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.
2026 Irish Champion Hurdle Preview
Scheduled to take place in late January or early February of each year at the Leopardstown racecourse is the Irish Champion Hurdle. The inaugural running of the Irish Champion Hurdle was in 1950 when ten-year-old Hatton's Grace won the race for Vincent O'Brien.
The race is open to runners aged four years or older and is run over a distance of two miles where eight hurdles are jumped. The race is part of the two-day Dublin Racing Festival.
Irish Champion Hurdle Information:
- Irish Champion Hurdle Past Winners
- Irish Champion Hurdle Trainer Statistics
- Irish Champion Hurdle Jockey Statistics
We also have a dedicated Leopardstown tips page that will cover this race as well as all of the other races on the day of the race, see which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are predicting to win this race and the others on the cards. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Races Covered during the Dublin Racing Festival section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Irish Champion Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2024 when the race had an over-round of 107%. The race in 2020 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 127%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Irish Champion Hurdle, the over-round has been 113%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £113 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Irish Champion Hurdle Trends, see which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal, we also have a section that looks at the Irish Champion Hurdle Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Irish Champion Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:
- Petit Mouchoir (3:41.30) in 2017
- Apples Jade (3:44.60) in 2019
- Honeysuckle (3:49.30) in 2020
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 Irish Champion Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 8 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -0.03. Ahead of the 2026 Irish Champion Hurdle why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today?
Over the last 20 renewals, it was Petit Mouchoir, trained by Henry De Bromhead and ridden by David Mullins who set the fastest winning time in the Irish Champion Hurdle, the runner won the race in a time of 3:41.30 when winning the race in 2017. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Henry De Bromhead and jockey Rachael Blackmore with Honeysuckle who set the slowest winning time, the race-winning time was 4:06.20 in the 2022 renewal.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
Irish Champion Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the Irish Champion 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 horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Irish Champion Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 4:02.10 | State Man (FR) 8yo 11-12 5/4 | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2024 4:01.00 | State Man (FR) 7yo 11-12 2/5F | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2023 3:52.50 | State Man (FR) 6yo 11-12 6/5F | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2022 4:06.20 | Honeysuckle (GB) 8yo 11-5 1/5F | Rachael Blackmore Henry De Bromhead (IRE) |
| 2021 4:01.50 | Honeysuckle (GB) 7yo 11-5 10/11F | Rachael Blackmore Henry De Bromhead (IRE) |
| 2020 3:49.30 | Honeysuckle (GB) 6yo 11-3 8/11F | Rachael Blackmore Henry De Bromhead (IRE) |
| 2019 3:44.60 | Apples Jade (FR) 7yo 11-3 8/11F | Jack Kennedy Gordon Elliott (IRE) |
| 2018 4:00.90 | Supasundae (GB) 8yo 11-10 8/1 | Robbie Power Mrs John Harrington (IRE) |
| 2017 3:41.30 | Petit Mouchoir (FR) 6yo 11-10 9/10F | David Mullins Henry De Bromhead (IRE) |
| 2016 3:54.00 | Faugheen (IRE) 8yo 11-10 30/100F | R Walsh W P Mullins (IRE) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Irish Champion Hurdle have been based:
- IRE: 20 winners with an additional 21 placings from 114 runners
- GB: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 5 runners
Irish Champion Hurdle Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Irish Champion Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is W P Mullins who has won the race nine times with those nine winners coming from Hurricane Fly (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015), Faugheen (2016) and State Man (2023, 2024 & 2025). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Irish Champion Hurdle are Henry De Bromhead (5 wins) and C A Murphy (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Irish Champion 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| W P Mullins | 37-9-14 | -21.77 | -9.98 |
| Henry De Bromhead | 10-5-7 | +1.07 | +1.29 |
| C A Murphy | 6-2-3 | -0.05 | -0.96 |
| Gordon Elliott | 11-1-4 | -9.27 | -5.24 |
| Mrs John Harrington | 10-1-5 | -1.00 | +2.11 |
| C Byrnes | 2-1-2 | -0.17 | +0.39 |
| Noel Meade | 6-0-2 | -6.00 | -3.65 |
| Edward P Harty | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | -1.00 |
| Sabrina J Harty | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | -2.00 |
| Eoin Griffin | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | -2.00 |
Irish Champion Hurdle Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Irish Champion Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Paul Townend who has won the race four times with those four winners coming from Hurricane Fly (2011) and State Man (2023, 2024 & 2025). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the Irish Champion Hurdle is Rachael Blackmore (3 wins).
