The Morebattle Hurdle is a Class 2 National Hunt handicap hurdle race open to horses aged four years or older. It is run in early March at Kelso Racecourse in the Scottish Borders over a distance of 2 miles and 51 yards; there are eight hurdles to be jumped.
Previously a handicap race, it was first run as a conditions contest in 1984. Jinxy Jack won four consecutive runnings of the race from 1990 to 1993 and went on to finish third in the 1994 renewal named in his honour. The 2010 running saw pre-race Champion Hurdle favourite Zaynar, trained by Nicky Henderson, beaten at starting odds of fourteen-to-one on in one of the shortest-price upsets ever in British horse racing. The race reverted to handicap status in 2021.
Winners Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer 1984 Hill's Guard 5 Andrew Stringer A Scott 1985 Browne's Gazette 7 Dermot Browne Monica Dickinson1986Abandoned due to snow 1987 Ballydurrow 10 Micky Hammond Roger Fisher 1988 Nohalmdun 7 Lorcan Wyer Peter Easterby 1989 Blazing Walker 5 Alan Merrigan Arthur Stephenson 1990 Jinxy Jack 6 Neale Doughty Gordon W. Richards 1991 Jinxy Jack 7 Neale Doughty Gordon W. Richards 1992 Jinxy Jack 8 Neale Doughty Gordon W. Richards 1993 Jinxy Jack 9 Neale Doughty Gordon W. Richards 1994 Grey Power 7 Peter Niven Mary Reveley 1995 Large Action 7 Jamie Osborne Oliver Sherwood1996Abandoned due to frost and snow 1997 Direct Route 6 Paul Carberry J Howard Johnson 1998 Marello 7 Peter Niven Mary Reveley 1999 Caulker 6 Scott Taylor Maurice Barnes 2000 Kathryn's Pet 7 Alan Dempsey Mary Reveley2001Abandoned due to frost2002Abandoned due to frost2003Abandoned due to snow 2004 Chivalry 5 Graham Lee J Howard Johnson 2005 Kimbambo 7 G Berridge J P L Ewart 2006 Culcabock 6 Dougie Costello Lucinda Russell 2007 Brave Vision 11 E Whillans A C Whillans 2008 Bywell Beau 9 Jan Faltejsek G A Charlton2009Abandoned due to frost 2010 Quwetwo 7 Wilson Renwick J Howard Johnson 2011 Peddlers Cross 6 Jason Maguire Donald McCain 2012 Simonsig 6 Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson 2013 Duke of Navan 5 Brian Harding Nicky Richards 2014 Runswick Royal 5 Brian Hughes Ann Hamilton 2015 Glingerburn 7 Brian Harding Nicky Richards 2016 Top Notch 5 Daryl Jacob Nicky Henderson 2017 Cyrus Darius 8 Brian Hughes Malcolm Jefferson 2018 Cyrus Darius 9 Brian Hughes Ruth Jefferson 2019 We Have A Dream 5 Daryl Jacob Nicky Henderson2020Abandoned due to waterlogging 2021 The Shunter 8 Alain Cawley Emmet Mullins 2022 Cormier 6 Sean Quinlan Brian Ellison 2023 Benson 8 Ryan Mania Sandy Thomson 2024 Cracking Rhapsody 5 Craig Nicol Ewan Williams 2025 Cracking Rhapsody 6 Craig Nicol Ewan Williams 2026 Captain Hugo 6 Sean Houlihan Philip Hobbs & Johnson White
See also Horse racing in Great Britain List of British National Hunt races
References
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