How many horses have won the Champion Hurdle more than once?

The two-mile hurdling championship, the Champion Hurdle, has been a fixture of the Cheltenham Festival since 1927 and, in the better part of a century, no horse has won the race more than three times. That said, the last three-time winner, Istabraq, was odds-on on to complete an unprecedented four-timer in 2001, only to be robbed of the opportunity by an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Nevertheless, alongside Hatton’s Grace, Sir Ken, Persian War and See You Then, Istabraq is, jointly, the most successful horse in Champion Hurdle history.

Down the years, numerous horses, starting with Insurance, owned by Dorothy Paget, in 1931 and 1932, have won the Champion Hurdle twice. National Spirit, one of the best hurdlers of the post-war era, did so in 1947 and 1948, but it wasn’t until the ‘golden era’ of hurdling in the Seventies and early Eighties that Bula, Comedy Of Errors, Night Nurse, Monksfield and Sea Pigeon became dual winners. More recently, Hardy Eustace recorded back-to-back victories in 2004 and 2005, as did Buveir D’Air in 2017 and 2018, whil Hurricane Fly won in 2011 and 2013, having finished third, at odds-on, in 2012. So, at the time of writing, five horses have won the Champion Hurdle three times and ten have won it twice, making a total of fifteen to have won the race more than once.

How many horses have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup more than once?

The Cheltenham Gold Cup, as a steeplechase, was inaugurated in 1924 and, as such, pre-dates the Champion Hurdle by three years. However, while the Champion Hurdle has seen 15 multiple winners down the years, the Cheltenham Gold Cup has seen just eight.

The first of them, Easter Hero, recorded back-to-back victories, both by 20 lengths, in 1929 and 1930, at a time when the Cheltenham Gold Cup was still run on the Old Course at Prestbury Park. The 1931 renewal of the Cheltenham Gold Cup was abandoned, due to frost, but for the next five years the race was dominated by ‘Steeplechaser of the Century’ Golden Miller, who also won the Grand National in 1934.

Following World War II, Cottage Rake completed a hat-trick of successes in 1948, 1949 and 1950 and Arkle – widely considered the greatest steeplechaser of all time – did likewise in 1964, 1965 and 1966, by which time the Cheltenham Gold Cup had been transferred to the New Course. More recently, L’Escargot won consecutive renewals in 1970 and 1971, Best Mate became the last horse to win three in a row in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and, in 2009, Kauto Star made history by becoming the first horse to recapture his title, having won in 2007 and finished second to stablemate Denman in 2008. Of course, Al Boum Photo won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2019 and 2020 and may yet win three, or more, in a row.

Where, and what, was Hurst Park?

Between 1890 and 1962, Hurst Park was a racecourse on the banks of the River Thames at Molesey Hurst, near West Molesey, in Surrey. Built during the Victorian ‘leisure revolution’, along with nearby Sandown Park, which opened in 1875, and Kempton Park, which opened three years later, Hurst Park was initially a National Hunt venue. However, the layout of the racecourse was soon modified to accommodate Flat racing and staged its first meeting in that sphere just over a year later.

In 1913, Hurst Park survived an arson attack by suffragettes Kitty Marion and Clara Giveen, which gutted the grandstand, and continued to flourish throughout the twentieth century. Indeed, Hurst Park was still a popular venue at the time of its closure but, despite significant opposition, its owners opted for property development, rather than horse racing, on the site.

Perhaps the most famous race run at Hurst Park was the Triumph Hurdle, first staged in 1939. Following World War II, the Triumph Hurdle continued, uninterrupted, between 1950 and 1962, when Hurst Park closed. After a brief hiatus, the race was transferred to Cheltenham in 1965 and became part of the Cheltenham Festival three years later.

What is a stop race flag?

In horse racing, a stop race flag is, as the name suggests, a flag waved by racecourse officials, such as the starter and advanced flag operator, or recall man, to bring a race to a halt. Once the stop race flag is deployed, jockeys must immediately stop riding – regardless and the race must be declared void.

In Britain, from January 4, 2021 onwards, the stop race flag has featured orange and yellow quarters, to increase its visibility compared with the previous all-yellow flag. Likewise, for clarity and the safety of all concerned, including jockeys, racecourse staff and spectators, the stop race procedure has also been revised.

Under the new rules, the waving of the stop race flag is still accompanied by the blowing of whistles, to provide an audible, as well as visible, signal to jockeys, but multiple flags must be deployed in one, or preferably more than one, location. The new stop race procedure received a timely examination when, on March 1, 2021, one of the runners in a maiden hurdle at Plumpton broke down in the back straight, leaving the rest of the field with nowhere to go to avoid the stricken horse on the second circuit.

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