Christmas Festival 2025: Christmas Hurdle race analysis and preview

Kempton racecourse will stage its showpiece meeting of the 2025/26 National Hunt season next week, as the 2025 Christmas Festival gets underway.

Beginning on Boxing Day, 12 races are due to run over the course of the two-day meeting, which promises to be a memorable event. 

Three Grade One races will be contested on Boxing Day, the second of which is the Christmas Hurdle. 

Two miles and eight flights of hurdles lie between starters’ orders and the shadows of Kempton’s winning post, as runners and riders go in search of a share of £130,000 in awarded prize money. 

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Sir Gino

The race is seen as a natural stepping stone to the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, usually containing horses who ran in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle, in late November. 

The two-mile hurdles division has been blown wide-open by the shenanigans in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, with betting markets suspended for both this race and the Champion Hurdle. 

However, the Christmas Hurdle will see the return of Sir Gino, who is sent back over hurdles following a year off the track since he made a winning debut over fences – at this meeting – last December. 

He has carried the colours of Joe and Marie Donnelly to victory in all five of his career starts and is a two-time Grade One winner, including last season’s Fighting Fifth, where he deputised for stablemate Constitution Hill. 

The five-year-old gelding is once again set to fill in for his out-of-form stablemate, who fell on his return in the Fighting Fifth just over two weeks ago. 

His declaration in this race has had a knock-on effect in the ante-post market for not only this contest, but the Champion Hurdle and Champion Chase too. 

In the case of the former, as well as the Champion Hurdle, the market is currently unavailable, whilst the Champion Chase is now headed by a new favourite – Tingle Creek winner Il Etait Temps – with Sir Gino out to 8/1 from 11/4. 

Good form

His trainer Nicky Henderson said: “The Christmas Hurdle is the plan. He’s ready, he’s in very good form, and his work has been great.

“He’s got one more bit to do next week, and it’s where we’re going to go.

“It might seem funny going back to hurdles, but the race looks as though it could be quite open. 

“We then have the option of going chasing or staying over hurdles after that, which is a bit like last season.

“He’s not a novice over fences, so I think a nice hurdle race will be a nicer way back for him. 

“People say you’re mad when you have a horse who jumps that well, but let’s see what happens.”

Golden Ace

Last season’s fortunate Champion Hurdle winner and current Fighting Fifth Champion Golden Ace is also set to line up in Surrey. 

The mare was unbeaten in four Novice Hurdle contests at the beginning of 2024, including in a Grade Two and in Listed company, before finishing fourth and third in her first two starts at Grade Two level.

A win in her prep race for the Champion Hurdle – a Grade Two race at Wincanton – saw her arrive at the Cheltenham Festival as a 25/1 outsider. 

However, after Constitution Hill fell midway through the race, it looked like State Man was on for his second consecutive victory, but he too departed at the last – leaving Golden Ace to surge up the Cheltenham hill to claim an unlikely win. 

The Fighting Fifth saw a similar contest; Constitution Hill fell at the second flight, whilst favourite The New Lion fell at the same flight on the run for home. 

On the Fighting Fifth, her trainer Jeremy Scott said: “Given her previous run, I can understand (the price she was). 

“I did feel slightly insulted because ultimately I want her to prove that she is better than a lucky horse.” 

Impressed

Scott then spoke of her prospects for the rest of the season and said: “I don’t think we’re that far behind, you know, Constitution Hill – at his brilliant best – is miles clear of us on ratings, but you know, he’s had his issues jumping. 

“If you look at the rest of the opposition, everybody has questions to answer.

“I was so impressed with her (Golden Ace) in the Fighting Fifth, I thought she was very slick, travelled as well as she travelled in her novice years, and I slightly feel that we are better off than we were last year.” 

With betting markets unavailable at the time of writing, the rest of the challenges are far from confirmed. 

Trainer Dan Skelton claimed that he is “unsure” where we will next see The New Lion, who was unbeaten in all five starts prior to his fall at Newcastle, including in two Novice Grade One contests. 

The then Champion Hurdle favourite came to grief at the penultimate flight of hurdlers, and Skelton blamed “speed rather than indecision”. 

Skelton also told Racing TV: “I am happy with how he coped with two miles and it’s very obvious to me and everyone connected with the horse that he was very happy with it.”

Anzadam

Leading Irish trainer Willie Mullins may send an Irish raider over to play their hand in this race, though with the race coinciding with Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting, who that challenger is remains to be seen. 

Sir Gino’s ownermate, Anzadam, finished behind Golden Ace at Newcastle, on what was only his third start for Mullins. 

It was his first run since January and looked to be coming to win the race, travelling well and coming standside before being unable to reel in the winner on the run in. 

At a press morning at the beginning of the campaign, Mullins said: “Anzadam looks to have enough potential to be sent down the Champion Hurdle route.

“He has the ability, he has the engine, just sometimes his training schedule gets interrupted.”

Other horses

Mullins has a number of horses who could fly his stable’s flag in this race, with Anzadam just one of them. 

Lossiemouth finished second in this race last year, and she is yet to finish outside the first two in all 14 races that she has finished – winning 12 times. 

She is a seven-time Grade One winner (two Mares races) and reappeared with a win at Punchestown three weeks ago. 

County Hurdle winner Kargese could make the trip over the Irish Sea, whilst Ballyburn reverted to hurdles on his seasonal reappearance – finishing second to Teahupoo. 

It is more likely that he will remain over longer distances, but he has never finished outside the first two in five runs over this trip, winning three times – including a Novice Grade One. 

Other potential Mullins horses include Wodhooh and Mystical Power.

READ MORE: Leopardstown Christmas Festival 2025: Savills Chase race analysis and preview