Lanzarote Hurdle

The Lanzarote Hurdle is a 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 and 5 furlongs (4,225 metres), and during its running there are ten hurdles to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in January.

The event is named in memory of the racehorse Lanzarote (1968–1977), the winner of the Champion Hurdle in 1974. Lanzarote had a particularly good record in races at Kempton, and he twice won the track's leading hurdle event, the Christmas Hurdle. He finished his hurdling career with a total of 20 wins from 33 starts. After achieving a further three victories as a chaser, Lanzarote was made the second favourite to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1977. However, during that race he broke his near-hind leg and had to be euthanized.

For many years the distance of the Lanzarote Hurdle was set at 2 miles (3,219 metres), and there were eight hurdles to be jumped. The event was temporarily switched to Carlisle in 2006, and upon its return to Kempton in 2007 there was a substantial increase to its distance. Its regular length was extended by 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and there were an additional two hurdles to jump. In its analysis of that year's running, the Racing Post commented that this was: "In effect, a new race. Although run under the 'Lanzarote' handle, this was in no way the same race as the Lanzarote of old."

Winners since 1980

Year
 Winner
 Age
 Weight
 Jockey
 Trainer
1980 Danish King 6 10-03 Andrew Turnell Bob Turnell
1981 Walnut Wonder 6 10-06 Anthony Webber Les Kennard
1982 Knighthood 7 10-00 Steve Knight Bob Turnell
1983 Brave Hussar 5 10-07 Richard Rowe Josh Gifford
1984 Janus 6 11-01 Colin Brown Dina Smith
1985 no race 1985 [1]
1986 Prideaux Boy 8 11-00 Michael Bowlby Graham Roach
1987 Stray Short 9 09-10 Miss Gee Armytage Geoff Hubbard
1988 Fredcoteri 12 11-04 Micky Hammond George M. Moore
1989 Grey Salute 6 10-07 Richard Dunwoody John Jenkins
1990 Atlaal 5 10-03 Richard Dunwoody John Jenkins
1991 Star Season 7 10-03 N. Mann Richard Holder
1992 Egypt Mill Prince 6 10-13 Mark Pitman Jenny Pitman
1993 Tomahawk 6 10-00 Declan Murphy Pat Murphy
1994 Nijmegen 6 10-06 Jamie Osborne Jimmy FitzGerald
1995 Trying Again 7 11-10 Jamie Osborne David Gandolfo
1996 Warm Spell 6 11-02 Tony McCoy Gary L. Moore
1997 Make A Stand 6 10-03 Tony McCoy Martin Pipe
1998 Shahrur 5 10-09 John Kavanagh Gary L. Moore
1999 Tiutchev 6 11-02 Mick Fitzgerald David Nicholson
2000 Heart 7 10-06 Carl Rafter Henrietta Knight
2001 no race 2001
2002 Majlis 5 10-03 David Dennis Tom George
2003 Non So 5 11-05 John McNamara Nicky Henderson
2004 Limerick Boy 6 11-07 Sam Thomas Venetia Williams
2005 Crossbow Creek 7 10-08 Jim Crowley Mark Rimell
2006 Rayshan (DH) [2] 6 10-07 Miss Rose Davidson Nicky Richards
2006 Buck Whaley (DH) [2] 6 10-06 Noel Fehily Jonjo O'Neill
2007 Verasi 6 10-04 Eamon Dehdashti Gary L. Moore
2008 Nycteos 7 10-10 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls
2009 no race 2009 [3]
2010 Micheal Flips 6 10-11 Nick Scholfield Andrew Turnell
2011 James De Vassey 6 11-02 Will Kennedy Nick Williams

1 The 1985 running was abandoned because of snow and frost.
2 The race was switched to Carlisle in 2006 as Kempton was closed for redevelopment.
3 The 2009 edition was cancelled due to a frozen track.

References

See also