International Hurdle
The International Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong (2 miles and 179 yards, or 3,382 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in December.
| Grade 2 race | |
| Location | Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham, England |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1963 |
| Race type | Hurdle race |
| Sponsor | Unibet |
| Website | Cheltenham |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 2m 179y (3,382 metres) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Four-years-old and up |
| Weight | 11 st 0 lb |
| Purse | £112,000 (2020) 1st: £63,784 |
| 2021 | ||
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| Guard Your Dreams | Song For Someone | Hunters Call |
| Previous years | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ||
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| Song For Someone | Silver Streak | Ballyandy |
| 2019 | ||
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| Call Me Lord | Ballyandy | Ch'tibello |
| 2018 | ||
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| Brain Power | Silver Streak | Western Ryder |
| 2017 | ||
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| My Tent Or Yours | The New One | Melon |
| 2016 | ||
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| The New One | My Tent Or Yours | Old Guard |
| 2015 | ||
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| Old Guard | Sempre Medici | Hargam |
| 2014 | ||
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| The New One | Vaniteux | Olofi |
| 2013 | ||
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| The New One | Zarkandar | Jumps Road |
| 2012 | ||
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| Zarkandar | Grandouet | Rock on Ruby |
| 2011 | ||
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| Grandouet | Overturn | Brampour |
| 2010-2001 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | ||
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| Menorah | Cue Card | Silviniaco Conti |
| 2009 | ||
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| Khyber Kim | Celestial Halo | Medermit |
| 2008 | ||
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| Binocular | Celestial Halo | Chomba Womba |
| 2007 | ||
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| Osana | Katchit | Penzance |
| 2006 | ||
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| Detroit City | Hardy Eustace | Crow Wood |
| 2005 | ||
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| Harchibald | Intersky Falcon | Faasel |
| 2004 | ||
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| Back in Front | Inglis Drever | Westender |
| 2003 | ||
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| Rigmarole | Davenport Milenium | Hasty Prince |
| 2002 | ||
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| Rooster Booster | Landing Light | Geos |
| 2000-1991 | ||
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| 2000 | ||
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| Geos | Barton | Mr Percy |
| 1999 | ||
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| Relkeel | Far Cry | Shooting Light |
| 1998 | ||
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| Relkeel | Grey Shot | Midnight Legend |
| 1997 | ||
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| Relkeel | Pridwell | Collier Bay |
| 1996 | ||
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| Large Action | Bimsey | Theatreworld |
| 1994 | ||
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| Large Action | Flakey Dove | Absalom's Lady |
| 1993 | ||
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| Staunch Friend | Halkopous | Muse |
| 1992 | ||
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| Halkopous | Granville Again | Morley Street |
| 1991 | ||
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| Royal Derbi | Nomadic Way | Ruling |
| 1990-1987 | ||
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| 1989 | ||
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| Cruising Altitude | Nomadic Way | Beech Road |
| 1988 | ||
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| Condor Pan | Floyd | Sprowston Boy |
| 1987 | ||
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| Pat's Jester | Aldino | Tom Sharp |
History
The event was established in 1963, and it was originally called the Cheltenham Trial Hurdle. The inaugural running was won by Scottish Memories, and in the following two years it was won by the Champion Hurdle winners Magic Court and Salmon Spray. Its title was changed to the Bula Hurdle in 1977, in honour of Bula, a dual-winner of the Champion Hurdle who was successful in this contest in 1972.
The first triple-winner of the Bula Hurdle was Bird's Nest, whose third victory came in 1980. This feat was matched in the late 1990s by Relkeel, a horse subsequently honoured by the naming of different race on the same card, the Relkeel Hurdle.
The online sportsbook StanJames.com sponsored the event for the first time in 2010. The International Hurdle is the second leg in the Road to Cheltenham, a Stan James sponsored series of top-class hurdles races culminating in the 2011 Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. The other two races are the Fighting Fifth Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle Trial. The race is now sponsored by Stan James's parent company, Unibet
The last horse to win both the International Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle in the same season was Rooster Booster in 2002–03.
