Buveur d'Air

Born to sire Crillon and dam History, Buveur d’Air was always full of potential, especially based on the record of Crillon, who won several key race meetings in France such as the Prix Denisy, the Prix de Gondal, the Prix de Victot, the Prix Andre Riviere and two wins in the Prix A Tempo. Gerard Ferte foaled Buveur d’Air in 2011 - named after a French phrase meaning ‘drinker of air’ - where he was trained by Philippe Chemin in France throughout his early years, before being sent to England to be trained under the expert eye of Nicky Henderson at Seven Barrows.

It was a sign of his potential that Nicky Henderson was interested in taking on Buveur d’Air, and it proved to be the right decision as the gelding went on to become one of the biggest success stories at Seven Barrows, leading a lot of punters to focusing on the Buveur d’Air odds in the run-up to all key race meetings over future years.

Starting out in French competitive horse races, three-year-old Buveur d’Air won the Prix De L’Hippodrome De Machecoul and the Prix Courant D’Air to secure a convincing 100% record. At this point, Nicky Henderson brought Buveur d’Air to England, finishing second in the 2015 Read Paul Nicholls Exclusively On Betfair Bumper at Newbury, resulting fourth in the Weatherbys Wealth Management Champion Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race at Aintree, and securing his first win in England at the 2015 Bet365 National Hunt Maiden Hurdle at Newbury.

Another win came in the following year, finishing first in the Racing UK Novices’ Hurdle at Huntingdon, where he was brought back to earth with a third-place finish in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, making up for it by winning the Imagine Cruising First In The Frame Top Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree just one month later. He then won the Read Paddy Brennan At 32Red.com Novices’ Chase at Haydock and the Local Parking Security Novices’ Chase at Warwick to finish off a prolific 2016.

2017 saw Buveur d’Air’s best year to date, winning all five races including his first win at Cheltenham Festival, a first-place finish in the Betway Aintree Hurdle, and a win in the Unibet Fighting Fifth Hurdle. He currently holds a record for two successive wins in the Contenders’ Hurdle at Sandown, holding another 100% record for 2018 to go alongside his Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy win.

The seventeen major runs have seen a total of fourteen wins and a place, taking Buveur d’Air’s win percentage to over eighty-two percent. He’s become one of the few horses that frequent bettors will call upon for their horse racing tips on the biggest race meetings, so we’ve made it easier to monitor Buveur d’Air’s next race on this page.

When is Buveur d’Air running next?

Saturday 1st December 2018: Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle

As it’s always treated as a way of judging the quality of all the UK and Ireland’s best horses, it was assumed that Buveur d’Air would reach the expected heights. His first run came in the 2016 edition of the festival, where he finished third in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle behind second place Min and first place Altior, who was also famously trained by Nicky Henderson at Seven Barrows Stables.

Returning to Cheltenham Racecourse in the following year, Buveur d’Air won the Stan James Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy, before following it up in the 2018 Cheltenham Festival with a first-place finish in the Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy, winning the coveted Cheltenham Champion Hurdle in two successive attempts.