Rupert "Ruby" Walsh is an Irish former jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen. Widely regarded as one of the greatest National Hunt jockeys of all time, Walsh is the third most prolific winner in British and Irish jump racing history behind only Sir Anthony McCoy and Richard Johnson.
The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong, and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for juvenile novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Supreme Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ furlong, and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Brown Advisory Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and half a furlong, and during its running there are twenty fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Charlie Swan is a former top National Hunt jockey in Ireland in the 1990s. He is associated with the great Istabraq, on whom he won three Champion Hurdles. He was twice top jockey at the Cheltenham Festival and was champion National Hunt jockey in Ireland for nine consecutive years. After retiring as a jockey he spent several years a trainer, based in Modreeny near Cloughjordan, County Tipperary.
The Spa Novices' Hurdle, known for sponsorship purposes as the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle, is a Grade 1 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 3 miles, and during its running there are twelve hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Classic Novices' Hurdle 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 4½ furlongs, and during its running there are ten hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in January. It was first run in 2005. It is currently sponsored by the Ballymore Group.
William Peter Mullins is an Irish racehorse trainer and former jockey. He is a seventeen-time Irish National Hunt Champion trainer. Mullins is the most successful trainer in the history of the Cheltenham Festival, having saddled more than 100 winners.
The Mersey Novices' Hurdle is a Grade One National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Aintree, Merseyside, over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs, and during its running there are eleven hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Grand National meeting in early April.
The Winter Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs, and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in early December.
The Champion Stayers Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 3 miles, and during its running there are fourteen hurdles to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April.
The KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles ½ furlong, and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May.
The Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs, and during its running there are twelve hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May.
The Champion Four Year Old Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles, and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May. The race is currently sponsored by the Ballymore Group
The Dr P. J. Moriarty Novice Chase, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Ladbrokes Novice Chase, is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles and 5 furlongs, and during its running there are fourteen fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in February.
The Navan Novice Hurdle is a Grade Two National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland. It is run in mid-December at Navan in Ireland, over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs.
The Slaney Novice Hurdle, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Lawlor's of Naas Novice Hurdle, is a Grade One National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland. It is run in January at Naas Racecourse, over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs and during its running there are 11 flights of hurdles to be jumped. The race is often contested by horses who go on to compete at the Cheltenham Festival, such as the 1978 winner, Golden Cygnet, who went on to win the Supreme Novices' Hurdle and 2021 winner, Bob Olinger, who went on to win the Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle.
The Golden Miller Novices' Chase, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Turners Novices' Chase, is a Grade One National Hunt chase 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 4 furlongs, and during its running there are seventeen fences to be jumped. It is a race for novice chasers and it is scheduled to take place each year on the third day of the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Faugheen is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2015 Champion Hurdle and back-to-back Christmas Hurdles in 2014 and 2015. His best performance on a racecourse came in the 2016 Irish Champion Hurdle for which he was rated the best two-mile hurdler of the 21st century. His career started over Point-to-point fences as a four-year-old and was sent racing under National Hunt rules in the 2013/2014 season where he emerged as a leading Novice hurdler, winning all of his races including the Dorans Pride Novice Hurdle, Cheltenham Novices Hurdle and Herald Champion Novice Hurdle acquiring the nickname "The Machine" in the process.
Buveur d'Air is a retired French-bred British-trained AQPS racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. After winning twice in his native France he moved to England and won the Top Novices' Hurdle in 2016. In the following season he won two steeplechases before reverting to hurdle races to win the Contenders Hurdle and then recording his biggest success in the Champion Hurdle. In the 2017–18 season he was unbeaten, winning the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, Christmas Hurdle and a second Champion Hurdle, so becoming the second horse, after Kribensis, to win the Triple Crown of Hurdling. The 2018-19 season saw him win both the Fighting Fifth Hurdle and the Contenders Hurdle for the second time. In November 2019 he sustained a freak injury in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle and did not race for the rest of the season.
