Game on.
The Unibet Champion Hurdle received the ultimate boost this morning when connections of Brighterdaysahead decided to take on Constitution Hill in the Unibet Champion Hurdle on Opening Day of Cheltenham March 11. Gordon Elliott and Gigginstown House Stud faced a choice – a layup in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle on the same card (she was 1-2) or the clash of the ages in the Champion Hurdle (she’s 2-1). They chose the latter. A sporting gesture? A calculated move? Maybe both.
Either way, it is as it should be. The best taking on the best at the best.
Brighterdaysahead, a once-beaten 6-year-old mare, has routed her rivals in three hurdle starts this season, taking the Grade 3 Bottlegreen Hurdle, the Grade 1 Morgiana and the Grade 1 Neville Hotels Hurdle. She crushed defending champion State Man by 30 lengths in the Neville Hotels. State Man, an 11-time Grade 1 winner and defending champion, is a tepid fourth choice at 9-1 behind Constitution Hill, Brighterdaysahead and Lossiemouth (entered in the Close Brothers as well).
Constitution Hill is 10-for-10. Brighterdaysahead is 9-for-10. Lossiemouth is 9-for-12. State Man is 13-for-18. If you’re counting, they’ve combined to win 27 Grade 1 stakes.
Cheltenham’s expansion to four days and the additional races that came with it watered down the races, spread the talent and lessened the titanic clashes. It’s not the three-day, every-race-matters Festival of yore. Brighterdaysahead versus Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle (State Man and Lossiemouth, too) swings it back to the old days. Cheltenham – and the sport – needs races like this.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
