Champion Hurdle Predictions, Betting Tips & Odds (Cheltenham 2025 - DAY 1)
- Written by Simon Bettarini
The Champion Hurdle is the feature race of the first day of the Cheltenham Festival, run over two miles and half a furlong. The contest is recognised as the most prestigious hurdling race of the jumps season. Willie Mullins' State Man was a blistering winner of the Champion Hurdle last year, under a fine ride from star jockey Paul Townend. Will the current champion defend the crown in the 2025 renewal? Find here our Cheltenham 2025 Champion Hurdle race preview, with odds, tips, predictions, trends, free bets and betting promotions.
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CHAMPION HURDLE BETTING PREVIEW
The Champion Hurdle is the peak test of a two mile hurdler, a combination of speed and stamina needed to win this contest. It's a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle, for horses aged four years and upwards. It comes with a prize purse of £450,000.
State Man will defend his crown as the 2025 renewal looks set-up to be another cracker, with Lossiemouth, Constitution Hill and Brighterdaysahead the other main contenders to win the feature race.
And now we take a closer look at this year's Champion Hurdle and try to determine which horse is likely to prevail.
Who will win the Champion Hurdle 2025?
The Nicky Henderson-trained CONSTITUTION HILL is the 8/13 favourite to reclaim the title he won in 2023 - slamming State Man by 9 lengths - after missing last year’s race due to a respiratory infection. He's back in style this season, despite a long absence. Any doubts were dispelled when Constitution Hill won the Christmas Hurdle on his reappearance and then when he survived a last flight error to win the Unibet Hurdle at Cheltenham’s Trials Day in January. This horse that is yet to taste defeat and is quite possibly one of the most talented two-mile hurdlers of all time.
Gordon Elliott has confirmed that BRIGHTERDAYSAHEAD will challenge Constitution Hill this year. The mare will benefit of a 7lb allowance. She did well to hold off State Man in the Morgiana Hurdle, before destroying her rivals with a monstrous performance at Leopardstown over Christmas. The Gordon Elliott-trained mare has been beaten just once in her 10-race career.
LOSSIEMOUTH, a two-time Cheltenham Festival winner, is likely to go for the Mares' Hurdle. She beat Teahupoo in the Hatton's Grace on her reappearance, before losing out to the returning Constitution Hill in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton. She will be out to prove a point since that crashing fall at the Dublin Racing Festival Irish Champion Hurdle on February.
STATE MAN has dominated a weak division in Constitution Hill's absence. He was beaten by Brighterdaysahead both in the the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown (by three quarters of a lenght) in November and Leopardstown's Neville Hotels Hurdle (by 31 lenghts in third) at Christmas. Winter Fog, who is rated 19 pounds lower than the Champion Hurdler, finished over one length ahead of him on the day.
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Dark horses?
BURDETT ROAD has emerged as an interesting outsider for the Champion Hurdle, with his credentials boosted by winning two of his three previous trips around Cheltenham while KING OF KINGFIELD has been beaten by 38 lenghts by Brighterdaysahead this season and looks hard to fancy.
Last season Mares' Novice Hurdle winner GOLDEN ACE suffered a pulled muscle after her win in the Kingwell Hurdle, but her trainer said she had recovered well and will line-up for the Mares' Hurdle. She has class and pace to be a top 3 contender here.
WINTER FOG has won just five from 21 hurdle starts, though a third-place finish in the Irish Champion Hurdle boosted his chances.
Latest Odds
At the moment, the most backed horses are the following:
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CHAMPION HURDLE TRENDS
- 10 of the last 11 winners were favourites/joint favourites.
- The last 10 winners were unbeaten that season.
- 11 of the last 12 winners won last time out
- 15 of the last 17 winners had at least 1 previous Grade 1 win.
- 16 of the last 26 winners had won at the Festival previously.
- Mares have won 4 of the last 9 renewals
CHAMPION HURDLE PREDICTIONS
The following section contains our recommended bets on the Champion Hurdle 2025. Feel free to copy our Cheltenham Festival tips and get the highest odds available on the market by clicking the 'Bet' button!
Ruby Walsh's Champion Hurdle Tips
Cheltenham Festival’s winning-most jockey turned TV pundit Ruby Walsh have shared his tips.
"State Man worked really well in cheekpieces this week, so they stay on. He’ll have to put in a career-best run to beat Constitution Hill, and I’m not sure State Man is as good as he was. I’ve been with BRIGHTERDAYSAHEAD for a while and won’t be abandoning her now."
2025 CHAMPION HURDLE FREE BETS
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2025 CHELTENHAM DAY 1 TIPS AND PREDICTIONS
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CHAMPION HURDLE FAQS
What is the distance of the Champion Hurdle?
The Champion Hurdle is run on a distance of 2 miles and 87 yards
How many obstacles are jumped in the Champion Hurdle?
There are 8 obstacles to jump for the Champion Hurdle runners
What time is the Champion Hurdle?
The Champion Hurdle is the 5th race run on Day 1 of the Cheltenham Festival. That falls on Tuesday March 11, 2025 and the official starting time is 4:00pm.
What is the prize money for the Champion Hurdle?
The total prize money on offer for the Champion Hurdle at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival will be £450,000.
Who won the Champion Hurdle last year?
Last year's renewal was won by State Man at SP of 2/5f, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend.
What weights are carried for the Champion Hurdle?
11 st 2 lb (4-year-olds). 11 st 10 lb (5-year-olds +). 7 lb allowance for fillies and mares.
Who is the leading jockey in the Champion Hurdle?
The joint-most successful jockeys in the history of the Champion Hurdle are Tim Molony and Ruby Walsh, but they are not in activity anymore. Top owner J P McManus has won six of the last fifteen editions of this race, so take a look at his current jockey Aidan Coleman. Rachael Blackmore has won two of the last four editions with Honeysuckle.
Who is the leading trainer in the Champion Hurdle?
Nicky Henderson is has won this race nine times in his career, most recently with stable star Constitution Hill in 2023. Willie Mullins has won the race five times and has saddled the runner-up in five of the last six renewals. Henry De Bromhead has won back to back editions with Honeysuckle in 2021 and 2022.
