Lad took a two-length lead on the run-in, which he held until 50 yards or so from the winning post but, switched to the centre of the course and galvanised by O'Neill, Dawn Run overhauled the tiring leader to win by a length in record time. Thus, she became the first horse in history to complete the Champion Hurdle – Cheltenham Gold Cup double. For the record, Forgive 'N Forget finished third, a further 2½ lengths away.

 

How many winners did Davy Russell ride at the Cheltenham Festival?

David 'Davy' Russell announced his retirement from the saddle, for the first time, at Thurles on December 18, 2022, having ridden Liberty Dance to victory for his long-time ally, Co. Meath trainer Gordon Elliott. However, when hapless stable jockey Jack Kennedy broke his leg, for the fifth time in his career, in a heavy fall at Naas on January 8, 2023, Russell was persuaded to return to the saddle on a short-term basis to solve an injury crisis at Cullentra House. Having done so, he endured a forgettable Cheltenham Festival in 2023, drawing a blank and standing himself down from his intended mount, Conflated, in the Cheletnham Gold Cup after being 'too sore to ride'. Russell eventually retired, for the second time, on Grand National Day 2023.

Champion National Hunt Jockey is his native Ireland in 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2017/18, Russell is probably best known to the wider racing public for his association with Tiger Roll – trained by Elliott and owned by his principal patron, Gigginstown House Stud – on whom he scored back-to-back victories in the Grand National in 2018 and 2019. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that, for much of his career, the Cheltenham Festival proved a happy hunting ground for the Corkman.

Russell rode his first Festival winner, Native Jack, trained by Philip Rothwell, in what is now the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase on March 14, 2006. Thereafter, with the exceptions of 2019, 2021, when he missed the Festival through injury, 2022 and 2023, he rode at least one winner at the March showpiece every year. In 2014, Russell won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Lord Windermere, trained by Jim Culloty and, in 2018, won the Ruby Walsh Trophy, presented to the leading jockey at the Chetenham Festival, with four winners. All told, Russell rode 25 winners at the Cheltenham Festival, placing him joint-fourth on the all-time list, alongside Pat Taaffe and behind only Ruby |Walsh, Barry Geraghty and Tony McCoy.

Which was the last horse to win the King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the same season?

The Cheltenham Gold Cup and the King George VI Chase, in that order, are the two most prestigious weight-for-age steeplechases in the British National Hunt calendar. Indeed, along with the Betfair Chase, run over 3 miles, 1 furlong and 125 yards at Haydock Park in November, they constitute the so-called 'Jockey Club Chase Triple Crown', which offers a £1 million bonus to connections of any horse able to win all three races.

Of course, the King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup are both nominally 'staying' steeplechases but, granted that they are run on different courses, over different distances, nearly three months apart, each presents its own characteristic challenges. The King George VI Chase is run over 3 miles and 18 relatively easy fences on the right-handed, practically flat course at Kempton Park on Boxing Day. The Cheltenham Gold Cup, on the other hand, is run over 3 miles, 2 furlongs and 70 yards and 22 notoriously stiff fences on the left-handed, undulating and testing New Course at Prestbury Park. Relatively speaking, the former is a test of speed, while the latter is a test of out-and-out endurance.

Granted the versatility required to win both races, especially in the same season, it is no coincidence that the list of horses who have done so includes such luminaries of the staying division as Arkle, Desert Orchid and Best Mate, who were rated 212, 187 and 182 by Timeform. Unsurprisingly, the last horse to win the King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the same season was one of the most successful steeplechasers of the Timeform era, Kauto Star. Rated 191, Kauto Star was an impressive, 8-length winner of the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day, 2008 and headed straight to Cheltenham, where he was even more impressive in beating his stable companion, Denman, by 13 lengths.

Mick Fitzgerald

 

Nowadays, Mick Fitzgerald is best known as a television presenter on ITV Racing but, in his younger days, was one of the most successful National Hunt jockeys of his generation. Before being forced into retirement after sustaining neck and knee damage in a fall from L'Ami in the 2008 Grand National, Fitzgerald rode 1,295 winners, including 14 at the Cheltenham Festival.

Fitzgerald was leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival twice. On the first occasion, in 1999, he achieved a notable double on Call Equiname and See More Business, both trained by Paul Nicholls, in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, respectively. That year, he also won the Triumph Hurdle on Katarino and the now-defunct Cathcart Challenge Cup on Stormyfairweather, both for Nicky Henderson. On the second, in 2000, he won the Arkle Challenge Trophy on Tiutchev, the Festival Trophy on Marlborough, the Stayers' Hurdle on Bacchanal and the Cathcart Challenge Cup on Stormyfairweather again; all four winners were trained by Nicky Henderson.

Remarkably, despite a 15-year association with Nicky Henderson – who is, nowadays, the leading trainer in the history of the Champion Hurdle, with eight wins – Fiztgerald never won the two-mile hurdling championship. In fact, in twelve attempts, two third places, on Blue Royal in 2000 and Afsoun in 2007, were the best he could muster.