| Location | Kempton Park, Sunbury, England |
|---|---|
| Race type | Hurdle race |
| Sponsor | William Hill |
| Website | Kempton Park |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 2 miles (3,219 metres) |
| Track | Turf, right-handed |
| Qualification | Four-years-old and up |
| Weight | 11 st 7 lb Allowances 7 lb for fillies and mares |
| Purse | £65,000 (2011) 1st: £37,017.50 |
The Christmas Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year during the King George VI Chase meeting on Boxing Day.
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During the 1960s Kempton staged a 2-mile handicap race on Boxing Day called the Kempton Park Handicap Hurdle. Its winners included Salmon Spray and Saucy Kit – both subsequent winners of the Champion Hurdle. The race was abandoned in 1967 and 1968, and it returned in the guise of the Christmas Hurdle in 1969.
Three winners of the race in its present format have gone on to victory in the Champion Hurdle. The first was Lanzarote, the winner of the latter event in 1974, and the others are Dawn Run (1983–84) and Kribensis (1989–90).
The race has served as the second leg of the WBX Hurdling Triple Crown since 2006. This is a bonus scheme which offers a prize of £1,000,000 to any horse which wins the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, the Christmas Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle in the same season. [1]
Most successful horse since 1969 (2 wins):
Leading jockey since 1969 (3 wins):
Leading trainer since 1969 (4 wins):
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
| 1969 | Coral Diver | 4 | Terry Biddlecombe | Fred Rimell |
| no race 1970 [1] | ||||
| 1971 | Coral Diver | 6 | Terry Biddlecombe | Fred Rimell |
| 1972 | Canasta Lad | 6 | Jeff King | Peter Bailey |
| 1973 | Lanzarote | 5 | Richard Pitman | Fred Winter |
| 1974 | Tree Tangle | 5 | Andrew Turnell | Bob Turnell |
| 1975 | Lanzarote | 7 | John Francome | Fred Winter |
| 1976 | Dramatist | 5 | Bill Smith | Fulke Walwyn |
| 1977 | Beacon Light | 6 | Andrew Turnell | Bob Turnell |
| 1978 | Kybo | 5 | Bob Champion | Josh Gifford |
| 1979 | Bird's Nest [2] | 9 | Andrew Turnell | Bob Turnell |
| 1980 | Celtic Ryde | 5 | John Francome | Peter Cundell |
| no race 1981 [3] | ||||
| 1982 | Ekbalco | 6 | Jonjo O'Neill | Roger Fisher |
| 1983 | Dawn Run | 5 | Jonjo O'Neill | Paddy Mullins |
| 1984 | Browne's Gazette | 6 | Dermot Browne | Monica Dickinson |
| 1985 | Aonoch | 6 | Jimmy Duggan | Sally Oliver |
| 1986 | Nohalmdun | 5 | Peter Scudamore | Peter Easterby |
| 1987 | Osric | 5 | Graham McCourt | Mick Ryan |
| 1988 | Kribensis | 4 | Richard Dunwoody | Michael Stoute |
| 1989 | Kribensis | 5 | Richard Dunwoody | Michael Stoute |
| 1990 | Fidway | 5 | Steve Smith Eccles | Tim Thomson Jones |
| 1991 | Gran Alba | 5 | Graham McCourt | Richard Hannon |
| 1992 | Mighty Mogul | 5 | Richard Dunwoody | David Nicholson |
| 1993 | Muse | 6 | Mark Richards | David Elsworth |
| 1994 | Absalom's Lady | 6 | Paul Holley | David Elsworth |
| no race 1995–96 [4] | ||||
| 1997 | Kerawi | 4 | Carl Llewellyn | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 1998 | French Holly | 7 | Andrew Thornton | Ferdy Murphy |
| 1999 | Dato Star | 8 | Lorcan Wyer | Malcolm Jefferson |
| 2000 | Geos | 5 | Mick Fitzgerald | Nicky Henderson |
| 2001 | Landing Light | 6 | Mick Fitzgerald | Nicky Henderson |
| 2002 | Intersky Falcon | 5 | Charlie Swan | Jonjo O'Neill |
| 2003 | Intersky Falcon | 6 | Liam Cooper | Jonjo O'Neill |
| 2004 | Harchibald | 5 | Paul Carberry | Noel Meade |
| 2005 | Feathard Lady [5] | 5 | Ruby Walsh | Colm Murphy |
| 2006 | Jazz Messenger | 6 | Niall Madden | Noel Meade |
| 2007 | Straw Bear | 6 | Tony McCoy | Nick Gifford |
| 2008 | Harchibald | 9 | Paul Carberry | Noel Meade |
| 2009 | Go Native | 6 | Davy Condon | Noel Meade |
| 2010 | Binocular [6] | 7 | Tony McCoy | Nicky Henderson |
| 2011 | Binocular | 7 | Tony McCoy | Nicky Henderson |
1 The 1970 running was abandoned because of snow.
2 Celtic Ryde finished first in 1979, but he was relegated to second place after a stewards' inquiry.
3 The race was abandoned in 1981 because of frost.
4 It was cancelled in 1995 due to snow and frost, and in 1996 due to frost.
5 The race was switched to Sandown Park in 2005 as Kempton was closed for redevelopment.
6 The "2010" race was run on January 15, 2011, after Kempton Park's 2010 Boxing Day meeting was cancelled due to snow and frost.