Lossiemouth wins Champions Hurdle and crowned ‘Queen of Cheltenham’

Lossiemouth wins Champions Hurdle and crowned ‘Queen of Cheltenham’

Lossiemouth has done it again, storming to a brilliant Champion Hurdle triumph at the Cheltenham Festival this afternoon.

The grey mare, trained by Willie Mullins and partnered by stable jockey Paul Townend, absolutely demolished her rivals with a commanding six-and-a-half-length victory.

It’s a perfect record that just keeps growing – the 7-5 favourite has now won all four of her Festival appearances, cementing her status as a true star as well as being dubbed ‘the Queen of Cheltenham’.

Brighterdaysahead chased her home in second place, while The New Lion grabbed third spot.

Lossiemouth remains unbeaten at Cheltenham after a late decision to put her in by Willie Mullins

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Alexei put in a solid effort to finish fourth, just edging out last year’s champion Golden Ace, who ran gallantly in fifth.

The race itself was a tactical masterclass from Townend, who kept Lossiemouth tucked in behind the pace-setting Brighterdaysahead for much of the contest.

When they turned for home, she made her move – and it was devastating.

She powered up the famous Cheltenham hill, leaving her rivals with absolutely no chance of catching her.

Mullins had faced a tough choice between this race and the Mares’ Hurdle, which Lossiemouth had won twice before.

🏆 Lossiemouth wins the Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy! 🏆#ITVRacing | @WillieMullinsNH pic.twitter.com/RyXRYZgJmX

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 10, 2026

“The race looked so open, so we thought let’s go for it,” Mullins told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.

Speaking to ITV, he added: “She’s a star mare, to come back four years in a row let alone win, that is incredible.

“When I put her cheek pieces on her I thought, wow, that’s the old Lossiemouth.”

Owner Rich Ricci was absolutely thrilled with his mare’s performance.

“Unbelievable, magic, great. It is hard to win these races, and she always tries. All credit goes to Willie – 10 days ago, he said he wanted to try her with cheek pieces, and it worked,” Ricci told ITV.

Lossiemouth absolutely thrashed the rest of the competition, finishing nearly seven lengths

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“She loves this place, long may it last. The reception she got was great, it is great for the sport.”

This victory marks Mullins’ sixth Champion Hurdle success, further cementing his dominance in the race.

And Ricci isn’t done dreaming just yet.

“I’d love to win the Gold Cup, hopefully we can do the double on Friday,” he said.

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