Here are some of the top Irish Champion 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Townend | 14-4-8 | -6.71 | -3.07 |
| Rachael Blackmore | 6-3-4 | -1.16 | -0.19 |
| Jack Kennedy | 3-1-3 | -1.27 | +1.46 |
| Danny Mullins | 6-0-1 | -6.00 | -2.50 |
| Mark Walsh | 6-0-0 | -6.00 | -5.00 |
| Sean Flanagan | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -3.00 |
| Mr P W Mullins | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -3.00 |
| Sean O'Keeffe | 1-0-1 | -1.00 | +4.50 |
| Jonathan Moore | 1-0-1 | -1.00 | +1.50 |
| M P Fogarty | 1-0-0 | -1.00 | -1.00 |
2026 Irish Champion Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 2, (2, 3), 4, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, F
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 (51%) - Within the first 3 of the market
- 20 / 20 (55%) - No bigger than 9/1
- 20 / 20 (68%) - No bigger than 7/1 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (74%) - Placed within last 2 starts
- 20 / 20 (76%) - Not on GS/GF/FM/STD (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (76%) - Had 2 - 5 placings (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (76%) - Achieved an RPR of 141+ (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (76%) - Furthest ran 2m2f - 3m½f
- 20 / 20 (77%) - Achieved an RPR of 151+ (Career)
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Highest Won is not G2/LST/Cl2-3
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Fewer than 4 races (180 Days)
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Had 5 - 25 placings (Non-Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Not in a LST/Cl2-4 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Ran in 2 - 7 races (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Achieved a TS of 105+ (Last 3)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Leopardstown racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Irish Champion Hurdle. Did you know that we have an OLBG Betting School section on OLBG? It is a place to help you improve your betting experience with articles covering numerous topics.
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 Irish Champion Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.
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Irish Champion Hurdle Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +4.59 is when runners had 2 season starts.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 1 career win over further, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-27.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Irish Champion Hurdle is Leopardstown, there has been a total number of 13 winners of this race who ran at Leopardstown last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Fairyhouse, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Fairyhouse 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 105 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 4 winners from a total of 14 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Irish Champion Hurdle:
- Montjeu (5 Wins)
- Doctor Dino (3 Wins)
- Sulamani (3 Wins)
- Good Thyne (2 Wins)
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have been disappointed with multiple attempts but no wins in the Irish Champion Hurdle, that stallion is Authorized who has failed to produce a winner from 5 runners.
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Hardy Eustace in 2007, winning for D T Hughes at odds of 9/1 under the guidance of Conor O'Dwyer. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 15 winning favourites in the race. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Irish Champion Hurdle remember you can get daily racing predictions from the top racing tipsters on the best racing tipsters page.
Route to the Irish Champion Hurdle
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Irish Champion Hurdle, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - State Man Leopardstown - 3rd of 6 (4/9) | Neville Hotels Hurdle |
| 2024 - State Man Leopardstown - 1st of 4 (4/7) | Matheson Hurdle |
| 2023 - State Man Leopardstown - 1st of 5 (4/6) | Matheson Hurdle |
| 2022 - Honeysuckle Fairyhouse - 1st of 8 (2/5) | Hattons Grace Hurdle |
| 2021 - Honeysuckle Fairyhouse - 1st of 6 (4/11) | Hattons Grace Hurdle |
| 2020 - Honeysuckle Fairyhouse - 1st of 6 (19/10) | Hattons Grace Hurdle |
| 2019 - Apples Jade Leopardstown - 1st of 7 (8/13) | Irish Christmas Hurdle |
| 2018 - Supasundae Leopardstown - 2nd of 6 (7/1) | Irish Christmas Hurdle |
| 2017 - Petit Mouchoir Leopardstown - 1st of 5 (6/1) | Ryanair Hurdle |
| 2016 - Faugheen Kempton - 1st of 5 (1/4) | Christmas Hurdle |
Races Covered during the Dublin Racing Festival
Remember to head over to the Leopardstown predictions page to see which runner the racing tipsters are supporting in the Irish Champion Hurdle and don't forget we also cover the following races at the Dublin Racing Festival.
| Races - Day 1 (Saturday) | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Cygnet Novice Hurdle | Final Demand (IRE) 6yo - 11/8 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| Irish Arkle Novice Chase | Majborough (FR) 5yo - 8/11 | W P Mullins Mark Walsh |
| Irish Gold Cup | Galopin Des Champs (FR) 9yo - 1/2 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| Spring Juvenile Hurdle | Hello Neighbour (IRE) 4yo - 85/40 | Gavin Cromwell Keith Donoghue |
| Races - Day 2 (Sunday) | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Dublin Chase | Solness (FR) 7yo - 6/1 | Joseph Patrick O'Brien Danny Mullins |
| Irish Champion Hurdle | State Man (FR) 8yo - 5/4 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| Ladbrokes Novice Chase | Ballyburn (IRE) 7yo - 8/13 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| Leopardstown Handicap Chase | Backtonormal (IRE) 7yo - 11/4 | Gavin Cromwell Conor Stone-Walsh |
| Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle | Kopek Des Bordes (FR) 5yo - 4/5 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| Timeless Sash Windows Handicap Hurdle | McLaurey (IRE) 6yo - 3/1 | Emmet Mullins Mark Walsh |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Irish Champion Hurdle Preview are at hand, Andy and Darren. 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 International racing.
Darren Brett
Tipster Competition Manager
Andy Powell
Content Editor
