JCB Triumph Hurdle

The JCB Triumph Hurdle kicks off proceedings on the final day of action at the Cheltenham Festival. It is a Grade hurdle for novices, run over an approximate distance of 2 miles and 1 furlong. There is a total of eight hurdles to be jumped. The race has a very similar profile to the Supreme Novices Hurdle, however the Triumph is exclusively for juveniles. Only horses aged four years can compete in the race, and it is therefore considered one of the leading fixtures in the National Hunt calendar to be contested by juveniles only.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Triumph Hurdle winners of recent years has been dominated by the leading trainers. In the last eight years we have seen Paul Nicholls, Nicky Henderson, Alan King and Philip Hobbs all claim victory twice with their juveniles. Nicky Henderson is the leading trainer in the history of the Triumph, having won the race five times, including success in 2009 and 2010 with Zaynar and Soldatino respectively. Many horses take their chance in this race before going on to compete in the Champion Hurdle. Several horses have been able to win both races, mostly recently the Alan King trained Katchit, who won the 2007 Triumph Hurdle before going on to win the Champion Hurdle the following year.

There has only been one favourite to win the Triumph Hurdle in the last six renewals, however it still pays to keep the focus at the top end of the market. Each of the last six winners were in the top four of the betting and the biggest starting price of the six was 6/1. The other betting trends indicate that the winner will have had a successful campaign leading up to the festival.

Triumph Hurdle 2012 – Picking The Winner

This year’s JCB Triumph Hurdle has taken shape nicely with many of the leading contenders having set down their markers. The top three is headed by Baby Mix, Sadler’s Risk and Grumeti. The latter two have been impressive enough but arguably lack any huge substance to their form. Baby Mix, however, put down a serious claim when beating the well regarded Hinterland in very impressive style. Hinterland still remains fairly prominent at the front of the market and the Paul Nicholls trained horse is joined by stablemate Ranjaan. The trainer of last year’s winner Zarkandar also has Dildar, who has yet to race but the vibe is he could be a big threat. Urbain De Sivola, who was most impressive when beating Ranjaan, appeals as a horse that has been overlooked by some in the market.

With these juveniles having plenty of improvement to come the market can fluctuate a fair amount as has been seen recently. There will certainly be further changes with several of the market principals having only had one run, whilst some have yet to even make their debut over hurdles. Many of the horses have prices that are based on their trainer and reputation and still need to prove their credentials before being considered realistic winners.

Zarkandar Triumphs In Strong 2011 Running

In a thrilling 2011 Triumph Hurdle the top four in the market where to occupy the first four spots in what has subsequently proved to be a top class renewal. The race was won by Zarkandar who traveled with real strength and took up the lead before the last jump, always having enough left to see off the challengers. He took another Grade 1 at Aintree and has a 100% record over hurdles. We are likely to see the talented horse soon and trainer Paul Nicholls has stated he will be his Champion Hurdle horse for this year’s Cheltenham Festival.

Back in second was the wonderfully talented filly Unaccompanied. She has really added foundation to the form of the race, winning a listed event at Naas before taking Grade 1 glory in the Istabraq Festival Hurdle, beating the high class Thousand Stars and Oscars Well. Third-placed in the Triumph was Grandouet who again has really enhanced the form of the race. He fell on his reappearance at Wincanton when looking all over the winner, however a confidence boosting win at Haydock was backed up by a taking win in the Grade 2 StanJames.com International Hurdle. He beat several useful types in the race, including the durable Overturn.

With many really useful looking types set to compete in the 2012 Triumph Hurdle it will be great if we can find several more top class types like the the 2011 produced.