The Champion Hurdle picture after the weekend – who is the value now?

Both Constitution Hill and The New Lion fell in a dramatic Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on Saturday and the fallout from it has seen a massive shake-up in the 2026 Champion Hurdle market!

Bet £50, Get £100 In Free Bets

New Customers Only. Sign up to Matchbook with bonus code: GET100. Bet and Settle 5 x £10 Bets on 5 different Horse Racing markets at odds of 2.0 or more. Qualified users will get 5x£10 Free bets within 48 hours of qualifying. Qualified users will receive any commission paid between Registration and December 22nd 2025 23:59GMT as free bet tokens. E.g. if a user pays £35.83 in commission they will receive 3 x £10 free Bets, 1 x £5.83 Free Bet. 18+ Only. T's and C's Apply. Be Gamble Aware.

CLAIM

Bet £50, Get £100 In Free Bets

New Customers Only. Sign up to Matchbook with bonus code: GET100. Bet and Settle 5 x £10 Bets on 5 different Horse Racing markets at odds of 2.0 or more. Qualified users will get 5x£10 Free bets within 48 hours of qualifying. Qualified users will receive any commission paid between Registration and December 22nd 2025 23:59GMT as free bet tokens. E.g. if a user pays £35.83 in commission they will receive 3 x £10 free Bets, 1 x £5.83 Free Bet. 18+ Only. T's and C's Apply. Be Gamble Aware.

Lossiemouth is now the clear favourite

Given the drama at Newcastle, it is no surprise to see Lossiemouth as the clear market leader now. The eight-time Grade 1 winner and last season’s Mares’ Hurdle winner will surely be aimed at this race now despite connection’s prior reluctance to run her in the race last season.

However, a lot is going to happen between now and March, so what horse is the value play at this point in time?

I for one feel that The New Lion is the play at 9/2 with bet365. The race tactics didn’t go to plan for him in the Fighting Fifth, as when Constitution Hill fell in front of him, he was left in front on his own, which probably wasn’t where Harry Skelton wanted to be.

As a consequence, he started wandering around and almost ran off the track at the fourth hurdle, and he was still travelling well when he fell at the second last flight.

There’s no doubt that he is a stayer, proven when beating The Yellow Clay in a thrilling Turners Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival last season, but stayers win Champion Hurdles and he has already showed that he does also possess a turn of foot!

I will be surprised if The New Lion is anywhere near 9/2 on the day if everything goes to plan for him between now and the big day.

16:00

Cheltenham

The New Lion

Analysis

null

If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.

Bet £50, Get £100 In Free Bets

New Customers Only. Sign up to Matchbook with bonus code: GET100. Bet and Settle 5 x £10 Bets on 5 different Horse Racing markets at odds of 2.0 or more. Qualified users will get 5x£10 Free bets within 48 hours of qualifying. Qualified users will receive any commission paid between Registration and December 22nd 2025 23:59GMT as free bet tokens. E.g. if a user pays £35.83 in commission they will receive 3 x £10 free Bets, 1 x £5.83 Free Bet. 18+ Only. T's and C's Apply. Be Gamble Aware.

CLAIM

Bet £50, Get £100 In Free Bets

New Customers Only. Sign up to Matchbook with bonus code: GET100. Bet and Settle 5 x £10 Bets on 5 different Horse Racing markets at odds of 2.0 or more. Qualified users will get 5x£10 Free bets within 48 hours of qualifying. Qualified users will receive any commission paid between Registration and December 22nd 2025 23:59GMT as free bet tokens. E.g. if a user pays £35.83 in commission they will receive 3 x £10 free Bets, 1 x £5.83 Free Bet. 18+ Only. T's and C's Apply. Be Gamble Aware.