Buveur d’Air seeks second straight Champion Hurdle win

CHELTENHAM, England - Buveur d’Air has been unbeatable in England's leading hurdle races for more than a year. Recent history may be the only thing that can prevent the talented 7-year-old from winning the Grade 1 Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham Racecourse for the second consecutive year Tuesday.

Hardy Eustace was the last horse to win consecutive runnings of the Champion Hurdle, in 2004 and 2005. The following year, Hardy Eustace was third to Brave Inca. Since then, eight winners have started in the Champion Hurdle the year after their wins. Brave Inca was second in 2007, while 2011 winner Rock on Ruby was second in 2012.

Honorable mention goes to Hurricane Fly, who won the race in 2011 and 2013, and was third in 2012, fourth in 2014 and third in 2015.

Buveur d’Air can reverse the trend on the basis of his recent form. He has won all three of his starts this season, including the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park on Dec. 26. Moreover, the gelding performs well on soft turf, which is likely to be the track condition on Tuesday.

Trained by Nicky Henderson, Buveur d’Air has won nine consecutive races and 13 of 16 starts in his career, which began in France in 2014.

The $556,000 Champion Hurdle is the opening-day feature of the four-day National Hunt festival for chasers and hurdlers. Typically, the race draws a strong field, but this year there is an absence of a leading rival for Buveur d’Air, who was 1-2 in future-book betting as of Monday morning.

The race drew a field of 13, including 2015 Champion Hurdle winner Faugheen, a 10-year-old who has been pulled up and was second in his last two starts. Faugheen is trained by Willie Mullins, who has four runners in the race, the same number of starters as Henderson.

The Champion Hurdle has a flat racing component. Wicklow Brave was 10th in the Melbourne Cup in Australia in November in his last start. Trained by Mullins, the 9-year-old Wicklow Brave won the Grade 1 Punchestown Champion Hurdle in Ireland last April in his most recent race over obstacles and was fourth in the Grade 3 Belmont Gold Cup at Belmont Park last June.

The Champion Hurdle has a post time of 11:30 a.m., Eastern, and is the fourth race on a seven-race program that begins at 9:30 a.m., Eastern. Wagering is available at DRFBets.com.