Neha Patil (Editor)

International Hurdle

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Inaugurated
  
1963

Sponsor
  
StanJames.com

Distance
  
2m 1f (3,420 metres)

Race type
  
Hurdle race

Website
  
Cheltenham

Location
  
Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham, England

The StanJames.com International is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four 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. The race is scheduled to take place each year in December.

Contents

History

The event was established in 1963, and it was originally called the Cheltenham Trial Hurdle. The inaugural running was won by Scottish Memories, and in the following two years it was won by the Champion Hurdle winners Magic Court and Salmon Spray. Its title was changed to the Bula Hurdle in 1977, in honour of Bula, a dual-winner of the Champion Hurdle who was successful in this contest in 1972.

The first triple-winner of the Bula Hurdle was Bird's Nest, whose third victory came in 1980. This feat was matched in the late 1990s by Relkeel, a horse subsequently honoured by the naming of different race on the same card, the Relkeel Hurdle.

The online sportsbook StanJames.com sponsored the event for the first time in 2010. The StanJames.com International Hurdle is the second leg in the Road to Cheltenham, a Stan James sponsored series of top-class hurdles races culminating in the 2011 Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. The other two races are the Fighting Fifth Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle Trial.

The last horse to win both the International Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle in the same season was Rooster Booster in 2002–03.

Records

Most successful horse (3 wins):

  • Birds Nest – 1977, 1978, 1980
  • Relkeel – 1997, 1998, 1999
  • The New One – 2013, 2014, 2016

    • Leading jockey (6 wins):

  • Richard Johnson – Relkeel (1997, 1999), Rooster Booster (2002), Detroit City (2006), Menorah (2010), The New One (2016)

    • Leading trainer (4 wins):

  • Bob Turnell – Salmon Spray (1965), Bird's Nest (1977, 1978, 1980)
  • Nigel Twiston-Davies - Khyber Kim (2009), The New One (2013, 2014, 2016)

    • Winners

  • Amateur jockeys indicated by "Mr".

    • 1 Dondieu finished first in 1970, but was relegated to second place after a stewards' inquiry.
    2 The race was abandoned in 1981 and 1990 because of snow.
    3 The 2001 running took place at Newbury.
    4 The 2008 edition was held at Ascot.
    5 The race was abandoned in 1995 due to frost.

    References

    International Hurdle Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA