Last weekend saw Dan Skelton claim the first domestic Grade 1 chase of the season, as Grey Dawning sauntered to Betfair Chase success. The final weekend of November sees the focus switch to hurdles for the first top-tier event over the smaller obstacles of the 2025/26 campaign.
The northeast track of Newcastle sets the stage for the Fighting Fifth Hurdle. There is £115,000 on offer in this 2m1f affair, which boasts a roll of honour littered with hurdling greats. Since making its debut in 1969, the Gosforth Park showpiece has been claimed by racing luminaries including Comedy Of Errors, Night Nurse, Sea Pigeon, and Buveur d’Air.
Invariably attracting runners with the ultimate aim of Champion Hurdle glory, we look set for a small but star-studded field in 2025. Following the latest declaration stage, five intriguing contenders remain in contention.
Constitution Hill to Reclaim His Crown?
Seven Barrows handler Nicky Henderson is perhaps best associated with success in the two-mile division. His record in this event enhances that reputation. Winning the race for the first time with Landing Light in 2001 and most recently with Sir Gino in 2024, Henderson has nine Fighting Fifth Hurdle wins to his name. That tally makes him the most successful trainer in the history of the race.
Representing Henderson in 2025 is a horse who many still believe is one of the greatest two mile hurdlers of the 21st Century. Following an injury-curtailed 2023/24 and an error-strewn 2024/25, Constitution Hill has lost his aura of invincibility. However, it is hard to forget the golden streak which saw him win ten on the spin between December 2021 and January 2025. That extensive streak of brilliance encompassed eight Grade 1 contests, including this race in 2022.
Having ended 2024/25 with two falls and a 27-length fifth at Punchestown, he has questions to answer on his return. However, a recent gallop went well, and he remains 11 pounds clear of this field on ratings.
The New Lion Ready to Roar in Open Company
Sitting on a mark of 159, Dan Skelton’s The New Lion looks like the biggest threat to the 2022 champ. On paper, 11 pounds is a lot to make up. However, while Constitution Hill’s mark has fallen from a peak of 175, The New Lion is a horse firmly on the rise.
As the most successful owner in Champion Hurdle history, JP McManus knows a thing or two about identifying star hurdlers. Not that you needed a particularly shrewd eye to see that this son of Kayf Tara was destined for the top. Sporting the colours of Darren and Annaley Yates, The New Lion won his first four starts, including the Grade 1 Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury. That prompted Mullins to slash the cash and add the rising star to his Cheltenham Festival squadron.
Donning the green and gold for the first time in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle, he mastered the talented Irish duo of The Yellow Clay and Final Demand to register a big race success for the home team. His peak efforts have come over 2m4f, but his place in this line-up suggests the Champion Hurdle is the big target for this season.
Mullins to Strike for the First Time with Anzadam
This isn’t a race Willie Mullins targets to the same degree as other British Grade 1s. Nevertheless, it is still a little surprising that the Closutton maestro has never saddled the winner. Bidding to put that right in 2025 is the unbeaten five-year-old Anzadam.
Winning twice from as many starts in France, this Authorized gelding joined Mullins in January 2024. Spoken of in favourable terms by connections, he has backed that up in his two Irish outings. Two runs in Grade 3 company produced two victories by a combined winning margin of 17½ lengths. This is a step up in class, but he has done everything asked of him so far and looks well worth his place in the line-up.
Champion Hurdlers Round Out the Field
It is a testament to the quality of this year’s field that the reigning Champion Hurdle queen is available to back at a general 25/1. There was certainly an element of good fortune about Golden Ace’s victory at Cheltenham, with State Man falling at the final flight with the race at his mercy.
Nevertheless, she backed that up with a solid second to State Man in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle, and she doesn’t have that Willie Mullins runner to worry about here. A dirty scope goes some way to explaining her subpar comeback at Wetherby, and she adds to the depth of this year’s field.
Kerry Lee’s Nemean Lion also boasts a champion hurdle win to his name, having claimed the Welsh Champion Hurdle back in 2023. That Ffos Las event is “only” a handicap affair, but he also has two Grade 2 triumphs on his CV. That said, general odds of 66/1 illustrate the size of the task.
Will Constitution Hill bounce back to his best, or will The New Lion or Anzadam emerge as the new star of the two-mile division? Or perhaps we could be in for a shock result. All eyes will be on Newcastle for the 2:00 on Saturday afternoon.