2021 Matheson Hurdle Tips, Odds and Betting Predictions

The Matheson Hurdle is the feature races on the fourth and final day of the Christmas Festival at Leopardstown.

This Grade One has been won by many of the finest two-mile hurdlers Ireland has ever produced, and many of the horses who impress in the Matheson Hurdle will be fancied for the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

2021 Matheson Hurdle Odds

No odds are currently available for the 2021 Matheson Hurdle.

2021 Matheson Hurdle Tips

Once the final field has been confirmed, we'll publish our guide to the 2021 Matheson Hurdle.

2020 Matheson Hurdle Result

Position
Name
SP
1stSharjah11/2
2ndAspire Tower6/1
3rdPetit Mouchoir28/1

Matheson Hurdle Day Card

Time
Title
12:10pmHandicap Chase 2m5f
12:45pmMaiden Hurdle 2m4f
1:20pmMares' Hurdle (Grade 3) 2m4f
1:55pmNeville Hotels Novices' Chase (Grade 1) 3m
2:30pmMatheson Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m
3:05pmNovices' Handicap Hurdle 2m4f
3:40pmFlat Race 2m

Matheson Hurdle History

The first edition of the Matheson Hurdle took place at Leopardstown in 1986. Paddy Mullins dominated the early history of the race, winning six of the first nine runnings. 

Willie Mullins rode Grabel to victory for his father, Paddy, in 1988. Grabel would go onto become the first three-time winner of the Matheson Hurdle, sealing his hat-trick in 1990.

Aidan O'Brien's Istabraq won his first Matheson Hurdle in 1997. The three-time Champion Hurdle winner would go on to score at Leopardstown on three further occasions, with his only loss coming in 2000, where the 1/4 favourite fell two from home, allowing Moscow Flyer to win his second Grade One over fences.

Jessica Harrington won the race for a second time in 2004, when Macs Joy was guided to victory by Barry Geraghty. Brave Inca then won the Matheson Hurdle under Tony McCoy in 2005, before successfully defending his title the following season.

Three-time Aintree Hurdle winner, Al Eile was followed into the winners' enclosure by future Champion Hurdle winner, Sublimity. Solwhit then won the Matheson Hurdle in 2009, before going on to win the Stayers' Hurdle when stepped up to three miles.

Hurricane Fly then matched Instabraq's total of four wins in the Matheson Hurdle. Willie Mullins' superstar won in 2010, before collecting wins two through four between 2012 and 2014. Hurricane Fly didn't run in the 2011 renewal, which was won by Dermot Weld's four-year-old, Unaccompanied.

Nichols Canyon handed Ruby Walsh his fourth-straight win in the Matheson Hurdle in 2015. That was Willie Mullins' fifth win as a trainer, and that tally has grown to seven thanks to Sharjah, who claimed back-to-back Matheson Hurdle victories in 2018 and 2019.

Sharjah then followed in the footsteps of Hurricane Fly in 2020, powering home to beat Aspire Tower and win the Matheson Hurdle for the third year in a row.

Matheson Hurdle Winners

Year
Winner
2020 Sharjah
2019 Sharjah
2018 Sharjah
2017 Mick Jazz
2016 Petit Mouchoir
2015 Nichols Canyon
2014 Hurricane Fly
2013 Hurricane Fly
2012 Hurricane Fly
2011 Unaccompanied
2010 Hurricane Fly
2009 Solwhit
2008 Al Eile
2007 Brave Inca
2006 Brave Inca
2005 Macs Joy
2004 Golden Cross
2003 Liss A Paoraigh
2002 Istabraq

Hurricane Fly Tribute Video