By way of clarification, the three-mile hurdling championship, previously and subsequently known as the Stayers’ Hurdle was, between 2005 and 2016, sponsored by Ladbrokes and Ryanair and renamed the World Hurdle. Nevertheless, the Grade 1 contest was still run over 2 miles, 7 furlongs and 213 yards on the New Course at Cheltenham, where, alongside the Ryanair Chase, it formed one of the feature races on the third day of the Cheltenham Festival, staged annually in March.
The 2009 renewal of the World Hurdle was significant insofar as it featured the first appearance of Big Buck’s, trained by Paul Nicholls, who would not only win at the first time of asking, but again in 2010, 2011 and 2012, during a then-record winning streak of 18 races. Originally campaigned over fences, Big Buck’s unseated his rider, Sam Thomas, at the final fence in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury on his seasonal debut in 2008/09 and the decision to send him on a retrieval mission, back over hurdles, ultimately proved to be a stroke of genius.
Favourite for the 2009 World Hurdle, though, was the Kasbah Bliss, trained by Francois Doumen, who was making his third appearance in the race, having finished fifth behind Inglis Drever in 2007 and second, beaten just a length, behind Iris’s Gift in 2008. Fresh from an impressive, 8-length victory in the Rendlesham Hurdle at Haydock Park the previous month, the 7-year-old was sent off at 10/11 to follow up at the Festival.
However, having been held up at the rear of the field, Kasbah Bliss made headway to challenge at the second-last flight, but was outpaced on the run to the last and weakened on the run-in, eventually finishing fourth, 20½ lengths behind Big Buck’s. That provded to be his last appearance at the Cheltenham Festival and, indeed, over hurdles anywhere.