| Location | Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham, England |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1920 |
| Race type | Hurdle race |
| Website | Cheltenham |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 2m 1f (3,420 metres) |
| Track | Turf, left-handed |
| Qualification | Five-years-old and up |
| Weight | Handicap |
| Purse | £75,000 (2010) 1st: £42,758 |
The Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle is a Grade 3 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong (3,420 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
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The County Hurdle was established in 1920, and its inaugural winner was Trespasser, ridden by George Duller. Its title now honours Vincent O'Brien, an Irish racehorse trainer who retired in 1994. During his career O'Brien recorded a total of twenty-three victories at the Cheltenham Festival, and his name was added to the title of this event in 1995.
For many years the County Hurdle was traditionally the last race to be run at the Festival. However, a new running order was announced ahead of the 2009 meeting, and it is now the second race on the final day.
Most successful horse since 1946:
Leading jockey since 1946 (4 wins):
Leading trainer since 1946 (3 wins):
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Weight |
Jockey |
Trainer |
| 1946 | Vidi | 5 | 11-10 | Don Butchers | Reg Hobbs |
| no race 1947 [1] | |||||
| 1948 | Cape Light | 5 | 11-01 | Joe Maguire | Ivor Anthony |
| no race 1949 [2] | |||||
| 1950 | Blue Raleigh | 7 | 10-00 | Jimmy Power | Bobby Renton |
| 1951 | Southwick | 7 | 10-03 | George Spann | J. Whiting |
| 1952 | Ballymacan | 5 | 10-12 | Bryan Marshall | Neville Crump |
| 1953 | Teapot II | 8 | 12-07 | Pat Taaffe | Clem Magnier |
| 1954 | Bold Baby | 8 | 12-00 | Paddy Powell | Michael Dawson |
| no race 1955 [2] | |||||
| 1956 | Pommel | 9 | 10-11 | Steve Boddy | John Waugh |
| 1957 | Flaming East | 8 | 10-05 | Peter Pickford | Ricky Vallance |
| 1958 | Friendly Boy | 6 | 10-05 | Liam Brennan | Joe Osborne |
| 1959 | Approval | 13 | 11-02 | Derek Leslie | Syd Mercer |
| 1960 | Albergo | 6 | 12-05 | Doug Page | Clem Magnier |
| 1961 | Most Unusual | 6 | 10-07 | Josh Gifford | Bill Ransom |
| 1962 | Sky Pink | 5 | 10-11 | Fred Winter | Ryan Price |
| 1963 | Bahrain | 6 | 10-06 | Tommy Carberry | Dan Moore |
| 1964 | Icy Wonder | 5 | 10-02 | Jeff King | Vernon Cross |
| 1965 | Mayfair Bill | 6 | 10-04 | Andrew Turnell | Bob Turnell |
| 1966 | Roaring Twenties | 6 | 11-02 | George Milburn | Ken Oliver |
| 1967 | Cool Alibi | 5 | 10-09 | Roddy Reid | Rodney Bower |
| 1968 | Jolly Signal | 6 | 10-11 | Jimmy Uttley | Earl Jones |
| 1969 | Gay Knight | 5 | 10-03 | Aly Branford | Les Kennard |
| 1970 | Khan | 6 | 09-11 | Lord Petersham | Delmer Harty |
| 1971 | Carry Off | 7 | 10-01 | David Goulding | Nigel Angus |
| 1972 | Cold Day | 6 | 10-08 | Ron Hyett | Katie Gaze |
| 1973 | Current Romance | 7 | 10-07 | David Nicholson | Frenchie Nicholson |
| 1974 | True Song | 5 | 11-02 | Gary Old | Donald Underwood |
| no race 1975 [3] | |||||
| 1976 | Java Fox | 6 | 10-01 | Mr George Jones | Roy Cambidge |
| 1977 | Kilcoleman | 5 | 10-07 | Tommy Kinane | Billy Boyers |
| no race 1978 [3] | |||||
| 1979 | Monte Ceco | 6 | 10-12 | Colin Tinkler | Fred Rimell |
| 1980 | Prince of Bermuda | 5 | 10-00 | Steve Knight | Bob Turnell |
| 1981 | Staplestown | 6 | 10-07 | Tommy Ryan | Edward O'Grady |
| 1982 | Path of Peace | 6 | 10-06 | Jonjo O'Neill | Chris Thornton |
| 1983 | Robin Wonder | 5 | 10-03 | Jeff Davies | David Elsworth |
| 1984 | Hill's Guard | 5 | 10-11 | Andrew Stringer | Andrew Scott |
| 1985 | Floyd | 5 | 10-05 | Colin Brown | David Elsworth |
| 1986 | Jobroke | 6 | 10-03 | Jonjo O'Neill | Peter Easterby |
| 1987 | Neblin | 8 | 11-00 | Richard Guest | Toby Balding |
| 1988 | Cashew King | 5 | 10-04 | Trevor Wall | Bryan McMahon |
| 1989 | Willsford | 6 | 10-08 | Michael Bowlby | Jenny Pitman |
| 1990 | Moody Man | 5 | 11-02 | Peter Hobbs | Philip Hobbs |
| 1991 | Winnie the Witch | 7 | 09-08 | David Bridgwater | Ken Bridgwater |
| 1992 | Dusty Miller | 6 | 10-06 | Jamie Osborne | Simon Sherwood |
| 1993 | Thumbs Up | 7 | 10-02 | Richard Dunwoody | Nicky Henderson |
| 1994 | Dizzy | 6 | 10-00 | Tony Dobbin | Peter Monteith |
| 1995 | Home Counties | 6 | 10-12 | James Moffatt | Dudley Moffatt |
| 1996 | Star Rage | 6 | 10-00 | Dean Gallagher | Jimmy Harris |
| 1997 | Barna Boy | 9 | 10-12 | Richard Dunwoody | Nicky Henderson |
| 1998 | Blowing Wind | 5 | 11-08 | Tony McCoy | Martin Pipe |
| 1999 | Sir Talbot | 5 | 10-00 | Timmy Murphy | Jim Old |
| 2000 | Master Tern | 5 | 10-03 | Tony Dobbin | Jonjo O'Neill |
| no race 2001 [4] | |||||
| 2002 | Rooster Booster | 8 | 11-01 | Richard Johnson | Philip Hobbs |
| 2003 | Spirit Leader | 7 | 11-07 | Barry Geraghty | Jessica Harrington |
| 2004 | Sporazene | 5 | 10-13 | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls |
| 2005 | Fontanesi | 5 | 10-00 | Timmy Murphy | Martin Pipe |
| 2006 | Desert Quest | 6 | 10-10 | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls |
| 2007 | Pedrobob | 9 | 10-00 | Philip Carberry | Tony Mullins |
| 2008 | Silver Jaro | 5 | 10-13 | Noel Fehily | Tom Hogan |
| 2009 | American Trilogy | 5 | 11-00 | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls |
| 2010 | Thousand Stars | 6 | 10-05 | Ms Katie Walsh | Willie Mullins |
| 2011 | Final Approach | 5 | 10-12 | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins |
1 The 1947 edition was abandoned because of snow and frost.
2 It was cancelled in 1949 due to frost, and in 1955 due to snow.
3 The race was abandoned in 1975 due to waterlogging, and in 1978 because of snow.
4 The 2001 running was cancelled because of a foot-and-mouth crisis.
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