The 1994 Champion Hurdle was a horse race held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Tuesday 15 March 1994. It was the 65th running of the Champion Hurdle.

65th Champion Hurdle
Champion Hurdle
LocationCheltenham Racecourse
Date15 March 1994
Winning horseFlakey Dove (GB)
JockeyMark Dwyer
TrainerRichard Price (GB)
OwnerJ. T. Price
← 1993
1995 →

The winner was J. T. Price's Flakey Dove, an eight-year-old bay mare trained in Herefordshire by Richard Price and ridden by Mark Dwyer. Flakey Dove's victory was a first in the race for jockey, trainer and owner and the third in the race for a female racehorse after African Sister in 1939 and Dawn Run in 1984.

Flakey Dove was a non-Thoroughbred mare, who had made steady improvement since finishing seventh in the 1993 Champion Hurdle and emerged as a legitimate contender for the following year's renewal with wins in the Champion Hurdle Trial, Cleeve Hurdle, then a Grade 1 race run over 2 miles and 5 furlongs, and Berkshire Hurdle in early 1994. Starting at odds of 9/1 she won the Champion Hurdle by one and a half lengths from the favourite Oh So Risky with Large Action in third place. Two previous winners of the race took part: Granville Again finished seventh, whilst Morley Street was pulled up after four hurdles. Eleven of the fifteen runners completed the course.[1]

Race details

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  • Sponsor: Smurfit
  • Purse: £166,742; First prize: £99,933
  • Going: Good to Soft
  • Distance: 2 miles 110 yards
  • Number of runners: 15
  • Winner's time: 4m 02.30

Full result

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Pos. Marg. Horse (bred) Age Jockey Trainer (Country) Odds
1 Flakey Dove (GB) 8 Mark Dwyer Richard Price (GB) 9/1
2 Oh So Risky (GB) 7 Paul Holley David Elsworth (GB) 9/4 fav
3 ¾ Large Action (IRE) 6 Jamie Osborne Oliver Sherwood (GB) 8/1
4 Mole Board (GB) 12 Tom Grantham Jim Old (GB) 40/1
5 5 Absalom's Lady (GB) 6 Simon McNeill David Elsworth (GB) 33/1
6 nk Muse (GB) 7 Mark Richards David Elsworth (GB) 13/2
7 Granville Again (GB) 8 Jimmy Frost Martin Pipe (GB) 10/1
8 Shawiya (IRE) 5 Charlie Swan M. J. P. O'Brien (IRE) 16/1
9 4 Halkopous (GB) 8 Declan Murphy Mark Tompkins (GB) 13/2
10 25 Valfinet (FR) 7 Jonothon Lower Martin Pipe (GB) 33/1
11 7 High Baron (GB) 7 Michael Hourigan Robert Alner (GB) 66/1
Fell Merchant House (IRE) 6 Richard Guest R. J. Weaver (GB) 250/1
Fell Land Afar (GB) 7 Warren Marston John Webber (GB) 25/1
PU Morley Street (GB) 10 Graham Bradley Toby Balding (GB) 16/1
PU King Credo (GB) 9 Adrian Maguire Steve Woodman (GB) 16/1
  • Abbreviations: nse = nose; nk = neck; hd = head; dist = distance; UR = unseated rider; PU = pulled up; LFT = left at start; SU = slipped up; BD = brought down

Winner's details

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Further details of the winner, Flakey Dove

  • Sex: Mare
  • Foaled: 1986
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Sire: Oats; Dam: Shadey Dove (Deadly Nightshade)
  • Owner: J. T. Price
  • Breeder: J. T. Price

References

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