Read Timeform's report of the Champion Hurdle, which was won by Lossiemouth who claimed a fourth Cheltenham Festival success.
To see Constitution Hill parade before racing was to be reminded of what might have been in this division, that he would win the Champion Hurdle just once scarcely believable after he'd trotted up in 2023, his career over jumps effectively ended following a win on the Flat at Southwell last month; he wasn't the only notable absentee, with stable-companion Sir Gino on the sidelines and State Man, 2024 winner and unlucky 12 months later, out for the whole season, which created an opportunity for Lossiemouth, beaten by Constitution Hill in the 2024 Christmas Hurdle and a faller the only time she faced State Man, to step up from the Mares' Hurdle, hers the fifth victory in the last 7 runnings for a mare, her performance clearly superior to those of Epatante and Golden Ace but a shade behind the better of Honeysuckle's 2 wins, though matching the last-named with a fourth Festival win, young enough at 7 yrs to think she might be able to emulate Quevega, who won here 6 seasons running; after a standing start, the early pace was slow, the tempo lifting from the third.
