|}The Welsh Champion Hurdle is a National Hunt Limited handicap hurdle race in Wales which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ffos Las over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres) and it is scheduled to take place each year in October.
The race was first run in 1969 at Chepstow over 2 miles and continued there until 2002, holding Listed status during the 1980s.The race was usually run on Easter Monday and prior to the 1990s was usually contested by horses that had performed well in the Champion Hurdle. However field sizes were consistently small even in its heyday.
The standard of the race declined in the 1990s, and it was run as a handicap in 1993 and from 2000 until 2002. Unfortunately this change did not result in increased fields and the race was dropped from the calendar in 2003.
In 2010 the race was revived, as a Limited Handicap, scheduled to be run at Ffos Las in February, over 2 miles. However the race was lost to the weather.
The new race did take place in 2011, being won easily by Oscar Whisky, owned by track owner, Dai Walters.[1]
The distance was increased to a distance of 2 miles and 4 furlongs in 2013. The race was moved to a new date in mid-October in 2016 and reverted to 2 miles.[2]
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| Year | Winner | Age | Weight | Jockey | Trainer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Persian War | 6 | 12-00 | Jimmy Uttley | Colin Davies | |
| 1970 | Frozen Alive | 4 | 10–12 | Stan Mellor | Harry Thomson Jones | |
| 1971 | Bula | 6 | 12-00 | Paul Kelleway | Fred Winter | |
| 1972 | Canasta Lad | 6 | 11-08 | Jeff King | P Bailey | |
| 1973 | Comedy of Errors | 6 | 12-00 | Bill Smith | ||
| 1974 | Canasta Lad | 8 | 11-04 | Jeff King | P Bailey | |
| 1975 | Lanzarote | 7 | 11-04 | Richard Pitman | Fred Winter | |
| 1976 | Night Nurse | 5 | 11-11 | Paddy Broderick | Peter Easterby | |
| 1977 | Night Nurse | 6 | 11–12 | Paddy Broderick | Peter Easterby | |
| 1978 | Abandoned because course waterlogged | |||||
| 1979 | Monksfield | 7 | 12-00 | Dessie Hughes | Des McDonogh (Ir) | |
| 1980 | Sea Pigeon | 10 | 12-00 | Jonjo O'Neill | Peter Easterby | |
| 1981 | Pollardstown | 6 | 11-09 | Philip Blacker | Stan Mellor | |
| 1982 | Ekbalco | 6 | 11-09 | Jonjo O'Neill | Roger Fisher | |
| 1983 | Royal Vulcan | 5 | 11–13 | David Goulding | Neville Callaghan | |
| 1984 | Ra Nova | 5 | 11-08 | Mark Perrett | Nan Kennedy | |
| 1985 | Browne's Gazette | 7 | 11–13 | Dermot Browne | Monica Dickinson | |
| 1986 | Abandoned because course waterlogged | |||||
| 1987 | High Knowl | 4 | 11-00 | Jonothon Lower | Martin Pipe | |
| 1988 | Past Glories | 5 | 11-06 | Patrick Farrell | Charles Elsey | |
| 1989 | Celtic Shot | 7 | 11-06 | Peter Scudamore | Charlie Brooks | |
| 1990 | Beech Road | 8 | 12-01 | Richard Guest | Toby Balding | |
| 1991 | Wonder Man | 6 | 11-10 | Mark Pitman | Jenny Pitman | |
| 1992 | Don Valentino | 7 | 11-10 | Mark Pitman | Jenny Pitman | |
| 1993 | Dextra Dove | 6 | 10-04 | Simon Earle | Philip Hobbs | |
| 1994 | Abandoned due to waterlogging | |||||
| 1995 | Nemuro | 7 | 11-06 | Alan McCabe | David Elsworth | |
| 1996 | Absalom's Lady | 8 | 11-09 | A Procter | David Elsworth | |
| 1997 | Potentate | 6 | 11-06 | Jamie Evans | Martin Pipe | |
| 1998 | Potentate | 7 | 11-10 | Jamie Evans | Martin Pipe | |
| 1999 | Potentate | 8 | 11–12 | Tony McCoy | Martin Pipe | |
| 2000 | Mister Morose | 10 | 11-10 | Carl Llewellyn | Nigel Twiston-Davies | |
| 2001 | Abandoned due to Foot and Mouth outbreak | |||||
| 2002 | Vol Solitaire | 4 | 10-00 | Timmy Murphy | Paul Nicholls | |
| 2003–2009 No Race | ||||||
| 2010 | Abandoned due to Snow and Frost | |||||
| 2011 | Oscar Whisky | 6 | 11-07 | Barry Geraghty | Nicky Henderson | |
| 2012 | Abandoned due to Frost | |||||
| 2013 | Medinas | 6 | 10-10 | Wayne Hutchinson | Alan King | |
| 2014 | Saphir Du Rheu | 5 | 11-10 | Harry Derham | Paul Nicholls | |
| 2015 | Silsol | 6 | 11-10 | Jack Sherwood | Paul Nicholls | |
| no race Feb 2016 | ||||||
| 2016 | Garde La Victoire | 7 | 11-10 | Richard Johnson | Philip Hobbs | |
| 2017 | The New One | 9 | 11-05 | Zac Baker | Nigel Twiston-Davies | |
| 2018 | Silver Streak | 5 | 10-04 | Adam Wedge | Evan Williams | |
| 2019 | Monsieur Lecoq | 5 | 10-05 | Chester Williams | Jane Williams | |
| 2020 | Sceau Royal | 8 | 11-06 | Daryl Jacob | Alan King | |
| 2021 | Glory And Fortune | 6 | 10-07 | Stan Sheppard | Tom Lacey | |
| 2022 | Effernock Fizz | 7 | 10-07 | Sam Ewing | Cian Michael Collins | |
| 2023 | Nemean Lion | 6 | 11-04 | Richard Patrick | Kerry Lee | |