The Scottish Champion Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ayr, South Ayrshire, over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. It is a limited handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in April.
The event was established in 1966, and the inaugural winner was Blue Venom. For a period it was classed at Listed level, and it was promoted to Grade 2 status in 1991. The race used to be held on the day before the Scottish Grand National, but both events have taken place on the same day since 1994. Its present sponsor, CPMS, has backed the race since 2019.
Several winners of the Scottish Champion Hurdle have also achieved victory in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. The most recent was Alderbrook, the winner of the latter contest in 1995. Captain Christy won the race in 1973, the year before winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup as a novice. Another Irish-trained horse, Golden Cygnet, suffered fatal injuries when he fell in the 1978 running.
Records Most successful horse (2 wins): Sea Pigeon – 1977, 1978 Birds Nest – 1979, 1981
Leading jockey (3 wins): Andrew Turnell – Bird's Nest (1979, 1981), Secret Ballot (1980) Peter Scudamore – Royal Vulcan (1983), Rushmoor (1984), Granville Again (1992) Richard Dunwoody – Alderbrook (1996), Blowing Wind (1998), Fadalko (1999) Richard Johnson – In Contrast (2003), Noble Request (2006), Cheltenian (2015)
Leading trainer (4 wins): Martin Pipe – Sayparee (1990), Granville Again (1992), Blowing Wind (1998), Copeland (2004)
Winners Weights given in stones and pounds. Year Winner Age Weight Jockey Trainer1966Blue Venom711-01Peter AdamsPeter Adams1967Originator611-01E WilsonJ Barclay1968Al-'Alawi510-08Pat McCarronT Robson1969Mugatpura611-03Tommy JenningsFulke Walwyn1970Easter Pirate610-00Stan HayhurstR Fairbairn1971Dondieu611-11Brian FletcherDenys Smith1972Coral Diver711-11Ken WhiteFred Rimell1973Captain Christy612-00Bobby BeasleyPat Taaffe (Ir)1974Santon Brig511-03Michael DickinsonTony Dickinson 1975 Comedy of Errors 8 12-00 Ken White Fred Rimell 1976 Night Nurse 5 12-00 Paddy Broderick Peter Easterby 1977 Sea Pigeon 7 11-04 Jonjo O'Neill Peter Easterby 1978 Sea Pigeon 8 12-00 Jonjo O'Neill Peter Easterby 1979 Bird's Nest 9 11-08 Andrew Turnell Bob Turnell 1980 Secret Ballot 6 10-07 Andrew Turnell Bob Turnell 1981 Bird's Nest 11 11-06 Andrew Turnell Bob Turnell 1982 Gay George 6 11-07 Bill Smith Fulke Walwyn 1983 Royal Vulcan 5 11-13 Peter Scudamore Neville Callaghan 1984 Rushmoor 6 10-13 Peter Scudamore Ray Peacock 1985 Sailor's Dance 5 11-01 Jimmy Duggan Fred Winter 1986 River Ceiriog 5 10-09 Steve Smith Eccles Nicky Henderson 1987 Positive 5 10-08 Paul Croucher Kim Bailey 1988 Pat's Jester 5 11-01 Brian Storey Dick Allan 1989 Aldino 6 12-00 Simon Sherwood Oliver Sherwood 1990 Sayparee 5 10-07 Jonothan Lower Martin Pipe 1991 Precious Boy 5 11-02 Lorcan Wyer Mike O'Neill 1992 Granville Again 6 11-10 Peter Scudamore Martin Pipe 1993 Staunch Friend 5 11-10 Adrian Maguire Mark Tompkins 1994 Corrouge 5 11-02 David Bridgwater Nigel Twiston-Davies 1995 Home Counties 6 11-02 James Moffatt Dudley Moffatt 1996 Alderbrook 7 11-07 Richard Dunwoody Kim Bailey 1997 Shadow Leader 6 10-05 Jamie Osborne Charles Egerton 1998 Blowing Wind 5 11-05 Richard Dunwoody Martin Pipe 1999 Fadalko 6 10-04 Richard Dunwoody Paul Nicholls 2000 Mister Morose 10 10-10 Tony McCoy Nigel Twiston-Davies 2001 Ulundi 6 10-04 Dean Gallagher Paul Webber 2002 Milligan 7 10-08 Norman Williamson Venetia Williams 2003 In Contrast 7 10-13 Richard Johnson Philip Hobbs 2004 Copeland 9 10-01 Jamie Moore Martin Pipe 2005 Genghis 6 10-11 Tony McCoy Peter Bowen 2006 Noble Request 5 10-09 Richard Johnson Philip Hobbs 2007 Emmpat 9 10-07 David Casey Charlie Swan 2008 Border Castle 7 09-13 Nick Scholfield Andrew Haynes 2009 Noble Alan 6 10-05 Davy Condon Nicky Richards 2010 Overturn 6 10-07 Timmy Murphy Donald McCain 2011 Sanctuaire 5 10-08 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls 2012 Raya Star 6 11-06 Robert Thornton Alan King 2013 Court Minstrel 6 10-09 Adam Wedge Evan Williams 2014 Cockney Sparrow 5 09-11 Dean Pratt John Quinn 2015 Cheltenian 9 10-13 Richard Johnson Philip Hobbs 2016 Ch'Tibello 5 11-01 Harry Skelton Dan Skelton 2017 Chesterfield 7 10-05 Daniel Sansom Seamus Mullins 2018 Midnight Shadow 5 10-04 Danny Cook Sue Smith 2019 Verdana Blue 7 11-03 Connor Brace Nicky Henderson no race 2020 2021 Milkwood 7 11-06 Sam Twiston-Davies Neil Mulholland 2022 Anna Bunina 6 10-04 Sean Bowen John McConnell 2023 Rubaud 5 10-11 Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls 2024 Favour And Fortune 6 11-02 Tom Cannon Alan King 2025 Cracking Rhapsody 6 11-05 Craig Nichol Ewan Whillans 2026 Dedicated Hero 7 10-06 Danny McMenamin Sandy Thomson
See also Horse racing in Scotland List of British National Hunt races
References
Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
pedigreequery.com – Scottish Champion Hurdle – Ayr.
1978 Scottish Champion Hurdle Ayr