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 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.
See More Business was a top-class National Hunt chaser in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He won the 1999 Cheltenham Gold Cup as well as the 1997 and 1999 King George VI Chase.
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.
David Nicholson was a British National Hunt jockey and trainer. He was British jump racing Champion Trainer in the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons.
The John Francome Novices' Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Newbury, Berkshire, over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs, and during its running there are sixteen fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late November or early December.
Richard Johnson is a retired English National Hunt jockey. Johnson is the second most prolific winner in the history of National Hunt Racing behind Sir Anthony McCoy, a long-time rival of Johnson's, with over 3500 winners. Richard Dunwoody previously held the record with 1874.
Paul Carberry is a retired Irish National Hunt jockey.
Florida Pearl (1992-2012) was an Irish-bred race horse who raced in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was owned by Mrs Violet O'Leary and trained by Willie Mullins. His major race successes included the Champion Bumper, Royal & SunAlliance Chase, King George VI Chase, and a record four Irish Hennessy's, among other races.
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 Scottish Champion Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ayr, South Ayrshire, over a distance of about 2 miles, and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. It is a limited handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in April.
François Doumen is a retired French racehorse trainer. From 1956 to 1970 he was an amateur jockey, and he then worked as an assistant trainer to his father Jean. As a young man he had also been a competitive slalom skier. He obtained his own training licence in 1977 and retired in August 2017 after suffering ill health.
Danoli was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. He was best known for his successes in hurdle races, although he also had success in steeplechases later in his career. Danoli was described as the most popular racehorse in Ireland during the 1990s, and was regarded as "the People's Champion". His successes were achieved despite the fact that his career was frequently disrupted by injury. He was noted for a rivalry with another Irish horse, Dorans Pride.
Imperial Call was an Irish racehorse. He was a specialist steeplechaser who ran thirty-two times and won sixteen races under National Hunt rules. After showing promise as a hurdler and novice chaser, Imperial Call emerged as a top-class jumper with a win in the Hennessy Gold Cup in February 1996. A month later, he became the first Irish-trained horse for ten years to win Britain's most prestigious steeplechase, the Cheltenham Gold Cup. His subsequent career was disrupted by injury problems but he won further major races including the Punchestown Chase in 1998 and the Punchestown Gold Cup in 1999. Unlike most modern racehorses, Imperial Call was not a Thoroughbred.
Klairon Davis was a French-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed under National Hunt rules. In a racing career which lasted from April 1993 and May 2001, he won twenty of his fifty-four races and was placed on sixteen occasions. After beginning in National Hunt Flat races he competed over hurdles winning the Punchestown Champion Novice Hurdle in 1994. In the following season he raced in novice chases and recorded major wins in the Dennys Gold Medal Chase, Arkle Novice Chase and Arkle Challenge Trophy. In 1996 he had his biggest success when taking the Queen Mother Champion Chase and followed up in the BMW Handicap Chase. He was never as good again, but won a second BMW Chase in 1997 and took the Normans Grove Chase in 1998, 1999 and 2001 before retiring at the age of twelve. During his career he had sustained rivalries with the leading Irish jumpers Sound Man and Merry Gale.
Deep Sensation was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who competed under National Hunt rules. He ran in six consecutive Cheltenham Festivals and is best known for his win in the 1993 Queen Mother Champion Chase. In his first three seasons he was campaigned in hurdle races, recording his most notable success in the 1990 Tote Gold Trophy. When switched to larger obstacles he was one of the leading novice steeplechasers of 1991/1992, winning the Lightning Novices' Chase and the Nottinghamshire Novices' Chase. He reached his peak in the following season, when he took the H & T Walker Gold Cup, the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Melling Chase. He never won another major race but recorded two minor wins and was placed in several important chases over the next two years. He was retired from racing after a narrow defeat in the 1995 Melling Chase after winning thirteen of his forty-nine races and being placed on twenty-one occasions. He died in November 2003 at the age of eighteen.
Remittance Man was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed under National Hunt rules. He was noted for his consistency, excellent jumping and nervous temperament. Between December 1988 and April 1990 he competed in hurdle races, and showed promise by winning two of his twelve races including the Grade 2 Bristol Novices' Hurdle and never finishing worse than third. When switched to compete in steeplechases he showed immediate improvement and won thirteen of his first fourteen races over fences. In his first season of steeplechasing his wins included the Noel Novices' Chase, Wayward Lad Novices' Chase, Galloway Braes Novices' Chase and Arkle Challenge Trophy. He had his greatest success in the 1991/1992 season when he won the Arlington Premier Chase, Queen Mother Champion Chase and Melling Chase. In the following autumn he won the Desert Orchid Chase and the Peterborough Chase but then sustained a serious tendon injury. He won his comeback race in February 1994 but was beaten in his three remaining races.
Cyborgo was a French-bred, British-trained AQPS racehorse. A full-brother to Hors La Loi III he began his racing career in his native country before being transferred to England to compete in National Hunt racing. In his first season in Britain he won two of his six races over hurdles including the Mersey Novices' Hurdle. In the following year he won five consecutive races including the Rendlesham Hurdle before finishing second in the Stayers' Hurdle and then returned after a twelve-month absence to win the Stayers' Hurdle at the second attempt in 1996. When Cyborgo began to compete in steeplechases in 1997 he won four of his first five races including Mildmay Novices' Chase but never won again. He was retired from professional racing 1999 and died two years later at the age of eleven. Cyborgo was noted for his front-running style and produced many of his best performances on soft or heavy going.
Paul Townend is an Irish jockey who competes in National Hunt racing. Townend comes from Lisgoold in County Cork and rides primarily for the stable of Irish trainer Willie Mullins. Townend has worked for Mullins since beginning his career as an apprentice flat racing jockey. He is a six-time Irish jump racing Champion Jockey. He was champion in the 2010–11, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, and 2022–23 seasons.
