International Hurdle

The Unibet Hurdle is a prestigious Grade 2 hurdle race run at Cheltenham Racecourse on Festival Trials Day at the end of January. The race is run over slightly further than two miles and there are eight hurdles to be jumped. This race is worth approximately £70,000 to the winning connections. The race is open to horses aged four and older.

Unibet Hurdle Overview

The Unibet Hurdle, registered as the International Hurdle, is a prestigious Grade 2 hurdles race that sees many aspiring young horses turn up to compete for this £70,000 first prize. In the old days, this race would have been viewed as a stepping stone towards the Champion Hurdle six weeks further down the line, but the race produced the winner of the Mares’ Hurdle in Lossiemouth in 20024, so it is still a valuable stepping stone to bigger and better things.

Other notable winners of this race in the past include My Tent Or Yours and The New One (three times) and the recent winner Constitution Hill.

Unibet Hurdle Betting Trends and Statistics

The leading trainer in the Unibet Hurdle in recent years is Nicky Henderson who has won the race six times with with Binocular (2008), Grandouet (2011), My Tent Or Yours (2017), Brain Power (2018), Call Me Lord (2019) and Constitution Hill (2025). Nigel Twiston-Davies has won the race five times with Khyber Kim (2009), The New One (2013, 2014 & 2016) and Guard Your Dreams (2021). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Unibet Hurdle are Paul Nicholls (3) and Philip Hobbs (2).

The leading jockey in the International Hurdle in recent years is Sam Twiston-Davies who has won the race four times with those four winners coming from The New One (2013 & 2014), Old Guard (2015) and Guard Your Dreams (2021). Paul Townend has the perfect record in the race and has won the race on the only occasion he has had a ride in it.

Six of the last eleven favourites have won this race, but no horse bigger than 7/1 has won this race in each of the last eleven  renewals. The betting market therefore is a fairly solid guide.

Unibet Hurdle History

The race was first run back in 1963 under its original name of the Cheltenham Trial Hurdle. The first winner was Scottish Memories with the following two races won by the Champion Hurdle victors Magic Court and Salmon Spray. The race name changed to the Bula Hurdle in 1977. This was in honour of the dual-winner of the Champion Hurdle, Bula, who achieved success in this race in 1972.

Bird’s Nest became the first ever triple winner of this race with their third victory coming in 1980. This achievement was earned once again in the 1990s by Relkeel. A tribute was paid to the horse with the Relkeel Hurdle being named in their honour.

Online bookmaker Stan James took over sponsorship of the event in 2010. The International Hurdle is the second leg in the Road to Cheltenham series of races. The other two races in this schedule were the Fighting Fifth Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle Trial before climaxing in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham Festival. The race is currently sponsored by Unibet.

The last horse to win both the Unibet Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle in the same season was Rooster Booster in 2002–03. Until 2022 the race was run at Cheltenham’s International meeting that took place every year in December. In April 2023, the British Horseracing Authority announced that the race would be run in future every year at the Festival Trials meeting in January.

Unibet Hurdle Winners