2026 Champion Hurdle

[Lobos]

Do we think CH being given the nod would definitely push Lossiemouth to the Mares ? I reckon it would. Him not turning up could be the decider the other way. Will be interested what happens to her price come the end of this week.

 

[riccirich]

Do we think CH being given the nod would definitely push Lossiemouth to the Mares ? I reckon it would. Him not turning up could be the decider the other way. Will be interested what happens to her price come the end of this week.

If mullins wants her in the mares, then it's something he could use as an excuse to go there I suppose.

I'd assume his true thinking though is he couldn't care less what con hill has done in a flat maiden And if it suits him and townend better to go for the champion then I don't think con hill has any bearing on it.

 

[Lobos]

If Lossiemouth did go Mares then PT would be left with a ride on Poniros or Anzadam in the CH......can't imagine him getting too excited over that.

 

[EnvoiAlien]

Do we think CH being given the nod would definitely push Lossiemouth to the Mares ? I reckon it would. Him not turning up could be the decider the other way. Will be interested what happens to her price come the end of this week.

Lossie out to 10's on BFX for the CH, money just keeps coming for her for the mares, she'll be 2.0 by the weekend if not sooner.
If the decision hasn't been made already then there's a lot of guessing going on.

 

[Carnage at Taunton]

Do we think CH being given the nod would definitely push Lossiemouth to the Mares ? I reckon it would. Him not turning up could be the decider the other way. Will be interested what happens to her price come the end of this week.

Might be more dependent on how many winners the trainer thinks he can get.
Don’t look as many as other years right now.

 

[Odddog]

That's NumberWang

 

[riccirich]

Lossie out to 10's on BFX for the CH, money just keeps coming for her for the mares, she'll be 2.0 by the weekend if not sooner.
If the decision hasn't been made already then there's a lot of guessing going on.

It'll be just people assuming con hill will frighten them off. She went out to 12s for the champion immediately after his win at Southwell, and started coming in for the mares.

 

[Rooster Booster]

It'll be just people assuming con hill will frighten them off. She went out to 12s for the champion immediately after his win at Southwell, and started coming in for the mares.

Yep for now it’s just gamblers gambling.

 

[Garrison Savannah]

I am afraid that I can't agree with this. There is something like a 1.5% fall rate in jumps racing - it has been somewhere between 1.5% and 2% for as long as I can remember. This is an acceptable risk to me as a fan of the sport. However, when any horse shows that its risk of falling is substantially higher than this then I think its encumbent upon the sport and its participants (including punters) to question whether it should be allowed to continue to participate. You may disagree whether 3 falls in 4 races is sufficient evidence but it should at least be up for debate.

I would question whether 3 falls in 4 races is sufficient statistical evidence. It isn’t is it, we all know that.

We also know, if anyone had the time or inclination we could find other horses in training who have had similar or worse, and who’s names haven’t been discussed in this or any other forum, racecourse, pub etc.

I’d also suggest connections have a far better understanding of whether the horse has an issue that it cannot be overcome when it comes to hurdles than you, I, or any other punter has.

I trust connections to make the right decision. If they choose not to run, they’re wrong of course. As are you.

*off to find a winky smiley thing of my own…*

 

[Brooksie]

That's NumberWang

We like those decimals Julie

 

[Lobos]

The Cheltenham Festival begins in three weeks and there remains a major question to answer – will Lossiemouth contest the Champion Hurdle or defend the Mares’ Hurdle?

Pricewise tipster Tom Segal believes Willie Mullins will run her in the Champion Hurdle on the basis that she represents his strongest possible contender in the race.

Segal said: “I think Lossiemouth will run in the Champion Hurdle. When Willie Mullins used to run Annie Power or Quevega in the Mares’, he had a proper option for the Champion Hurdle.

“The same applied last year when he had State Man, so Lossiemouth ran in the Mares’. This year he’s got nothing. He’s got Poniros and Anzadam – is he really going to sit out the Champion Hurdle with his best chance in the Mares’?”

Paul Kealy believes that if Lossiemouth opts for the Mares’, she will face a serious challenge from Wodhooh.

Kealy said: “Constitution Hill will play an important role. If he doesn’t go to Cheltenham, both Lossiemouth and Brighterdaysahead will be more inclined to run in the Champion Hurdle.

“I think Wodhooh is a genuine threat to Lossiemouth whether Brighterdaysahead runs in the Mares’ or the Champion. She’s looked very good and might be the one who’s improving. She’s more of a threat than when they met at Aintree last season and could very well beat her.”

