The four-day celebration of national hunt racing that is the Cheltenham Festival begins on Tuesday and, as ever, the Champion Hurdle is the feature of the first day’s action.
There will be a new name on the trophy for the 2 mile ½ furlong contest as the winner of the last two editions, Honeysuckle, will instead be running in the Mare’s Hurdle later in the day in what is expected to be her final outing.
The field of seven is headed by Constitution Hill, the 1.36 favourite with William Hill, who won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at last year’s festival.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: March 13th, 1:00 P.M. (GMT)
The 6-year-old has won six of his seven races, with the only failure being a second place in his debut. All six triumphs have come under the stewardship of Nico de Boinville, the most recent being the Christmas Hurdle on Boxing Day.
The soft ground will be a positive for the horse looking to extend Nicky Henderson’s lead as most successful trainer in this race to nine wins.
State Man became just the third horse in history to get the better of Honeysuckle by winning the Irish Champion Hurdle last month at Leopardstown and is rightly considered to be Constitution Hill’s main challenger at 4.33.
Paul Townend will take his usual ride – the pair have combined to win their last five races in partnership, with the first in that run a win in the County Handicap Hurdle at the 2022 festival, his only previous run in Britain.
Trainer Willie Mullins last won this race with Annie Power in 2016, but he has a second chance in third favourite Vauban.
Vauban and jockey Danny Mullins will be sick of seeing the back of State Man, having finished third to the horse in the Irish Champion Hurdle and second in the Matheson Hurdle, also at Leopardstown, over Christmas.
The 15.00 chance was also victorious at Cheltenham 12 months ago, taking home the Triumph Hurdle. The 5-year-old has more race experience than his older rivals but might not have the ability to challenge.
I Like To Move It, a father-son jockey-trainer partnership of Nigel and Sam Twiston-Davies, has half a chance of upsetting the top two at 21.00. He arrives at this having won the Grade 2 Kingwell Hurdle and Wincanton.
At 101.00, last year’s third place, Zanahiyr, is unlikely to go as well again for Davy Russell and Gordon Elliott, while the elder statesmen; 9-year-old Jason The Militant and 11-year-old Not So Sleepy are both out at 151.00.
