Champion Four Year Old Hurdle

Grade 1 race
Champion Four Year Old Hurdle

Location	Punchestown Co. Kildare, Ireland
Race type	Hurdle race
Sponsor	Airshow 100
Website	Punchestown
Race information
Distance	2 miles (3,219 metres)
Track	Turf, right-handed
Qualification	Four-year-olds
Weight	11 st 0 lb Allowances 5 lb for fillies
Purse	€90,000 (2010) 1st: €55,800

The Champion Four Year Old Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May.

The field usually includes horses which ran previously in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham, and the last to win both events was Katarino in 1999.

Records

Leading jockey since 1980 (3 wins):

• Charlie Swan – Shawiya (1993), Glenstal Flagship (1994), Topacio (2000)
• Mick Fitzgerald – Katarino (1999), Quatre Heures (2006), Punjabi (2007)

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Leading trainer since 1980 (4 wins):

• Paddy Mullins – Pearlstone (1980), Derrymore Boy (1986), Grabel (1987), Mounamara (1991)

Winners since 1980

• Amateur jockeys indicated by "Mr".

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer
1980	Pearlstone	Sean Treacy	Paddy Mullins
1981	Tie Anchor	Tom Morgan	Paddy Prendergast, Jr.
1982	Bustineto	Niall Madden	Mick O'Toole
1983	Grateful Heir	Mr Dermot Browne	Liam Browne
1984	Clarinbridge	Brian Nolan	Jim Bolger
1985	Atherstone	Pat Leech	Noel Meade
1986	Derrymore Boy	Tony Mullins	Paddy Mullins
1987	Grabel	Tony Mullins	Paddy Mullins
1988	Allen's Mistake	Brendan Sheridan	Dermot Weld
1989	Royal Derbi	Graham McCourt	Neville Callaghan
1990	Orbis	Tommy Carmody	Jim Bolger
1991	Mounamara	Tommy Carmody	Paddy Mullins
1992	Staunch Friend	Steve Smith Eccles	Mark Tompkins
1993	Shawiya	Charlie Swan	Michael O'Brien
1994	Glenstal Flagship	Charlie Swan	Aidan O'Brien
1995	Shaihar	Kevin O'Brien	Michael O'Brien
1996	Shaunies Lady	Tony McCoy	Aidan O'Brien
1997	Grimes	Conor O'Dwyer	Christy Roche
1998	Zafarabad	Richard Johnson	David Nicholson
1999	Katarino	Mick Fitzgerald	Nicky Henderson
2000	Topacio	Charlie Swan	Pat Hughes
2001	Holy Orders [1]	Ruby Walsh	Willie Mullins
2002	Quazar	Tony Dobbin	Jonjo O'Neill
2003	Sporazene	Ruby Walsh	Paul Nicholls
2004	Cherub	Tony Dobbin	Jonjo O'Neill
2005	United	Leighton Aspell	Lucy Wadham
2006	Quatre Heures	Mick Fitzgerald	Willie Mullins
2007	Punjabi	Mick Fitzgerald	Nicky Henderson
2008	Won in the Dark	Davy Russell	Sabrina Harty
2009	Jumbo Rio	Andrew J. McNamara	Edward O'Grady
2010	Barizan	Jason Maguire	Evan Williams
2011	Grandouet	Barry Geraghty	Nicky Henderson

¹ The 2001 running took place at Fairyhouse.

See also

• List of Irish National Hunt races

References

• Racing Post:
  • 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
  • 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
  • 2008, 2009, 2010, {{Racing Post|527876|2011|05|07))

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• pedigreequery.com – Punchestown Champion Four Year Old Hurdle – Punchestown.
• racenewsonline.co.uk – Racenews Archive (April 25, 2003).