Segal agreed, adding: “I think Wodhooh is an excellent mare and beating her may even be harder than winning a Champion Hurdle.”

 

[Pisto]

The Cheltenham Festival begins in three weeks and there remains a major question to answer – will Lossiemouth contest the Champion Hurdle or defend the Mares’ Hurdle?

Pricewise tipster Tom Segal believes Willie Mullins will run her in the Champion Hurdle on the basis that she represents his strongest possible contender in the race.

Segal said: “I think Lossiemouth will run in the Champion Hurdle. When Willie Mullins used to run Annie Power or Quevega in the Mares’, he had a proper option for the Champion Hurdle.

“The same applied last year when he had State Man, so Lossiemouth ran in the Mares’. This year he’s got nothing. He’s got Poniros and Anzadam – is he really going to sit out the Champion Hurdle with his best chance in the Mares’?”

Paul Kealy believes that if Lossiemouth opts for the Mares’, she will face a serious challenge from Wodhooh.

Kealy said: “Constitution Hill will play an important role. If he doesn’t go to Cheltenham, both Lossiemouth and Brighterdaysahead will be more inclined to run in the Champion Hurdle.

“I think Wodhooh is a genuine threat to Lossiemouth whether Brighterdaysahead runs in the Mares’ or the Champion. She’s looked very good and might be the one who’s improving. She’s more of a threat than when they met at Aintree last season and could very well beat her.”

Segal agreed, adding: “I think Wodhooh is an excellent mare and beating her may even be harder than winning a Champion Hurdle.”

Wodhooh is Gordys nap for the mares

 

[Pisto]

Surely this is the year for lossie to go churdle

 

[Wayward Lad]

So it’s D Day for whether Cons Hill runs in the CH or not…..

Putting the ‘should he or should he not’ discussion to one side and after watching so many people offer their opinions, whether emotive or logical, to the debate, I am thinking how did we ever get into a situation where a decision is taken after one schooling session this morning?

We have heard from connections that he is ‘normally such a good jumper’, ‘jumps fine at home’, ‘Nico is happy with him’ etc and then Yogi ‘Bear’ has been working on his jumping and ‘it’s all been going fine’ etc……so why is the decision not simple, made ages ago and say something like ‘CH 99% unless a problem with schooling’?

Then the big song and dance to go for a flat race, which still to this day I cant understand how this can have any bearing on his hurdling skill? …..‘it’ll improve his confidence’ blah blah……thought hurdling at race pace was the issue?…..a racecourse gallop with a couple of horses is what they do nowadays if not being able to get a suitable race, so why the flat race?

I am left with the feeling that this has been handled poorly by connections, creating a media frenzy, which didn’t need to happen if decisions were made earlier. Those decisions could always be changed in the future, as happens regularly for us AP backers, so why drag this this on for so long?

It feels like someone has written this as a soap opera…..like a spin doctor has been at work and that we have all been played !

 

[ComplyOrDie]

One thing I saw someone post on Twitter, and I appreciate it's not 3 falls, but Istabraq fell twice in 3 runs before connections carried on with racing for the season, albeit then pulling up in the Champion Hurdle that season, but he was a 10 year old.

He went on to live until the ripe old age of 32!

These were very different times, with racing under so much scrutiny nowadays.

 

[Faugheen_Machine]

The exchanges are likely to tell us if Constitution Hill runs before any official announcement, and last matched at 6.4.....

 

[Rooster Booster]

The exchanges are likely to tell us if Constitution Hill runs before any official announcement, and last matched at 6.4.....

I had to laugh when I read that there’s going to be another serious sit down after the schooling session. Thank fuck these people aren’t in charge of the nuclear codes and its ……shit on second thoughts

 

[Faugheen_Machine]

The exchanges are likely to tell us if Constitution Hill runs before any official announcement, and last matched at 6.4.....

The drift is gathering pace. Looks ominous....

 

[Istabraq]

The drift is gathering pace. Looks ominous....

Fitz bet (whoever they are) put a tweet out saying they've suspended him because of the money they've seen (presumably for others) this morning suggesting he won't go.
Someone clever can find the message and post here...

 

[FredFlintstone]

From Fitzbet on X

We’ve suspended betting on CONSTITUTION HILL to run in the Champion Hurdle.

Judging from the money we’ve been taking this morning he looks unlikely to run.