The Relkeel Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs (2 miles 4 furlongs and 56 yards, or 4,074 metres), and during its running there are ten hurdles to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year on New Year's Day.
The event is named after Relkeel, a three-time winner of Cheltenham's Bula Hurdle in the late 1990s. The Relkeel Hurdle was given Grade 2 status in 2006.
The race was first run in 1988 as the Sport of Kings Challenge. The race was renamed the Lonesome Glory Hurdle in 1993, after the American-trained challenger who had won the race the previous year.
The current name was adopted in 2000. The race was originally run at Cheltenham's International meeting in early December before being moved to the course's New Year Day fixture from the 2016 running.
Winners Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer 1988 Abbreviation 5 Peter Hobbs Josh Gifford 1989 Morley Street 5 Jimmy Frost Toby Balding 1990 no race 1990 1991 Granville Again 5 Peter Scudamore Martin Pipe 1992 Lonesome Glory 4 Blythe Miller Bruce F Miller 1993 Dance of Words 4 Warren Marston Howard Johnson 1994 Fatack 5 Sean Curran Jacqui Doyle 1995 no race 1995 1996 Karshi 6 Jamie Osborne Henrietta Knight 1997 Daraydan 5 Tony McCoy Martin Pipe 1998 Lady Rebecca 6 Rodney Farrant Venetia Williams 1999 Heros Fatal 5 Tony McCoy Martin Pipe 2000 Mister Banjo 4 Mick Fitzgerald Paul Nicholls 2001 See You Sometime 6 Mick Fitzgerald Seamus Mullins 2002 Eternal Spring 5 Ruby Walsh James Fanshawe 2003 Crystal d'Ainay 4 Robert Thornton Alan King 2004 Lough Derg 4 Timmy Murphy Martin Pipe 2005 Mighty Man 5 Richard Johnson Henry Daly 2006 Black Jack Ketchum 7 Tony McCoy Jonjo O'Neill 2007 Pouvoir 4 Robert Thornton Alan King 2008 no race 2008 2009 Zaynar 4 Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson 2010 Karabak 7 Tony McCoy Alan King 2011 Oscar Whisky 6 Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson 2012 Oscar Whisky 7 Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson 2013 More of That 5 Tony McCoy Jonjo O'Neill 2014 Rock On Ruby 9 Noel Fehily Harry Fry 2016 Camping Ground 6 Leighton Aspell Robert Walford 2017 Agrapart 6 Lizzie Kelly Nick Williams 2018 Wholestone 7 Daryl Jacob Nigel Twiston-Davies 2019 Midnight Shadow 6 Danny Cook Sue Smith 2020 Summerville Boy 8 Jonathan Burke Tom George 2021 McFabulous 7 Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls 2022 Stormy Ireland 8 Danny Mullins Willie Mullins 2023 Marie's Rock 8 Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson 2024 Bob Olinger 9 Rachael Blackmore Henry de Bromhead 2025 Lucky Place 6 Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson 2026 Kabral Du Mathan 6 Harry Skelton Dan Skelton
See also Horse racing in Great Britain List of British National Hunt races
References
Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , pedigreequery.com – Relkeel Hurdle – Cheltenham. telegraph.co.uk – "Cheltenham racing abandoned after rain" (2008).