The 1996 Champion Hurdle was a horse race held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Tuesday 12 March 1996. It was the 67th running of the Champion Hurdle.
The winner was Wally Sturt's Collier Bay, a six-year-old bay gelding trained in Wiltshire by Jim Old and ridden by Graham Bradley. Collier Bay's victory was a first in the race for jockey, trainer and owner.
Collier Bay, had been unsuccessful flat racer, who had become a good handicapper over hurdles before emerging as a potential champion by defeating Danoli in the Irish Champion Hurdle in January. Starting the 9/1 fourth choice in the betting, he won the Champion Hurdle by two and a half lengths from Alderbrook, the 1995 winner who started the 10/11 favourite. Fourteen of the sixteen runners completed the course.
Race details Sponsor: Smurfit Purse: £208,992; First prize: £127,966 Going: Good to Soft Distance: 2 miles 110 yards Number of runners: 16 Winner's time: 3m 59.00
Full result Pos. Marg. Horse (bred) Age Jockey Trainer (Country) Odds 1 Collier Bay (GB) 6 Graham Bradley Jim Old (GB) 9/1 2 2½ Alderbrook (GB) 7 Richard Dunwoody Kim Bailey (GB) 10/11 fav 3 6 Pridwell (GB) 6 Chris Maude Martin Pipe (GB) 33/1 4 1¾ Danoli (IRE) 8 Tommy Treacy Tom Foley (IRE) 5/1 5 1 Squire Silk (GB) 7 Jason Titley Andy Turnell (GB) 20/1 6 1¼ Mysilv (GB) 6 Jamie Osborne Charles Egerton (GB) 7/1 7 4 Boro Eight (GB) 10 Richard Johnson Venetia Williams (GB) 100/1 8 1½ Staunch Friend (USA) 8 Peter Niven Mark Tompkins (GB) 66/1 9 11 Hotel Minella (GB) 9 Charlie Swan Aidan O'Brien (IRE) 10/1 10 5 Land Afar (GB) 9 Mick Fitzgerald Paul Webber (GB) 25/1 11 8 Chief Minister (IRE) 7 Tony Dobbin Thomas Dyer (GB) 100/1 12 18 Right Win (IRE) 6 Graham McCourt Richard Hannon, Sr. (GB) 25/1 13 13 Kissair (IRE) 5 Jonothon Lower Martin Pipe (GB) 66/1 14 4 Absalom's Lady (GB) 8 A. P. McCoy David Elsworth (GB) 66/1 PU Mack The Knife (GB) 7 David Bridgwater Martin Pipe (GB) 33/1 PU Muse (GB) 9 Paul Holley David Elsworth (GB) 100/1 Abbreviations: nse = nose; nk = neck; hd = head; dist = distance; UR = unseated rider; PU = pulled up; LFT = left at start; SU = slipped up; BD = brought down
Winner's details Further details of the winner, Collier Bay Sex: Gelding Foaled: 21 January 1990 Country: United Kingdom Sire: Green Desert; Dam: Cockatoo Island (High Top) Owner: Wally Sturt Breeder: Stanley Estate and Stud
References