Records
Most successful horse (3 wins):
- Birds Nest – 1977, 1978, 1980
- Relkeel – 1997, 1998, 1999
- The New One – 2013, 2014, 2016
Leading jockey (6 wins):
- Richard Johnson – Relkeel (1997, 1999), Rooster Booster (2002), Detroit City (2006), Menorah (2010), The New One (2016)
Leading trainer (6 wins):
- Nicky Henderson – Geos (2000), Binocular (2008), Grandouet (2011), My Tent Or Yours (2017), Brain Power (2018), Call Me Lord (2019)
Winners
| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Scottish Memories | 9 | Cathal Finnegan | Arthur Thomas |
| 1964 | Magic Court | 6 | Pat McCarron | Tommy Robson |
| 1965 | Salmon Spray | 7 | Johnny Haine | Bob Turnell |
| 1966 | Sempervivum | 8 | Willie Robinson | Fulke Walwyn |
| 1967 | Abandoned due to foot and mouth outbreak | |||
| 1968 | Solway Sands | 4 | Brian Fletcher | John McMurchie |
| 1969 | Celtic Gold | 7 | Stan Murphy | Arthur Stephenson |
| 1970 | Pendil [lower-alpha 1] | 5 | Paul Kelleway | Fred Winter |
| 1971 | Canasta Lad | 5 | Jeff King | Peter Bailey |
| 1972 | Bula | 7 | Paul Kelleway | Fred Winter |
| 1973 | Comedy of Errors | 6 | Bill Smith | Fred Rimell |
| 1974 | Comedy of Errors | 7 | Ken White | Fred Rimell |
| 1975 | Sea Pigeon | 5 | Jonjo O'Neill | Gordon W. Richards |
| 1976 | Abandoned due to frost | |||
| 1977 | Birds Nest | 7 | Andrew Turnell | Bob Turnell |
| 1978 | Birds Nest | 8 | Andrew Turnell | Bob Turnell |
| 1979 | Celtic Ryde | 4 | Martin O'Halloran | Peter Cundell |
| 1980 | Birds Nest | 10 | Andrew Turnell | Bob Turnell |
| no race 1981 [lower-alpha 2] | ||||
| 1982 | Ekbalco | 6 | Jonjo O'Neill | Roger Fisher |
| 1983 | Amarach | 5 | Jimmy Duggan | Roger Fisher |
| 1984 | Browne's Gazette | 6 | Ronnie Beggan[lower-alpha 3] | Monica Dickinson |
| 1985 | Corporal Clinger | 6 | Paul Leach | Martin Pipe |
| 1986 | Floyd | 6 | Colin Brown | David Elsworth |
| 1987 | Pat's Jester | 4 | Peter Niven | Dick Allan |
| 1988 | Condor Pan | 5 | Charlie Swan | Jim Bolger |
| 1989 | Cruising Altitude | 6 | Jamie Osborne | Oliver Sherwood |
| no race 1990 [lower-alpha 2] | ||||
| 1991 | Royal Derbi | 6 | Declan Murphy | Neville Callaghan |
| 1992 | Halkopous | 6 | Adrian Maguire | Mark Tompkins |
| 1993 | Staunch Friend | 5 | Declan Murphy | Mark Tompkins |
| 1994 | Large Action | 6 | Jamie Osborne | Oliver Sherwood |
| no race 1995 [lower-alpha 4] | ||||
| 1996 | Large Action | 8 | Jamie Osborne | Oliver Sherwood |
| 1997 | Relkeel | 8 | Richard Johnson | David Nicholson |
| 1998 | Relkeel | 9 | Adrian Maguire | David Nicholson |
| 1999 | Relkeel | 10 | Richard Johnson | Alan King |
| 2000 | Geos | 5 | Mick Fitzgerald | Nicky Henderson |
| 2001 | Valiramix [lower-alpha 5] | 5 | Tony McCoy | Martin Pipe |
| 2002 | Rooster Booster | 8 | Richard Johnson | Philip Hobbs |
| 2003 | Rigmarole | 5 | Robert Thornton | Paul Nicholls |
| 2004 | Back in Front | 7 | Davy Russell | Edward O'Grady |
| 2005 | Harchibald | 6 | Paul Carberry | Noel Meade |
| 2006 | Detroit City | 4 | Richard Johnson | Philip Hobbs |
| 2007 | Osana | 5 | Paddy Brennan | David Pipe |
| 2008 | Binocular [lower-alpha 6] | 4 | Tony McCoy | Nicky Henderson |
| 2009 | Khyber Kim | 7 | Paddy Brennan | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 2010 | Menorah | 5 | Richard Johnson | Philip Hobbs |
| 2011 | Grandouet | 4 | Barry Geraghty | Nicky Henderson |
| 2012 | Zarkandar | 5 | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls |
| 2013 | The New One | 5 | Sam Twiston-Davies | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 2014 | The New One | 6 | Sam Twiston-Davies | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 2015 | Old Guard | 4 | Sam Twiston-Davies | Paul Nicholls |
| 2016 | The New One | 8 | Richard Johnson | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 2017 | My Tent Or Yours | 10 | Barry Geraghty | Nicky Henderson |
| 2018 | Brain Power | 7 | Nico de Boinville | Nicky Henderson |
| 2019 | Call Me Lord | 6 | James Bowen | Nicky Henderson |
| 2020 | Song For Someone | 5 | Aidan Coleman | Tom Symonds |
| 2021 | Guard Your Dreams | 5 | Sam Twiston-Davies | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| no race 2022 [lower-alpha 7] | ||||
- Dondieu finished first in 1970, but was relegated to second place after a stewards' inquiry
- The race was abandoned in 1981 and 1990 because of snow
- amateur jockey
- The race was abandoned in 1995 due to frost
- The 2001 running took place at Newbury
- The 2008 edition was held at Ascot
- The 2022 race was abandoned due to frost