Our Unibet Champion Hurdle Prediction

The Cheltenham Festival starts on the 16th of March 2021, and it’s considered one of the most significant annual horse-racing events of the year. The four-day festival attracts millions of punters and spectators across the globe, especially here in Ireland. Having a flutter on horse-racing is one of the nation’s favourite pastimes. Particular attention is always paid to the Champion Hurdle due to past, and hopefully future, Irish success.

Considering how all Irish punters focus on this Grade 1 competition, we’ll show you our predictions for this year’s race. We’ll also have a quick look at last year’s winner. You’re sure to gain the confidence you need to pick a winner from a host of fancied runners from the most popular betting sites in Ireland.

The Unibet Championship Hurdle Past Winners

The Unibet Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham is the championship race for the best 2-mile hurdlers around. Previous winners include Hurricane Fly x2, Faugheen, and Hardy Eustace x2. We can’t forget about Istabraq, who won the race three times and is owned by J.P McManus.

Epatante rode to victory with jockey Barry Geraghty in the Championship Hurdle last year, again owned by McManus. Cruising around on the bridle like a dream with a quick shake-up, but never looked in trouble, winning by three comfortable lengths from the Willie Mullins trained Sharjah.

Irish trainers and owners have enjoyed copious victories in this event in the last ten years. J.P McManus is the proud owner of six winning horses, while trainers Willie Mullins, Jessica Harrington and Gavin Cromwell have enjoyed success at the Championship Hurdle. We’ll now have a look at the odds-on favourites to determine why punters are flocking to place their bets on these possible next champions.

Unibet Championship Hurdle 2021 Top Three Predictions

Honeysuckle: Ireland’s wonder mare is currently unbeaten in 10 starts. She’s a two-time Irish hurdle winner and last year’s Cheltlenham mare’s hurdle winner. Trained by Henry De Bromhead and ridden by Rachel Blackmore, Honeysuckle will get the mares allowance of 7lbs and is one of the current favourites to win the title this year.

She’s a slick jumper who stays well, with a tactical genius on board, as she showed when beating Bernie Des Dieux at last year’s festival. Honeysuckle is the favourite selection to Henry De Bromhead in what could be a memorable festival for him.

Epatante: She was last year’s Championship Hurdle winner. This exciting mare thrilled spectators with a steady run, never faltering. Epatante has the 7lb mare allowance, which she will most likely need as she faces much stiffer opposition this year.

The mare is currently the second favourite on bookie sites. She’s predicted to pull off a memorable win if she maintains the same performance as last year. Will trainer Nicky Henderson taste success for the second year in a row?

Goshen: He looked like he had the win in the bag last year, but he clipped his heels after jumping the final hurdle and falling. Goshen came back earlier this season and failed to fire by never settling and missing his trademark bursts of speed that we observed last March.

He came back at Wincanton this February by beating Song For Someone by a staggering 22 lengths, proving that his power and speed are now back. Goshen is now returning to Cheltenham with favourable odds for his biggest ever task.

Is Katie Walsh Telling Porkies?

With the prestigious Cheltenham Festival fast approaching, here on RacingQuestions.co.uk we’ve decided to have a bit of fun and take a jovial approach to proceedings. What better way to do so than to get the likes of Darren Randolph, Jesse Lingard and other West Ham teammates to take part in a Cheltenham Festival themed quiz. Can they accurately draw a horse? Is Betway ambassador Katie Walsh telling porkies? Can the players, representing Ireland and Great Britain – in their very own Prestbury Cup – pick a winner from a recent exciting Cheltenham Festival race. Tune in and find out.

Who is the most successful owner in the history of the Cheltenham Gold Cup?

In the history of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which was inaugurated, as a steeplechase, in 1924, several owners have won what is, nowadays, the most prestigious race in the British National Hunt calendar three or more times. The three-time winners are, in chronological order, Frank Vickerman, owner of Cottage Rake, victorious in 1948, 1949 and 1949, and Jim Lewis, owner of Best Mate, successful in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Anne Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster, owner of Arkle – who completed a notable hat-trick in 1964, 1965 and 1966 – went one better, courtesy of Ten Up in 1975 and is, in fact, the only four-time winner in the history of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

However, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the most successful owner in the history of the Cheltenham Gold Cup was the Honourable Dorothy Paget, who was as eccentric as she was rich, but nevertheless amassed seven wins in the mid-twentieth century. The indomitable Miss Paget was, of course, the owner of Golden Miller, the most famous steeplechaser on the inter-war years, who completed an unprecedented five-timer in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935 and 1936. She also owned Roman Hackle and Mont Tremblant, winners in 1940 and 1952, respectively.

Willie Wumpkins won which Cheltenham Festival race three times?

For the record, Willie Wumpkins actually won four times at the Cheltenham Festival during his career. His first win came, as a five-year-old, in the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle, nowadays known as the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle for sponsorship purposes, in 1973. At that point, Willie Wumpkins was trained in Ireland by Adrian Maxwell, but was subsequently transferred to his aunt, Jane Pilkington, a permit-holder based in Gloucestershire; much later in his career, he would find fame thanks to his exploits in what was the Coral Golden Hurdle Final and what is, nowadays, the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle.

Regardless of its title, since its inception in 1974, the three-mile contest has always been one of the most competive handicap hurdle races of the season. Nevertheless, in 1979, as an eleven-year-old, Willie Wumpkins defied odds of 25/1 to win under leading amateur rider Jim Wilson, the son-in-law of his trainer. Not only that, but he returned to the Cheltenham Festival in 1980 to win the same race again, as a twelve-year-old and, again, in 1981, as a thirteen-year-old. Unsrprisingly, nearly three decades after winning for the third time, Willie Wumpkins remains the most successful horse in the history of the Pertemps Network Final.

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