World Hurdle

by Darren Brett
3 miles and 12 hurdles at a very decent pace. A specialists race which requires a unique type of horse to win.

World Hurdle Trends

10/10	returned an SP of 8/1 or less
10/10	finished first or second on all hurdle starts that season
10/10	had no more than four runs since August of that season
10/10	had won a Graded hurdle
9/10	had previously run at the Cheltenham Festival
8/10	had between eight and twenty runs over hurdles
8/10	were aged six to eight

World Hurdle Trends Analysis

Shocks are rare in this race with Anzum's 40/1 victory in 1999 something of a one off in recent years so its probably best to focus on the principles in the betting market.

Grade One Or Two winning form and Cheltenham Festival experience also look to be essential criteria and this should narrow the candidates down to a very manageable number.

No horse had won the World Hurdle three years in a row before Big Bucks smashed that record in 2011 but Paul Nicholls' wonder horse defied the stats men yet again when taking the Stayers Hurdle for the fourth consecutive year in 2012.

Unfortunately Big Bucks will not be able to defend his crown in 2013 so who will take over the World Hurdle from one fo the all time greats?

We should perhaps treat the trends for this race with caution given that seven of the years concerned relate to Big Bucks and Inglis Drever's winning years and it may be difficult for any of the new contenders to match up.

World Hurdle Last Ten Winners

Table below shows the last ten winners of the race, their age at the time of winning, trainer, jockey and odds (starting price).

Year	Horse	Age	Trainer	Jockey	Price
2013	Solwhit	8yo	C Byrnes	P Carberry	17/2
2012	Big Bucks	9yo	P Nicholls	R Walsh	5/6F
2011	Big Bucks	8yo	P Nicholls	R Walsh	10/11F
2010	Big Bucks	7yo	P Nicholls	R Walsh	5/6F
2009	Big Bucks	6yo	P Nicholls	R Walsh	4/11F
2008	Inglis Drever	9yo	JH Johnson	D ORegan	11/8F
2007	Inglis Drever	8yo	JH Johnson	P Brennan	5/1
2006	My Way De Solzen	6yo	A King	R Thornton	8/1
2005	Inglis Drever	6yo	JH Johnson	G Lee	5/1
2004	Iriss Gift	7yo	JJ ONeill	B Geraghty	9/2