Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2024 Christmas Hurdle Preview
The Christmas Hurdle is run on Boxing Day at Kempton racecourse before the big one, the King George VI Chase. The race is a Grade 1 hurdle that is run over two miles at this right-handed track and is open to horses aged 4yo+. Epatante was the fifth winner of this race to go on to win the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, repeating the success of Lanzarote, Dawn Run, Kribensis and Faugheen.
Christmas Hurdle Information:
To see which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are tipping throughout the card that includes this race, head over to the Kempton tips on the day of the race, do they agree with the runners on the trend shortlist or are they predicting other runners? You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Other Principal Races at Kempton Racecourse section for links to these.
How competitive is the Christmas Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2017 when the race had an over-round of 109%. The race in 2019 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 121%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Christmas Hurdle, the over-round has been 113%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £113 which is bet.
Christmas Hurdle Trends:
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the Christmas Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 9 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -3.95. Remember to bookmark the racing tips page so you can get easy access to the OLBG racing picks daily.
When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 3:45.20 was set by Yanworth in 2016, which is the quickest time over that period, the runner was trained by Alan King and ridden by Barry Geraghty. The slowest winning time was set in 2012 when Darlan won in a time of 4:15.80, booked to ride was A P McCoy on this Nicky Henderson trained runner.
These are the top three quickest-run Christmas Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:
- Yanworth (3:45.20) in 2016
- Faugheen (3:46.30) in 2014
- Verdana Blue (3:46.90) in 2018
Christmas Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the Christmas Hurdle past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. The trainer of the horse at the time of winning the Christmas Hurdle as well as the jockey is also displayed along with the starting price the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 3:52.70 | Constitution Hill (GB) 6yo 11-10 1/12F | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2022 3:51.95 | Constitution Hill (GB) 5yo 11-10 1/7F | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2021 4:01.00 | Epatante (FR) 7yo 11-0 4/5F | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2020 3:47.30 | Silver Streak (IRE) 7yo 11-7 13/2 | Adam Wedge Evan Williams (GB) |
| 2019 3:55.25 | Epatante (FR) 5yo 11-0 2/1F | Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2018 3:46.90 | Verdana Blue (IRE) 6yo 11-0 11/2 | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2017 3:57.50 | Buveur DAir (FR) 6yo 11-7 2/11F | Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2016 3:45.20 | Yanworth (GB) 6yo 11-7 5/4F | Barry Geraghty Alan King (GB) |
| 2015 3:47.70 | Faugheen (IRE) 7yo 11-7 1/4F | R Walsh W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2014 3:46.30 | Faugheen (IRE) 6yo 11-7 4/11F | R Walsh W P Mullins (IRE) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Christmas Hurdle have been based:
- GB: 13 winners with an additional 18 placings from 108 runners
- IRE: 7 winners with an additional 2 placings from 10 runners
- FR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
- AUS: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
Christmas Hurdle Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Christmas Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Nicky Henderson who has won the race ten times with those ten winners coming from Binocular (2010 & 2011), Darlan (2012), My Tent Or Yours (2013), Buveur DAir (2017), Verdana Blue (2018), Epatante (2019 & 2021) and Constitution Hill (2022 & 2023). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Christmas Hurdle are Noel Meade (4 wins) and W P Mullins (2 wins). There is one trainer who has not had the best of times in the Christmas Hurdle, Paul Nicholls has sent a total of 16 runners to the race without recording any wins.
Here are some of the top Christmas Hurdle trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicky Henderson | 27-10-13 | -1.04 | -4.75 |
| Noel Meade | 5-4-5 | +19.23 | +12.24 |
| W P Mullins | 2-2-2 | +0.61 | +0.39 |
| Alan King | 7-1-2 | -4.75 | -3.72 |
| Nick Gifford | 4-1-1 | +1.50 | -0.19 |
| Evan Williams | 2-1-2 | +5.50 | +4.66 |
| C A Murphy | 1-1-1 | +1.50 | +0.94 |
| Paul Nicholls | 16-0-2 | -16.00 | -13.84 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 7-0-4 | -7.00 | -1.55 |
| Dan Skelton | 4-0-0 | -4.00 | -3.00 |
Christmas Hurdle Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Christmas Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Nico de Boinville who has won the race four times with those four winners coming from Verdana Blue (2018), Epatante (2021) and Constitution Hill (2022 & 2023).
Here are some of the top Christmas Hurdle jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nico de Boinville | 5-4-4 | +5.52 | +3.08 |
| Adam Wedge | 2-1-2 | +5.50 | +4.66 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 8-0-3 | -8.00 | -3.80 |
| Harry Cobden | 3-0-1 | -3.00 | -1.56 |
| Harry Skelton | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -2.00 |
| Paddy Brennan | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -3.00 |
| Jonathan Burke | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -3.00 |
| Aidan Coleman | 2-0-2 | -2.00 | -0.10 |
| Jeremiah McGrath | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | -2.00 |
| Daryl Jacob | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | -2.00 |
2024 Christmas Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 1, 4, 2, F, 3, 1, 1, 4, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, (1, PU), 2, 1, 1, 1
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well.
- 20 / 20 (58%) - No bigger than 10/1
- 20 / 20 (73%) - Not in a Cl2/Cl4-5 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (75%) - Had 4 - 15 placings (Non-Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (75%) - Highest Won is not LST/Cl2-5
- 20 / 20 (77%) - Break of 9 - 324 days (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (78%) - Fewer than 10 starts (Further)
- 20 / 20 (78%) - Had 3 - 9 wins (Hurdle)
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Achieved a TS of 121+ (Non-Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Achieved an RPR of 142+ (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Within the first 5 of the market
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Won within last 4 starts
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Achieved an RPR of 146+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Had 4 - 13 wins (Career)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Had 1 - 5 wins (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Had 1 - 8 wins (Trip)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Kempton racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Christmas Hurdle. if you are unaware of what trends and statistics are, how they can be used etc then head over to the OLBG Betting School and read this Stats And Trends article which will make everything much clearer.
Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the Christmas Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.
Christmas Hurdle Trend Analysis
The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +5.48 is when runners had 1 place in the past 30 days. The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran in a Class 2 when last winning, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-25.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Christmas Hurdle is Newcastle, there has been a total number of 7 winners of this race who ran at Newcastle last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out.
The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 16 winners from a total of 111 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 4 winners from a total of 9 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Christmas Hurdle:
- Blue Bresil (2 Wins)
- Enrique (2 Wins)
- Germany (2 Wins)
- No Risk At All (2 Wins)
- Perugino (2 Wins)
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Christmas Hurdle despite multiple attempts:
- Kayf Tara (0 Wins from 5 runners)
- Kings Theatre (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Jazz Messenger in 2006, winning for Noel Meade at odds of 10/1 under the guidance of Niall P Madden. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 12 winning favourites in the race. Whilst we wait for the 2024 Christmas Hurdle remember you can get daily racing predictions from the top racing tipsters on the best racing tipsters page.
Other Principal races at Kempton racecourse
Here are some other notable races at the Kempton racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.
Races in January
Races in February
Races in December
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Christmas Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners and Trends are at hand, Darren and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.
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