Classic Champion Hurdle In Prospect The 1970s was without doubt the golden era of the champion Hurdle. Persian War completing his hat-trick of wins at the beginning of the decade followed by back to back wins for Bula, a pair each for Comedy Of Errors and Night Nurse and then the legendary encounters of Monksfield and Sea Pigeon. The early 2000s also saw many a gripping renewal with Hardy Eustace, Brave Inca and Harchibald serving up some memorable finishes. This year has the makings of another classic encounter with Buveur D’air back in search of equine immorality with a third straight victory and facing off against two very exciting mares in Apple’s Jade and Laurina. Buveur D’air (15/8 Bet365) came into this season with an unbeaten record stretching back to his third placing behind Altior and Min in the 2016 Supreme Novices Hurdle. Ten straight victories had yielded two Champion Hurdles and a third was beginning to look a formality when he began this campaign with a routing of Samcro in the Fighting fifth at Newcastle in early December. It subsequently transpired all was not well with Samcro (lung infection) and then a shock defeat for Buveur D’air at the hands of stable companion Verdana Blue in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton revealed a chink in his armour. A drop in class at Sandown in early February got the champ back in a winning groove but the doubts linger and holes can be picked in much of his form, including his two previous victories at Cheltenham. At this moment he doesn’t look to be in the same class as the likes of Persian War or his owner’s Istabraq but one more victory changes all that. Any horse that can win three straight Champion Hurdles has to be exceptional by any definition of the word. So can Buveur D’air join the elite group of triple Champion Hurdle winners? Well he probably can but this will be his sternest test yet. A bookmaker once told me that no mare should ever be odds-on for a race. His adage held up for many years but the last decade has certainly changed my view and the reality. Names like Treve, Enable, Black Caviar, Quevega and Annie Power have been exceptionally consistent race mares. Apple’s Jade (5/2 BoyleSports) is also ultra-consistent, never out of the first three in twenty career starts, but she appears to have taken her form to a new level this season and deserves a crack at the Champion Hurdle. Her two defeats at Cheltehham and Punchestown last season were put down to her coming into season which is always a concern with mares but difficult to factor in when assessing a race. Obviously her best form has been over longer distances but her front-running racing style will ensure stamina is the key to this year’s renewal. Annie Power was another mare that was arguably better over further but she comfortably managed to make all in the 2016 Champion Hurdle. The seven pounds mares allowance is another very significant factor. Dawn Run (1984) and Flakey Dove (1994) managed to beat the boys in the Champion Hurdle getting a five pounds allowance so it is somewhat surprising more haven’t tried since the weight concession was increased to seven. I don’t think there are many geldings out there capable of giving a top class mare seven pounds and beating her. So, perhaps Apple’s Jade’s chief threat could come from another mare, Laurina. Laurina is unbeaten in six races since joining Willie Mullins from France and the vibes are suggesting she is a live contender. Her form is difficult to access, not least because she has so far only raced against her own sex. Laurina won at the Cheltenham Festival last year when demolishing an average field in a Grade 2 mares’ novices event. She subsequently landed her Grade 1 at Fairyhouse when beating an almost identical set of mares. This season her first outing was when winning a match at Sandown in early January and then she beat a poor field in what amounted to little more than a piece of work at Punchestown in February. On bare form you would struggle to give her a realistic chance of landing a Champion Hurdle but if Willie Mullins thinks she can who are we to argue. She is certainly different class to anything she has met so far but so are all the principals in the Champion Hurdle line up. There are a number of intriguing entries for this year’s race and it will be interesting to see which of them line up on the day. If Samcro does make it here he is as likely to break the internet as win the race. This time last year there was an almost religious fervour about him and while that bubble appears firmly burst it wouldn’t take much for his devotees to come back out of the woodwork. That said, his more likely target is the Stayers Hurdle. Petit Mouchoir wasn’t far off the level required to win a Champion a couple of years ago when he led coming down to the last in the first of Buveur D’air’s Champion Hurdles. He finished third that year before going chasing. He also reached a high level over fences but is hard to assess on two recent goes back over hurdles. He was dropped in on both those runs rather than allowed to stride on which is his customary style of racing. Still only an eight-year-old it is too soon to completely write him off. Melon (20/1 Unibet) is another that is hard to discount considering he only went down by a neck in this race last year when punted on the day from 14/1 to 7/1. His form in two runs this season has been poor but he had a similarly moderate warm up to last year’s race before producing a big run on the day. He has always been highly regarded by his connections and there is a suspicion that Willie Mullins will eventually find the key to him. Espoir D’Allen looks like providing a second string to JP McManus’ bow and the prolific winner probably deserves another crack at Grade 1 company but I’m not sure this is the race for him at this stage of his career. He has been hoovering up lesser graded events at home this season and it was a fair performance to give weight and a beating to older horses last time at Naas. For a five-year-old there is plenty to look forward to. Verdana Blue is almost forced to run by virtue of her defeat of Buveur D’air but her overall form is hit and miss. She is also quite ground dependent and wouldn’t want testing conditions. Selections 1. Apple’s Jade 5/2 Boylesports 2. Melon 20/1 Unibet 3. Buveur D’air 15/8 Bet365 By Vincent Finegan.
