Which is the first Grade 1 hurdle race of the British National Hunt season?
The first Grade 1 hurdle race of the British National Hunt season is, in fact, the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, which is run over an advertised distance of 2 miles – 2 miles and 46 yards to be precise – at Newcastle in late November or early December. At the time of writing, the next renewal is scheduled for November 30, 2024.
Inaugurated in 1969, and taking its name from the epithet of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, a former regiment of the British Army, the Fighting Fifth Hurdle was promoted to Grade 1 status in 2004. Nowadays, together with the Christmas Hurdle, run at Kempton Park on Boxing Day, and the Champion Hurdle, run on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival in March, the race makes up the so-called Triple Crown of Hurdling.
Indeed, the unbeaten seven-year-old Constitution Hill, who won the Fighting Fifth Hurdle in 2022, en route to winning said Triple Crown with a minimum of fuss, is due to make his seasonal return in the race once again in 2024. Already as short as 7/4 favourite, ante-post, for the Champion Hurdle, Constitution Hill has reportedly recovered from the problems that limited his 2023/24 to just one start, and undergone wind surgery, ahead of his return. If he turns up at Newcastle fit and well, it may be a formality for him to extend the record of his trainer, Nicky Henderson, to nine wins in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle.