Eddie O’Leary doesn’t do fake optimism. So when he appeared on Nick Luck’s podcast this week and said he was “nervous, not excited” about Brighterdaysahead’s Champion Hurdle chances, it was worth paying attention. He used the word “hoodoo” — and the numbers back him up.
Two runs at the Cheltenham Festival. Two disappointments. In the 2024 Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, she went off the 5/6 favourite and finished second, beaten 1¾ lengths by Lossiemouth. Ran keenly early, couldn’t quicken when it mattered. Last March in the Champion Hurdle itself, she was sent off 5/2 favourite, led before three out, and weakened to finish fourth — beaten 19½ lengths by 25/1 shot Golden Ace.
That’s the form. But there’s a lot more going on underneath it.
The Mares Have Taken Over
Here’s a stat that would have seemed absurd 15 years ago: mares have won five of the last ten Champion Hurdles.
| Year | Winner | SP | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Annie Power | 5/2 | Willie Mullins |
| 2020 | Epatante | 2/1 | Nicky Henderson |
| 2021 | Honeysuckle | 11/10 | Henry de Bromhead |
| 2022 | Honeysuckle | 8/11 | Henry de Bromhead |
| 2025 | Golden Ace | 25/1 | J Scott |
Before Annie Power broke through in 2016, no mare had won the race since Flakey Dove in 1994. Twenty-two years of nothing, then five wins in a decade. The race has fundamentally changed.
And it’s not just the winners. In 2022, Honeysuckle won with Epatante second. Last year, Golden Ace won with Brighterdaysahead the beaten favourite. The Champion Hurdle has become a mares’ race.
The Elliott Problem at Cheltenham
O’Leary mentioned Apple’s Jade. He didn’t need to — anyone who follows Elliott’s Festival runners with mares in the big hurdle races already knows the story.
Apple’s Jade went to the 2019 Champion Hurdle as the 7/4 second favourite off the back of three Grade 1 wins that season. She finished sixth, beaten nearly 30 lengths, having been with the leader before folding from three out. The in-race comment reads like a carbon copy of Brighterdaysahead’s 2025 run.
Elliott’s mares at Cheltenham Festival across all races since 2016 paint a mixed picture: 26 runners, two winners (Fayonagh in the 2017 Champion Bumper and Shattered Love in the 2018 JLT). The others? Mostly well-beaten. Apple’s Jade managed just one win from five Festival starts despite being arguably the best mare in training for two seasons.
There’s no obvious explanation for it. Elliott’s overall Festival record is solid — 26 winners from 322 runners in the last decade, an 8% strike rate that’s respectable for any yard. But something about the big occasion and his mares doesn’t quite click.
What’s Different This Time
The case against is clear enough. But the case for Brighterdaysahead has strengthened considerably since February.
She won the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown on February 1st, travelling powerfully and going clear from two out. We pulled the records on Irish Champion Hurdle winners backing up at Cheltenham since 2010, and the numbers are striking: of those who ran in both races the same season, five won the Champion Hurdle — Hurricane Fly (twice), Honeysuckle (twice), and State Man. Three more placed. Only State Man last year and Solwhit in 2010 ran poorly.
The Champion Hurdle is already wide open after Constitution Hill’s withdrawal and a string of injuries to leading contenders. There’s no dominant force in the division this year, which arguably suits a mare who ran her best race of the season at Leopardstown.
The Third Time Question
O’Leary specifically said “third time lucky.” Brighterdaysahead’s Cheltenham runs tell a slightly different story to pure underperformance. In 2024, she was beaten by Lossiemouth — no shame in that, a proper mare. In 2025, the Champion Hurdle was a strange race: only seven runners, won at 25/1, the favourite swerved left after the last. Her in-race comment mentions she “swerved left just after last and bumped into rival.” Whether that was fatigue, the camber, or bad luck depends who you ask.
At seven years old, she’s at the right age. The last five Champion Hurdle winning mares were aged 6, 6, 7, 8 and 7 — she fits the profile exactly. She’s the Irish Champion Hurdle winner in a year with no clear superstar. She runs for a yard that knows how to get horses primed for March.
Whether the Cheltenham hoodoo is real or just two races that didn’t go her way is the question worth roughly 3/1 of your money. O’Leary is nervous. He should be. But he shouldn’t be writing her off.