World Hurdle trends suggest Big Buck’s will struggle

Not since Golden Miller has one horse dominated a Championship race at the Cheltenham Festival as much as Big Buck’s.

Paul Nicholls’ ace initially started his career in England over fences, having been a very good hurdler in France as youngster.

However after unseating the unfairly-maligned Sam Thomas in the 2008 Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, Nicholls decided to revert the horse to hurdles and he has not looked back since.

Big reputation

He has won four World Hurdles, part of a winning streak of 18 races, and only lost his crown in 2013 as he had to miss the race because of a leg injury sustained before the Christmas of 2012.

The son of Cadoudal is on target to bid to regain his crown in March, however there has only ever been one 11-year-old winner in the last 41 renewals of the race, namely the Fulke Walwyn-trained Crimson Embers in 1986.

Fulke Walwyn, along with Howard Johnson, won the race three times, however Paul Nicholls has swept past both because of Big Buck’s and is the most successful trainer in the race’s history.

Before Big Buck’s, no horse had won three World Hurdles in consecutive years.

History repeating

Francois Doumen’s Baracouda was second to Iris’s Gift as he chased a hat-trick in 2004, and he also failed in the two following seasons as he attempted to regain the top staying crown.

Inglis Drever tragically died before he could bid for a fourth title in 2009 but his record at Cheltenham will give some hope to fans of Big Buck’s.

Johnson’s stable star won the three mile contest in 2005 but then missed the 2006 Festival because of injury. However he returned to Prestbury Park to win again in both 2007 and 2008, becoming the first horse to regain the World Hurdle crown since Crimson Embers did it in 1986.

Rare Irish success