Cheltenham Festival 2019 - Champion Hurdle Day one is all about the Champion Hurdle and it had long looked a non-competitive race, with Buveur D’Air heading the market as one of the shortest priced favourites of the week. However he now looks to be facing two mares who could really challenge him in his bid to win a third Champion hurdle in succession. Victory would mark him down as one of the great hurdlers as he would emulate the same owners Istabraq who landed the race in 1998, 1999 and 2000. The Cheltenham festival is now less than four weeks away, which means punters are looking for offers such as on the French website Turfoo.fr as bookmakers continue to offer great value, in what is the biggest week in national hunt racing. At number one they have the PMU.fr who are offering a €100 bonus for new customers. This is a good option for new players to boost their balance prior to placing a bet on the any of the Cheltenham markets. Here we cover the credentials of the leading horses heading to the Champion Hurdle. Buveur D’Air The Nicky Henderson trained favourite can still be supported at a general 15/8 for the race. Considering he has been a shade of odds on for much of the build-up, this shows how it now looks a far more open contest that it had previously appeared. He has remained virtually in top form over obstacles since his third to Altior in the 2016 Supreme novices at the Cheltenham festival. Following the 2016 defeat, Buveur D’Air followed this up with two unbeaten seasons that included nine victories and of course two Champion hurdle successes. He is such a slick jumper of a hurdle, which has been key to him becoming such a force in the division. On his return this season he put in what appeared to be a lifetime best performance in slamming Samcro by eight lengths on the bridle. This gained him a career high RPR of 173. Considering the form of Samcro following this, you would seriously have to question the form, as Samcro was beaten the same distance by Sharjah on his following start. Buveur D’Air was then defeated by stablemate Verdana Blue at Kempton over Christmas following a bad error at the third last flight. This was his first defeat since the previously mentioned 2016 Supreme Novices. He then returned for his most recent start as he landed the Contenders hurdle for the third year in succession at Sandown. He won the race virtually on the bridle, but is certainly going to need to produce his best if he is to beat the two mares this time around. Apple’s Jade There is little doubt that Apple’s Jade is the current national hunt horse of the season. She has returned in the form of her life following a fairly underwhelming finish to last season that saw her beaten twice by Benie Des Dieux. However she was found to keep coming into season last year which clearly was the issue behind her running well below her best. Apple’s is a remarkable horse in the fact she has yet to finish out of the first three in her 20 starts to date. This has seen her win 14 of these and an impressive 10 Grade one’s. The Gordon Elliott trained mare will now be many people’s bankers following a string of destructive victories this season. In her four starts this season she was won by an accumulative distance of 73 lengths. This included an impressive 26 length victory in the Christmas hurdle when sent off at 8/13. However it was her most recent start that really took the breath away and pushed her up to the head of the betting for the upcoming Champion hurdle. Again sent off at odds on in the Irish Champion hurdle she made all, and was never for catching as she cleared away to win by 16 lengths. Considering last season’s Champion hurdle second Melon was around 21 lengths behind it just shows this is top class form. Apple’s Jade can be supported at a general 2/1 for the race at Cheltenham and if she can put in a similar display and getting the mare’s allowance, she is going to take the world of beating. She will be looking to emulate Annie Power and become just the second mare since 1994 to win the race. Laurina The dark horse of the race is without a doubt Laurina, as we really do not know how good she could be. She is very inexperienced for this race so it is going to be a big ask, but if her trainer Mullins feels she should be heading to the race, then she must have a leading chance. This is due to the fact she would be bypassing a golden opportunity in the Mares hurdle. Of course Mullins landed the Champion Hurdle with the previously mentioned mare Annie Power back in 2016. Laurina can be supported at around 4/1 at present and since joining the Mullins yard has an unbeaten record of five victories in succession. This included a victory at the Cheltenham festival last year, as she put up the most impressive performance of the week in winning on the bridle by 18 lengths. She is a huge mare so getting the weight allowance is going to be a big factor at the festival. Laurina has only made the track once this season that resulted in a match race in which she won without having to come out of first gear. This was a 48 length success over Sensulano, in which she posted an RPR rating of 160. This is just eight pounds below the rating given to Apple’s Jade in her destructive Irish Champion hurdle victory. Laurina has won her five starts for Mullins by an overall distance of just over 100 lengths, against far inferior opposition. This is going to be her first real test, but she looks a potential superstar, in what now sets up for one of the most fascinating contests of the current national hunt season.
