Champion Bumper: Cheltenham Festival RaceCHELTENHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: Former champion flat jockey Kieren Fallon rides Refinement (C) in The Weatherbys Champion Bumper at Cheltenham Racecourse during the second day of the annual National Hunt Festival on March 16, 2005 in Cheltenham, England. (Photo by Julian Herbert/Getty Images)

The Champion Bumper is one of the highlights of the Cheltenham Festival and the most fiercely contested National Hunt flat race in the National Hunt racing calendar.

Bumpers, also know as flat races, are National Hunt races that are typically used to introduce horses to the long distances covered in hurdles and chases. The races are the only flat races contested in National Hunt racing, and if the fields are competitive can be fast paced affairs.

The Champion Bumper is open to four- to six-year-old horses and is run on the old course at the Cheltenham racetrack at Prestbury Park. Run over a distance of 2 miles and 110 yards, the Champion Bumper sees some of the finest prospective talents in National Hunt racing being ridden by top jockeys.

Punters watch the Champion Bumper with keen interest as the race has on occasion introduced future champions to the world of Hunt racing – a notable example being the great Florida Pearl.

The Champion Bumper, Cheltenham Festival race, is also one of the few National Hunt flat races that sees horses ridden by professional jockeys, including the occasional participation of top jockeys from the summer flat racing format.

Champion Bumper Winners

The Champion Bumper, like many other races at the Cheltenham Festival, has been dominated by Irish horses, jockeys and trainers over the last decade.

The race has been run since 1992 and the name that stands out in the ranks of Champion Bumper winners is Irish trainer Willie Mullins, who achieved the unique feat of riding a horse he trained to victory in 1996.

Other notable Champion Bumper winners include the formidable Tony McCoy in 2003 and emerging National Hunt star Ruby Walsh has won the race twice, once as an amateur in 1998 and again as a professional in 2005.

Champion Bumper Betting

With Willie Mullins’ excellent record in the Champion Bumper look for one of his horses to emerge as a Champion Bumper, Cheltenham Festival race, winner in the 2008 event. It is also worth noting that all the Champion Bumper winners to date have been five-year-olds.

For live horse race betting and daily special offers we recommend William Hill.