Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy (Grade 1)

THE race’s biggest field for 11 years reflected the open nature of the two-mile hurdling championship, but perhaps the one runner in the field with stellar potential delivered as Epatante gave Nicky Henderson an incredible eighth victory in this race.

Some 35 years after he first won the Champion Hurdle with See You Then, Henderson has unearthed a new star in this six-year-old mare whose blowout when favourite for the Mares Novices’ Hurdle at last year’s meeting has been banished to the distant past forever more. Furthermore, she cemented her position as the standout two-miler in Britain and Ireland.

For winning owner J.P. McManus this was a fourth Champion Hurdle success in a row but earlier in the season the owner could have been forgiven for thinking that 2020 might pass him by. The 2019 hero Espoir D’Allen sadly lost his life in the autumn and then Buveur D’Air met with a season-ending injury in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle.

He need not have feared though as this daughter of No Risk At All rose to the task at hand in great style under a typically inspired Barry Geraghty who spent the first half of the season out of action with a broken leg. This triumph means that Geraghty joins the late Tim Molony and the retired Ruby Walsh as the only riders to have won this race on four occasions.

The race itself would have made for pleasant viewing for the connections of the 2/1 favourite as she looked to be ideally placed in third or fourth from around halfway. Petit Mouchoir was showing in front at this stage and then the vastly improved Darver Star had a spell in the lead but the way Epatante was travelling they only looked to be there on sufferance.

Darver Star remained in front as the last flight loomed but it was here that Barry Geraghty asked his mount to go through the gears and produce a big jump. The jockey was rewarded with the boldest of leaps as Epatante flew to the front and the set sail for home. There was a brief moment when it looked as though Patrick Mullins had delivered Sharjah with a brilliantly timed effort but no sooner did he close in than the winner found more.

Epatante hit the line with three lengths to spare over a quartet of Irish-trained horses. Sharjah took second, Darver Star’s remarkable improvement continued with a third, Cilaos Emery ran a fine fourth and a game Petit Mouchoir was fifth.

“It’s been a very long time since our first win in this race and it’s remarkable to think that J.P. should have both the 2018 and 2019 winners here today. On another day she might just have been his third string,” remarked Henderson.

“In the race I was always pleased with where she was and she got a lovely ride from Barry and she has all those gears as well which is important. I suppose it was a concern what happened with her last year and she just fell to pieces on me after her run in in the mares’ novice hurdle. I sent her home looking awful but she came back to me looking brilliant from Martinstown.”

In the aftermath of this latest triumph a thrilled Geraghty commented: “It’s brilliant. After the first race I thought her chance had gone as I felt that the ground was just too slow for her but she was brilliant through the race. She possibly missed one or two hurdles as she was so keen to get on with things but otherwise she was brilliant. I was meeting the last on a good stride and all the lights were green so I asked her for a big one and she delivered.”