The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 race over about 2 miles 1 furlong on Friday of the Festival, exclusively for four-year-old hurdlers (juveniles). It’s the championship race for the youngest jumpers, and past winners include Defi Du Seuil, Tiger Roll and Lossiemouth.
Recent Winners
| Year | Winner | Trainer | Jockey | Age | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Poniros | W P Mullins | Jonjo O’Neill Jr. | 4 | 100/1 |
| 2024 | Majborough | W P Mullins | M P Walsh | 4 | 6/1 |
| 2023 | Lossiemouth | W P Mullins | P Townend | 4 | 19/8 |
| 2022 | Vauban | W P Mullins | P Townend | 4 | 5/2 |
| 2021 | Quilixios | Henry de Bromhead | R Blackmore | 4 | 3/1 |
| 2020 | Burning Victory | W P Mullins | P Townend | 4 | 12/1 |
| 2019 | Pentland Hills | N Henderson | N de Boinville | 4 | 20/1 |
| 2018 | Farclas | Gordon Elliott | J W Kennedy | 4 | 9/1 |
| 2017 | Defi Du Seuil | P J Hobbs | R Johnson | 4 | 5/2 |
| 2016 | Ivanovich Gorbatov | A P O’Brien | B J Geraghty | 4 | 9/2 |
Key Trends
Age profile: Every single winner has been a four-year-old — that’s the age restriction, so no surprises there. All 23 winners, aged 4.
Favourite record: The favourite has won 6 of 23 (26%). They’ve placed in 12 of 23. The average favourite SP is about 3/1, so these are reasonably strong market leaders — but three quarters of the time the favourite gets beaten.
Trainers: Mullins has taken over this race. He’s won 5 of the last 6 renewals (2020-2025) and has 5 total from 60 runners. Henderson has 4 from 26, Hobbs 3 from 8 (a strong strike rate), Elliott and Alan King each have 2.
Going: Nine editions on Good, 8 on Good to Soft, 5 on Soft, 1 on Heavy. A fairly even spread with no strong bias.
What the Data Says
Poniros at 100/1 in 2025 was one of the biggest Festival shocks in recent memory, but the Triumph has form for producing surprises. Countrywide Flame (33/1 in 2012), Made In Japan and Spectroscope (both 20/1) show this has always been an unpredictable race. The average winning SP of about 13/1 is high for a Grade 1.
Mullins’ recent dominance is remarkable — 5 of the last 6 — but it’s inflated by sheer volume. He’s had 60 runners, more than double Henderson’s 26. His actual win rate is around 8%, which isn’t overwhelming. Still, he’s clearly the place to start when assessing this race.
Hobbs’ 3 wins from just 8 runners (37.5%) is actually the best strike rate of any trainer, though it’s a small sample and his last win was Defi Du Seuil in 2017.
The juvenile division is inherently hard to assess because these horses are still developing and many are unexposed. That uncertainty is reflected in the volatile results. If you’re looking for value, this is one of the Festival races where it often pays to look beyond the market leaders.
Henderson’s record is solid too — 4 wins and 9 placings from 26 runners means his Triumph runners hit the frame more than a third of the time.
All Cheltenham Festival races are run at Cheltenham racecourse. See our Cheltenham course guide for trainer and jockey statistics, going analysis, and betting angles.